Amazing fall from grace for Pattaya big shot Luke Cook - respected expat to death row in Thailand

[Time Traveller]

6 minutes ago, kcpattaya said:

Interesting read all these comments here...
As if everyone knew the couple - at least we all seem to have an opinion...
Anyway: I knew them both plus their 2 children. 
What "the parents" got is probably well-deserved. It is heartbreaking however: That these innocent kids have to bite the dust.
 

Oh I'm sorry, you're right. He was an angel. Doing Gods work. Meth dealers are really great guys. Even if they participate in the odd murder here and there. 

Since you know them so well and care for their welfare, step up and adopt their children

 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Time Traveller

[Mitker]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

the expat everyone wanted to get to know

always nice to read you're not "everyone"

[soalbundy]

rude name for a bar

[wombat]

1 hour ago, georgegeorgia said:

Yes i guess he wont be leaving for awhile anyway, sounds like a nice man and very polite , pity he got mixed up with bikies , drugs ,criminals etc 

 

its alleged he drove the killer of the drug importer to the cambodian border,well its not alleged anymore i guess

 

i am told the Australian Feds had undercover guys in pattaya , im not sure if its true , i reckon that Glitter man  could of been undercover cop.

f you want to hide something hide it in plain sight i'm told.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

PULEASE!!!!   Fall from grace?

 

Maybe there are a few farangs who manage to be very successful in business and become rich in Thailand, like the guy who founded the Minor International food and hospitality corporation.

 

But most of the time, when I read an article about a Hells Angels guy with prior criminal convictions running around with a private yacht, expensive sports cars and properties, I pretty much assume I know that kind of money probably is not coming from legitimate business sources in Thailand.

 

Just like the British guy from Pattaya who lived the flash lifestyle, was photographed somehow with you know who, etc etc -- right up until he was assassinated in broad daylight by some scumbags hired by a former boiler room scams compatriot / turned competitor. And then it all came out where his money had come from -- by scamming and ripping off the unsuspecting.

 

More often than not, those are the kinds of realities behind the farang guys here running around living the high life and showing it off for everyone to see.

 

[rott]

1 hour ago, georgegeorgia said:

Reading the story in the news its alleged he was paid 10 million for his part, i wonder how many of us would do the same?

 

so please dont cast the first stone unless u never sinned

I think that many of us would realise that there is no massive reward without massive risk. He chose to get involved with clowns and ended up looking like one.

[Gola]

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

 

Looks like Mr. Cook had a decent hotel/resto/bar business going.

 

Too bad he got lured into the criminal elements and fast/easy money.

 

He actually  sounds like an OK chap in this video.

 

 

 

The business was likely just a front to launder the drugs money; without that "subsidy" it will be interesting to see how long Jolly's remains open. Initially, shortly after the arrests, it was up for sale. High business rents and the usual monthly "kickbacks" to officials in the Soi Bhuakhao area of Pattaya means that genuine bars/restaurants/hotels find it hard to keep going once the initial capital investment has been spent

[soalbundy]

3 minutes ago, rott said:

I think that many of us would realise that there is no massive reward without massive risk. He chose to get involved with clowns and ended up looking like one.

greed

[Easy Come Easy Go]

Didn't they learn that such material possessions don't actually bring lasting happiness and a wholesome life? They did so much for it, and now have given up their freedom and lives for it too. Good riddance 

[8OA8]

53 minutes ago, kcpattaya said:

Interesting read all these comments here...
As if everyone knew the couple - at least we all seem to have an opinion...
Anyway: I knew them both plus their 2 children. 
What "the parents" got is probably well-deserved. It is heartbreaking however: That these innocent kids have to bite the dust.
 

Having just watched the YouTube clip of the interview on his place, it brings to memory the John DeLorean case. 

[Catoni]

So is Jolly's Restaurant closed now ? ?    What will Luke get ?   Injection to put him to "sleep" ? ? 

[Rimmer]

A troll rant from someone who doesn't like the way the story has been written has been removed. Do not leave your vitriol on here for others to read and for mods to clear up, apart from anything else this will get you a holiday.

[Spock]

1 hour ago, georgegeorgia said:

Im not sure what jail he will be in but by far the worse jail i visited was the Bang Kwang Jail in Bangkok about 6 years ago.

 

This is a jail that they nickname the Big Tiger because it eats you up.

 

I have visited many jails  ( volunteer and part time work for a charity) but I have never encountered such rude nasty thai people as i did visiting in there and they were the officers, they just didnt care about people mmany of them not a ounce of kindness, they would snarl their faces at you and sometimes not even answer.

 

these officers are not like ordinary thais ,they look yiu direct in the eyes as they snarl and talk down to you.

 

i was once enquiring where a certain prisoner was and his welfare, the senior officer kept saying “ huh , ! Huh ! Screwing his face up 

Like it was pains for him to talk to me.he was a half indian thai officer with a turban on ,he slammed a door in my face as i was asking about a prisoners welfare.

 

They even had some nickname for one low bassstard thai prison guard , apparently his nickname reflected  on how he liked to hurt and punish prisoners. 

and anyone thinking Bang Kwang is like Pattaya jail better grow up fast ,its nothing like it.

 

 

i remember one guy telling me that once the large crowded room cell is locked at night they do not open until morning even if your bleeding to death ! Terrible place !

