Vandals guilty of Europe-wide graffiti conspiracy » Communities » 24dash.com

Nine vandals have pleaded guilty to one of the largest graffiti conspiracies ever brought to trial.

Paul Stewart, 26, from Lewisham had pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charge, but changed his plea to guilty at Southwark Crown Court yesterday.

Eight others had previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Damage at Southwark Crown Court following a major graffiti investigation by British Transport Police.

Another vandal, Mark Goss, was previously dealt with in 2007 and pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Damage which also involved Andrew Gillman.

The vandals, collectively known as the DPM crew, targeted trains and railway infrastructure across England from 2004 until their arrest in 2006. Their crimes cost the rail industry at least £600,000.

"These vandals thought they were untouchable," said Detective Superintendent Michael Field, who led the inquiry.

"They would often be masked and conducted almost military style operations in the belief that nothing could be proved against them."

An 11th man, Paul Wells, had connections with the DPM group and was convicted of Possession with Intent to Supply drugs after being found with half a kilo of cocaine. He was gaoled for four and a half years in 2006.

Most of the DPM crew’s activities were concentrated in south London. Areas targeted included Grove Park, Orpington and Croydon Tramlink depots and Dartford sidings. However, they also committed crimes in Liverpool, Manchester and Sunderland, as well as in Amsterdam, the Czech Republic and Paris.

The conspiracy charges cover a two year period and 120 offences. Most of the men were arrested in June 2006 and charges were laid in October and November that year.

The police inquiry, known as Operation Shuttle, took more than seven months to complete. Four of the men were caught red handed as a result of a covert surveillance operation.

The prime mover in the DPM crew was Andrew Gillman. Just before Christmas 2007, whilst on bail, he took a casual job under a false name with the BBC.

As part of his job, with the Art Department for Eastenders, he helped decorate the outdoor set at Elstree studios tagging it with “NEAS”, “DPM” and references to “MOODY” (believed to be graffiti writer James Dutka, who was known as “Moody” and died in 2002).

"This was major crime on a vast scale," said Detective Superintendent Field.

"Graffiti not only scars the railway environment, it contributes to the fear of crime and costs operators thousands of pounds in equipment downtime as well as cleaning. Those costs have to be born by someone, and that someone is ultimately the fare paying passenger.

"Graffiti is an attack on the community and the environment. It is anti-social and destructive and it’s a crime we take very seriously. The people who have been convicted are certainly only part of the DPM crew.

"We will continue to be proactive in investigating and prosecuting graffiti crime wherever it occurs on the rail system."

Those convicted for Conspiracy are:

1 Jack Binnie, 25, from Lewisham

2 Andrew Gillman, 25, from Battersea

3 Ziggy Grudzinskas, 25, from Blackheath

4 Alex McClelland, 24, from Dulwich

5 Matthew Pease, 24, from Lewisham

6 Paul Andrew Stewart, 26, from Lewisham

7 Matthew Tanti, 23, from Streatham

8 James Teasdale, 21, from Dulwich

9 Slav Zinoviev, 25, from Battersea

Also convicted:

10 Mark Goss, 22, from Sidcup (Criminal Damage)

James Teasdale was sentenced at Southwark on Tuesday, 27 May 2008. He was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £300 compensation. He had previously served a custodial sentence for related graffiti offences in north west England in 2006.

Mark Goss, 22, from Sidcup, Kent was sentenced for Criminal Damage at Southwark on 12 March 2007. He was given a 10 month sentence (five months of which were suspended), together with an ASBO.

Tags used included:

ANDREW GILLMAN “NEAS”

SLAV ZINOVIEV “ZINO”

ZIGGY GRUDZINSKAS “AKRE” / “EDGE”

JACK BINNIE “GOKS” / “GOX”

MATTHEW TANTI “MYSE”

MATTHEW PEASE “PILS”

PAUL STEWART “DARK”

JAMES TEASDALE “AMSR” / “JPEG”