A gangster who ordered road mending machinery belonging to business rivals of his Truro-based firm be stolen or destroyed has been ordered to forfeit more than £2.2 million he made through his criminal activities. Jack Harvey, 70, who was jailed for more than 13 years in 2010 for arson attacks on rival plant hire firms and for handling stolen goods, was ordered to pay the money after a judge ruled it was made as a direct result of his unlawful actions, a court official confirmed. Devon and Cornwall Police said the order made by Judge Christopher Elwen at Truro Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act marked the culmination of a three-year investigation into a man who ran an "organised crime network". Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Michele Slevin, the senior investigating officer in the case, said: "For many years Jack Harvey thought he was above the law and would never be caught. "Today is the final part of the prosecutions case and has clearly outlined how since 2003 and beyond Jack Harvey has been living from the proceeds of crime. "He and the defence team have tried to argue that when calculating his criminal benefits, there have been legitimate earnings accrued during that time too. However it is clear that those earnings have been made through the use of stolen plant and machinery. "What was also highlighted is that contracts have been awarded to his company, JFL Harvey Ltd which, had the (other) companies including the local authority known were to be carried out using the stolen plant, or had (been) aware of the intimidation and sabotage that has been proved was used by Harvey, would not have been awarded, so he has again benefited from his crime." Harvey, whose original sentence of 13 years and three months was cut to nine years and six months at the Court of Appeal last year, has been ordered to pay £2,275,454.40p, plus £6,250 in court costs. He orchestrated attacks carried out by two associates on rival firms, including Devon-based road maintenance firm Tetlaw, after his family-run company, based at Buckshead on the edge of Truro, began to lose council contracts to them. Police said at the time of his conviction that in one of the arson attacks, a man was asleep in the cab of the vehicle at the time and could have died.
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