The world of ice cream isn’t all sprinkles and sauce, it has a dark side too. In 1984 the Scottish city of Glasgow saw horrendous violence during its infamous ice cream wars. The fighting was not just about ice cream sales, the ice cream vans were used as fronts to sell stolen goods and drugs. Rival gangs fought over turf and control of the market. Van drivers who resisted becoming involved were intimidated and punished.
Eighteen year old driver Andrew “Fat Boy” Doyle refused to sell drugs on his round, and as a result the flat in which he lived was set alight in the early hours of the morning. Andrew, along with his father, sister, two brothers, and 18 month old nephew were all killed in the blaze.
In 2002 in Melbourne Australia 46 year old Mr Whippy salesman Francesco Mangione was feuding with his cousin and rival ice cream vendor Denis Giunta over trade routes. Mangione snuck into Giunta’s house and stabbed him 55 times with a home made sword as Giunta stepped out of the shower. Giunta’s wife, who was asleep was awoken by her husband’s screaming, only escaped the same fate by jumping out of the window.
All over the world there are stories of ice cream men slashing tires, hitting each other with baseball bats, or just ending up with their decapitated heads on their bicycle seats. It’s a dangerous world out there. So remember, next time you send your kid out to get you a cone, make sure you send them in a flack jacket.
on Sep 22nd, 2007 at 6:01 pm
I highly recommend the 1984 movie “Comfort and Joy,” which was about the ice cream wars of Glasgow. It’s a great movie, made even better by the presence of the scrumptious Clare Grogan.
on Sep 22nd, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Ah yes, by Bill Forsyth if I’m not mistaken.
Gregory’s Girl is a strong contender for the title of best film of all time.
on Sep 22nd, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I heard Ben slept with Jerry’s wife.
on Sep 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 pm
But the best film of all time is Sunset Boulevard,,,,,,,,or possibly Serial Mom or maybe even Re-Animator ;-)
on Sep 23rd, 2007 at 5:21 am
I’m not sure, but I suspect all of this ice cream talk may have caused you to get a bit of a brain freeze.
on Sep 23rd, 2007 at 6:19 am
If only we all loved red flavored ice lollies in our ice cream there’d be no fighting.
on Sep 23rd, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I go away for a couple of weeks, and your brain melts. WTF?
on Sep 23rd, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Good Humor, my ass.
on Feb 27th, 2008 at 5:48 am
I’ve always found the local ice cream man to be somewhat on the ’strange’ side. Now I know why..
on May 27th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Our local ice cream guy needs a bath..
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