Known as three of Britain's most brutal criminals in the 1960s, the Kray brothers, Charlie, Ronnie, and Reggie, were also lionized by many of their neighbors. Their organized crime activities included protection rackets, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and murder, all in a period of little over a decade. Upon their capture and imprisonment, however, they gained something of a legendary status; to some, they were champions of the poor rather than vicious killers.

Charlie Kray was born in 1927 and the twins Reggie and Ronnie were born in 1933. Raised in London's East End, they engaged in petty crime from boyhood, but they did not seem destined for lives as criminals. Reggie and Ronnie showed talent as amateur boxers, and all three brothers served in the military. But by the late 1950s, the Krays had settled into a lifestyle that eventually put them in prison for the rest of their...