John Gizzi, the notorious criminal known as Rhyl's "Mr Big", is back behind bars after admitting a fresh string of offences. The 55-year-old, of Cwttir Lane, St Asaph, changed his pleas to guilty at Mold Crown Court to using coercive and controlling behaviour, intentional strangulation and failing to disclose a mobile phone's PIN.
Gizzi had been due to stand trial this month but changed his pleas on Tuesday. He will be sentenced on November 12. On Wednesday, North Wales Police said investigating violence against women and girls is a priority for the force.
A lavish lifestyle built on crime
Gizzi once enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, with a £1.75m luxury home near St Asaph Cathedral, a £100,000 Bentley and Rolex watches. On the face of it, his building business funded his luxury life, but the questionable way it was really being fuelled eventually caught up with him.
Having long been on the radar of authorities thanks to his reputation on the streets of the seaside town, police got their man in 2006 when Gizzi, then 34, was sent down for beating up two homeless men with wooden staves. He also admitted to conspiracy to supply counterfeit cigarettes and asked the court for 22 offences of mortgage fraud - involving almost £1.5m - to be taken into consideration.
POCA and the drugs gang
Gizzi was ordered to pay back £2.6m under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) - a figure later reduced to £1m. This was raised by selling off his assets, including the St Asaph home which slumped in value in the credit crunch but still sold for £800,000. As well as the mansion, 20 other mortgage properties were sold, along with a Rolex watch and a fleet of luxury cars that included a Bentley Continental, Range Rover and a Mercedes.
Gizzi was released after serving three years of a five-and-a-half year sentence. He walked free from Mold Crown Court after the POCA deal was approved and was then driven across the road to The Glasfryn public house where he was joined by family members.
But his stretch behind bars did not bring redemption and rehabilitation. Despite living in the quaint village of St George near Abergele, he remained a kingpin on the streets as he ran a drugs gang that conspired to bring cocaine into Wales.
Undercover operation and sentencing
Police were again on his tail with a major undercover operation launched to catch the group. The 12-month police investigation used intelligence, surveillance and forensic evidence. At one stage they discovered £29,000 stuffed under the seat of a car. Police also found cocaine with a street value of £162,000 when they stopped a taxi in Queensferry.
In 2011, Gizzi received an eleven-year sentence at Caernarfon Crown Court after admitting conspiring to bring cocaine into North Wales. His nine-strong gang were locked up for a total of 66 years. This was later reduced to 10 years on appeal as Lord Justice Moore-Bick said the sentencing judge at Caernarfon Crown Court had not given Gizzi enough credit for pleading guilty and other mitigation, including family bereavements and good behaviour in prison.
Despite his long sentence he was expected to be released in 2015 - but under a strict Serious Crimes Prevention Order that would run for a further five years after release.
Further offences and latest guilty pleas
After his release he ran a block paving business but ended up back in court in 2018 after breaching part of the strict order, with stringent financial rules. He walked into Santander banks in Colwyn Bay and Rhyl four times in April and May that year and paid in £15,000.
Giving Gizzi a 12-month conditional discharge, Judge Niclas Parry said: "Block paving isn’t paying as much as drugs but it’s not doing too badly from what I can see. I am imposing what is known as a conditional discharge. It is accepted it is one, an unintentional breach, and two, technical.
"It seems to me the police will cooperate with your representatives. If you were to re-offend for what is a period of 12 months these offences would be looked at again."
He was back in court in 2022 after Gizzi punched a man after a parking dispute in Lower Street, St Asaph. Gizzi found him and confronted him near his house in a heated exchange on July 22, 2020. Gizzi, now living at Cwttir Lane, St Asaph, was sentenced to a 12-month community order. He had to do 270 hours of unpaid work, pay the victim £379 compensation and pay £770 costs.
His latest crimes will see him face a far greater punishment. Gizzi was charged by police with "multiple domestic violence offences" back in April this year.
