Behind Scotland's hard-faced gangsters are their glamourous molls who stood by their sides as they led underworld empires built on misery, violence and grief. A moll is typically a woman romantically or illegally linked to a gangster. While some connected to the most notorious crime lords of Scotland were passive partners, others acted as direct conspirators in criminal activity.
Most of the time, they tend to lead lavish lifestyles - but with their status comes crime, attacks and bloody feuds that continue to erupt - leaving many penniless and without anything to their name. Here, we name some of the most high-profile molls in Scotland in years gone by.
Jade Monaghan: Widow Seeking a Nest Egg
Jade Monaghan is the widow of slain mobster Ross Monaghan, who was gunned down alongside Eddie Lyons Jr, 46, outside his own bar in the Costa Del Sol on May 31 last year. An insider recently told the Record that Jade, 41, has been hounding hoods from the mob in Glasgow and Spain to track down cash stashed away 16 months after her husband's murder. She is said to be hunting the 'nest egg' promised from the Lyons gang before his death.
Mum Jade is said to have had faith gang boss Steven Lyons, 46, would take care of her family but cash dried up after he was locked up in Spain. A gangland insider told the Record: "Ross had always told Jade there was a big parcel put by for a rainy day and she wouldn't go without if anything happened to him. After Ross was murdered she thought it would be handed to her once everything settled down.
"Ross was second in command after Steven and all of the Lyons business went through him so he was making a lot of money. When Steven was chucked out Dubai last year, she still trusted he would take care of her family eventually." She started to panic when he got jailed and has been putting pressure on people in Glasgow and Spain to hand over the nest egg promised.
Jade married Monaghan in 2014. She once owned a plush children's designer clothing boutique in Bishopbriggs. However, the shop was shut down in 2024 and a notice to strike the firm off was rejected due to debts owed. Court papers showed that Monaghan left an estate of just £80,000 after his death. The insider added: "Jade lives a life of luxury and that cash was never going to last for long."
Amanda Lyons: From Makeup Artist to Accused Gang Member
Amanda Lyons is the wife of mob leader Steven Lyons. The 38-year-old was arrested earlier this year after police described her as an "active member" of her husband's crime gang. It's understood she was left in shock over the collapse of her luxurious Costa del Sol lifestyle. Amanda was cuffed by cops in the United Arab Emirates just days after Steven Lyons was nabbed by police in Bali in March.
She was once a makeup artist to TOWIE mega stars James 'Arg' Argent and Chloe Simms and can be seen in throwback snaps with the reality TV pair in Marbella in 2012 where she worked as part of the famous Golden Tarts beauty salon. Lyons also provided glam looks to TOWIE's Gemma Collins and Lydia Bright. An online beauty account Lyons created in June 2014 reveals her packed client list. Strictly Come Dancing and Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison can be seen thanking her for make up looks alongside other TOWIE legends Georgia Kousoulou and Jessica Wright.
Lyons later moved to Dubai in 2018 with husband Steven after giving birth to her first son in 2016. The following year, Golden Tarts posted online about Lyons glamming up celebrities in the United Arab Emirates for an OK magazine photo shoot. A source told the Record Amanda's glam pals in Spain didn't think she had anything to do with her husband's criminal dealings and were stunned at her recent arrest.
She said: "Amanda and Steven come from similar backgrounds and fell quickly in love. Amanda wanted her own career and she was working more or less full-time hours at Golden Tarts to make her own cash but when she fell pregnant things changed." Her priorities shifted and mixing with celebrities started to mean less to her and her and Steven both wanted more kids. They decided to move to Dubai to settle down and Steven left the day-to-day running of his criminal enterprise to his pal Ross Monaghan so he could just oversee things from the desert. "Everyone thought Amanda was just busy being a mum after that, but she started to get involved in helping Steven in organised crime and a lot of people have been left stunned by that." She is now facing years behind bars.
