Squizzy Taylor

Who was Squizzy Taylor?

Joseph Leslie Theodore "Squizzy" Taylor was a Melbourne, Australia-based gangster. He rose to notoriety by leading a violent gang war against a rival criminal faction in 1919, absconding from bail and successfully hiding from the police for over a year in 1921–22, and the Glenferrie robbery in which a bank manager was murdered in 1923.

Leslie "Squizzy" Taylor enjoyed a fearsome reputation in 1920s Melbourne. A "spiv", often described as the Australian equivalent of the American bootleggers, his crimes ranged from pickpocketing, assault and shopbreaking to armed robbery and murder. He also derived income from sly-grog selling, two-up schools, illegal bookmaking, extortion, prostitution and, in his later years, is believed by some to have moved into cocaine dealing.

Although only a diminutive 5 ft 2in tall, Taylor made up what he lacked in stature with dark piercing eyes, a sharp tongue and a treacherous mind. He delighted in surrounding himself with an air of mystery and cleverness as well as always looking for opportunities to impress other members of the underworld. To satisfy his vanity, he wrote letters to the media whilst in hiding from the police for 14 months, and co-starred with his girlfriend in a film, Riding to Win, which was banned by the Victorian censor. He was even prepared to take the credit for other people's violent crimes to make himself appear to be a dangerous criminal always ready to use his gun.