JULY 2017 Taxi tycoon To make a spurious connection between me and a criminal would have a serious effect on me and on my business JANUARY 2018 Mutilated crime boss Bonzo turns up for a meeting at one of millionaire’s lucrative cab firms.. before leaving
FAT CONTROLLER’S EMPIRE HAS ANOTHER BRUSH
Norman Silvester A millionaire businessman who earns thousands in public cash from taxi contracts has his empire’s latest brush with serious organised crime revealed by the Sunday Mail today.
Steven Malcolm is one of Scotland’s richest men and his taxi f irms are trusted with vulnerable passengers by several local councils.
But the self-styled transport tycoon’s companies are struggling to cut ties with the criminal fraternity, who he has admitted could threaten his licences.
In the latest episode, mutilated crime boss Steven “Bonzo” Daniel was photographed slipping out of the offices of one of Malcolm’s many lucrative operations – Penny Cars in Chapelhall, Lanarkshire, who were targeted in an arson attack last year.
Malcolm bought KeyCars, a cab firm closely associated with Daniel, in 2017.
After a picture taken of the pair with a third man in 2014 was published in the Sunday Mail, he publicly distanced himself from the crime figure.
Since then, we have revealed that the 54-year- old purchased shares worth £1.4million in a taxi firm from notorious gangster Tam McGraw’s widow.
And our sister paper the Daily Record told last week how police visited Malcolm’s Glasgow Private Hire offices in the city’s Edinburgh Road.
Glasgow City Council bosses said their staff accompanied officers during a licensing check on premises.
Now, our exclusive pictures reveal that Daniel at tended Penny Cars HQ for a meet inging last la st Thursday.
It is not known whether Malcolm waswas iinsidenside at the time – but c oi nc identident a l l y Pol ice Scot land visited the ffirmirm for what they said was a routine visit the same day. Two detectives arrivarrived at the office within minutes of Daniel entering the building.
After they left, he was seen dedeparting by a side exit and getting intoint a blue Skoda car.
Graeme Pearson, a formformer head of the Scottish Crime anand Drug Enforcement Agency, yesyesterday calledcalled for counci ls whwho have awarded taxi contracts to MaMalcolm’s firms to examine his undeunderworld
links. The ex-Labour MSPM said: “Local authauthorities mu s t s atisfy t h eemm s elves properly about the nanature of the relationship between Mr Malcolm and the Daniel family, given that his taxis operate a number of contracts on behalf of councils looking after many vulnerable young people and the elderly.
“There’s always been big money involved and it’s quite proper that councils should take proper steps to satisfy themselves.”
Scottish Lib Dems justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: “There are serious questions to be asked about the fitness of recipients of public contracts.
“It’s essential that councils perform due diligence on the suitability of contractors, especially where those contractors are dealing with vulnerable people and groups.”
Daniel is a nephew of late crime clan boss Jamie Daniel. In July last year, Malcolm said being linked with Daniel could jeopardise lucrative taxi contracts, wor th hundreds of thousands of pounds, he has with schools and the elderly.
Malcolm – who is dubbed The Fat Controller – is a director of some of Scotland’s biggest taxi firms.
The companies include Glasgow Pr ivate Hire, Pa isley Cab Co, Lanarkshi re Pr ivate Hire and Edinburgh City Private Hire.
Last year, Glasgow Private Hire earned £126,000 from work with Glasgow City Council, out of a total taxi spend of £3.7million.
A council spokesman said: “We procure taxi services through a strictly
Councils must satisfy themselves properly