Kelly Bo Green: Daughter of a Crime Boss
Kelly Bo Green is the daughter of crime boss Jamie Daniel, who died in 2016 from cancer. Kelly was also the girlfriend of Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll, who was Daniels' enforcer, before he was murdered in 2010 at the age of 29. This saw Lyons gangster, Billy 'Buff' Paterson, jailed for life. Green said at his funeral: "He was a lover, a friend, he was my everything." Their £217,00 home near Glasgow was seized after his death, and she was forced to move out. Her new home was then reportedly set alight by Ross McGill enforcers Tamo Junto (TMJ) linked to the gang feud.
Green was arrested in 2017 after shoplifting £800 worth of clothes from H&M. She appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid community work as an alternative to prison. She is believed to be part of the same shoplifting gang that includes her aunt, Annette Daniel, who has 22 convictions for shoplifting and has spent time in jail for theft.
Michelle Maxwell: Partner of the 'Birdman'
Michelle Maxwell is the long-term partner of jailed notorious gangster Robert 'Birdman' O'Hara. Last year, O'Hara was jailed for a further nine years after heading up a drugs enterprise from behind bars. He funded an illicit lifestyle of luxury for his lover Michelle and daughter Kendal O'Hara while serving time for murder. The vast amount of dirty money raked in saw the 49-year-old try to buy a £225,000 Lamborghini.
It also allowed Michelle and Kendal O'Hara to live in a £635,000 flat in Glasgow's plush Park Circus area. Police swooped in 2021 - they seized more than £300,000 of high-value watches, jewellery, designer clothes and trainers as well as cash from properties linked to the mobster. O'Hara was serving a life sentence at the time, having been convicted of murder, gun and drugs charges in 2005 Rival Paul McDowall was stabbed to death just yards from his home in the city's Possilpark. The 25 year-old was attacked by two men with one of them in phone contact with O'Hara while carrying out the fatal assault.
Aileen Daniel: From Pole Queen to Firebomb Target
Aileen Daniel is the daughter of Norman Daniel, who built up a multi-million pound dirty cash empire with his late brother Jamie. Aileen worked at lapdancing bars in Glasgow and was crowned Miss Pole Queen in London in 2006. In 2010, she was charged with intent to supply cocaine after being caught with a £4000 stash and £2400 cash in her car near Bathgate in West Lothian.
Aileen and 10 others were then convicted after a Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency probe into a man who had been supplying the crime family with drugs. She admitted the offence in court and told how she was terrified of her dad, Norman. In recent years she has worked alongside Norman, 72, at a scrap metal firm he owned in the Springburn area of Glasgow.
Her motorhome was firebombed at Bardowie Street on April 6. Aileen shared footage of her van engulfed in flames as she hit out at hoods who see her as an 'easy target.' She wrote: "Broke my heart seeing this done to my motorhome. I am a single mum and no threat to anyone, just an easy target." We live among evil creatures.
Annette Daniel: Shoplifting Matriarch
Annette Daniel, 64, is the mother of gangland figure Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel. In 2020, she was jailed after nicking designer gear in a shoplifting spree. She was caught fleeing Aberdeenshire with a haul worth £9,000. At the time, she took a day trip from Glasgow to ransack the Granite City stores. They were clocked by security guards visiting shops including Zara, Marks & Spencer and All Saints. Staff called in the police after spotting bare shelves and officers pulled the group over on the A90 near Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, as they tried to flee south.
She was jailed for a year. In May last year, she was charged with shoplifting again but dodged court amid an underground turf war. Court papers stated that Annette stole clothes from The White Company in the city centre's Buchanan Street on October 12, 2023. Her lawyer Darran Khorasani told the trial hearing: "There is a defence motion to adjourn for reasons you [the sheriff] are aware of that has been canvassed in advance." Annette, of the Glasgow's Robroyston, did not attend court over fears to her safety as her house had recently been torched by mobsters.
