Manchester Crown Court heard that Roye recruited two enforcers to have his victim’s car torched on his driveway because his business partner owed £30,000 to him and his associates.
Tommy Roye the husband of a BBC executive
Victoria has been jailed for masterminding a plot to extort money from
the chief executive of a media firm
skip over there'.
In the run up to arson attack, the victims received menacing text messages reading: 'If you don’t reply within an hour we will send someone'
Police called in by Mr Farley-Jones arrested Roye a day after the arson attack on his people carrier vehicle and found two ornamental Samurai swords and a machete at his home in Urmston, Greater Manchester.
Father of one Roye has now been jailed for six years after being convicted of blackmail, conspiracy to commit arson and threatening to destroy property.
Three accomplices were also jailed for their part in the plot.
Roye’s wife Victoria, 41, a BBC Talent Executive for Entertainment North was not in court for the hearing.
Father of one Roye has now been jailed for six
years after being convicted of blackmail, conspiracy to commit arson and
threatening to destroy property. Roye's wife Victoria, 41, a BBC Talent
Executive for Entertainment North was not in court for the hearing
Roye, 39, demanded cash over a two month period
during which he recruited two enforcers to have his victim's car torched
on his driveway. Innocent businessman Craig Farley-Jones, 37, had been
hounded because his business partner owed £30,000 to Roye and his
associates
During her career she helped the staffing of TV productions like Junior Doctors, Dragons' Den and A Question of Sport
An out-of-office email to her BBC account said she was on leave.
After the case Det Sgt Patrick Goodrich branded Roye and his three accomplices as an 'organised crime group' and said: 'This case involved a totally innocent and legitimate businessman who unwittingly became embroiled in a blackmail plot driven by a gang of violent criminals.
Pose: Mrs Roye in her days as a model
'All he wanted to do was help out a colleague who had got himself into debt, and for his troubles endured two months of hell at the hands of an extremely intimidating and aggressive band of criminals.
'That they went so far as to torch this man’s car as it was parked on his driveway, bearing in mind this man has a wife and daughter, shows how dangerous these men were.
'You can only imagine the anguish this man suffered for those two months, being bombarded with violent threats simply for trying to help a colleague.
'I have no doubt whatsoever that the streets are a lot safer now that these four men are behind bars. I would also like to praise the tenacity of the victim himself who hung in there despite the hell he was subjected to and helped us to convict these men.
'Organised crime groups like these cause real misery and hardship for law-abiding and innocent members of our communities. However, we have been targeting organised crime groups at all levels for the last two years and have achieved some fantastic results.
'We are tackling these groups with every tactic open to us, taking away their liberty, their homes, their cars and their cash.'
Earlier the Manchester court heard Mr Farley-Jones - chief executive of Jungle Media and who works with former Celebrity Big Brother winner Mark Bez Berry - ran a Cheshire nightclub with a childhood friend known as Marvin.
It was said that trouble began in August 2012 after he fell into debt and called Mr Farley-Jones for help.
Gary Woodhall prosecuting said Mr Farley Jones arrived at the pub to find Roye holding what appeared to be a gun and telling: 'You are a piece of sh*t, you are a liar. Not even your business partner will help you out’.
Mr Farley-Jones offered to pay £5,000 himself to buy time for his friend but was assured by Marvin he would not have to pay a penny.
The court was told that he later received a text from Roye saying: 'Why would you get out of bed in the middle of the night and agree to pay and then not pay’.
The following October Mr Farley-Jones was in another pub when Roye and one of his enforcers who had been hiding in a garden, converged on the victim 'like hyenas'.
Marcel Lauder, 44, (left) of Derby and Jamie
Keegan, 31, of Sale, (right) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit
arson and blackmail at an earlier hearing. Lauder got 28 months and
Keegan 24 months
Mr Woodall said: 'They surrounded Craig Farley-Jones. Tommy Roye was forceful and aggressive and demanded to know where the money was. Tommy Roye said he could deal with the problems there and then.
'Roye demanded the key to Craig Farley-Jones’ car and fearing he would be attacked, he handed over the key to his Audi car. Roye told him not to ring the police or "the car would be burned out - or the car driven through the house".
Mr Farley-Jones again agreed to pay the money and the car was returned.
But Roye then repeatedly contacted Mr Farley-Jones sending text messages referring to the victim’s house.
When the victim replied saying that he would go to police, Roye’s menacing response was: 'Police? Call the fire service as well’.
While Mr Farley-Jones was in a police station giving a statement. his Rodge Ram people carrier car was set on fire on his driveway.
He later said the blackmail plot was 'soul destroying' and had a 'massive effect' on his life and he was forced to move out of the area as a result.
His wife’s mental health deteriorated and he now felt isolated from family and friends. Fear had taken over his life, he said, and he now always looks over his shoulder when out and is afraid of answering the front door.
Ashley Gusihard was jailed for seven years after
being convicted of blackmail and unrelated charges of possessing drugs
with intent to supply
Roye had 25 previous convictions including a wounding offence in 1992 when he slashed a man on the chin leaving a three inch wound. He also has convictions for drug possession and in 1995 was jailed for ten years for armed robbery.
In mitigation his defence counsel Miss Bernadette Baxter said: 'He understands the impact it is going to have on his family and has ensured his wife and children underwent counselling for his inevitable prison sentence.
'He runs a successful business with his partner who is leading that whilst he is in custody. It was a short lived period of events - there was no direct violence.'
Passing sentence Judge Adrian Smith told Roye: 'You were the instigator and organiser in the campaign of threats.
'Blackmail is designed to instil fear into the life of another human being. It’s a cruel offence and can seriously affect a life and those around him.
'You made chilling threats to burn his house down. This offence has impacted upon his life and family’s life in a serious way and is still ongoing.'
Former European kick boxing champion Ashley Guishard, 39, of Ashton-on-Mersey, was jailed for seven years after being convicted of blackmail and unrelated charges of possessing drugs with intent to supply.
Marcel Lauder, 44, of Derby and Jamie Keegan, 31, of Sale, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and blackmail at an earlier hearing.
Lauder got 28 months and Keegan 24 months.
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