I think you will find that most Thai jails and their officers are much the same. Thais have no respect for prisoners and this is reflected in the manner in which those incarcerated are treated. I imagine the system serves the purpose of TV posters intent on inflicting every drop of suffering and cruelty on those who have transgressed in life, but it is also a blight on a society that claims to be civilizing itself that it allows such inhumane conditions to exist in its institutions.

[marko kok prong]

I said in another post some while ago,if you are into big time drug smuggling 99.9% of the time you will end up dead or in jail.

[whaleboneman]

2 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Reading the story in the news its alleged he was paid 10 million for his part, i wonder how many of us would do the same?

 

so please dont cast the first stone unless u never sinned

I can tell you that I wouldn’t do it for 100,000,000.

And there is a difference between sinners and Satan.

[Huckenfell]

2 hours ago, petermik said:

The business is now being "run" by his wifes family I am reliably informed

Bet they could'nt wait ????

 

 

 

 

[Gola]

Great free advertising for Jolly's Piss Stop. I've driven past it many times but never ventured in because I don't own a leather waistcoat

 

facebook.com/pissstop/

[Thingamabob]

2 hours ago, eggers said:

Gets what he & she deserve ...Life in Thai BKK Hilton hopefully!! They had No conscience about selling drugs into AUS, that would've ruined many young lives!!

 

 

Good for you. 

[malibukid]

he sounds like a real winner

[skippy]

2 hours ago, eggers said:

Gets what he & she deserve ...Life in Thai BKK Hilton hopefully!! They had No conscience about selling drugs into AUS, that would've ruined many young lives!!

 

 

Like selling cheap piss to real native australians.

[Jeremy50]

2 hours ago, rowan1981 said:

Exactly, the place is a massive cesspit, full of criminals and sex-pats. Yuk! 

'Jolly's Piss stop', what a classy establishment that must be. I guess he is now in the 'Jolly Big Tiger', where life might not be quite so...................jolly.

[Shaunduhpostman]

The death penalty is way over the top for what he was doing, and it makes me wonder whether it is a case of, added to his not at all negligible crimes,  the unspoken crime of not being Thai and stepping on people's sensitive toes simply by having yachts and successful restaurants. I would guess the real issue is his success and also how it would be easier for whoever to have no recourse but to relieve him and his kin of  his assets if he were executed.  People routinely get away with much worse in Thailand and hardly face any repercussions let alone the death penalty. My guess is they won't actually execute him but want to use the opportunity to create a climate of increased pressure on foreigners in Pattaya and perhaps Thailand. All reminds me of the case a few years ago of the Dutch ganja coffee shop entrepreneur. As I recall, essentially, they decided that because of his legal business in ganja in the Netherlands that it was illegal for him to even have the money from such things in a Thai bank account, which seems to have been his real mistake, transferring huge sums into a Thai bank account and last I heard he is serving a multiple decade sentence in a Thai prison somehwere. You can bet that his money isn't just sitting in his account waiting for him for when he gets out. I don't see how any of these attacks on foreigners, the Big Joke effect,  solves anything, there is nothing constructive about any of it aside from a way to appropriate peoples assets by the police, cow foreigners into submission for more malleable workers, prop up egos, a false sense of national pride etc  its a rather poor substitute for say enforcing laws, having competent people at entry points to the country who can actually sort out the kind of people that are bad for Thailand. Ironically It is a rather gangsterish mentality to execute people for dealing drugs and not one belonging to a civil society that Thailand I assume would purport to be running. But then again maybe they'll do it, maybe they'll actually execute him, make an example of him hoping the human rights people and international press will not care because of what the guy was involved in. Rather a shame, but most people seem to think if you are criminal you deserve no justice at all, rather ungenerous to say the least, yet if its you whose on the wrong end of things...and particularly if there has been some mistake and you were not guilty of anything, you wouldn't want to be facing the death penalty.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Shaunduhpostman

[Jonah Tenner]

57 minutes ago, Spock said:

I think you will find that most Thai jails and their officers are much the same. Thais have no respect for prisoners and this is reflected in the manner in which those incarcerated are treated. I imagine the system serves the purpose of TV posters intent on inflicting every drop of suffering and cruelty on those who have transgressed in life, but it is also a blight on a society that claims to be civilizing itself that it allows such inhumane conditions to exist in its institutions.

Thais call jails Monkey houses. Descriptive of how they regard the inmates.

[SunsetT]

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Reading the story in the news its alleged he was paid 10 million for his part, i wonder how many of us would do the same?

 

so please dont cast the first stone unless u never sinned

So now we know the price for one Christian to sell his soul........????!

[rowan1981]

26 minutes ago, Shaunduhpostman said:

The death penalty is way over the top for what he was doing, and it makes me wonder whether it is a case of, added to his not at all negligible crimes,  the unspoken crime of not being Thai and stepping on people's sensitive toes simply by having yachts and successful restaurants. I would guess the real issue is his success and also how it would be easier for whoever to have no recourse but to relieve him and his kin of those his assets if he were executed.  People routinely get away with much worse in Thailand and hardly face any repercussions let alone the death penalty. My guess is they won't actually execute him but want to use the opportunity to create a climate of increased pressure on foreigners in Pattaya and perhaps Thailand. All reminds me of the case a few years ago of the Dutch ganja coffee shop entrepreneur. As I recall, essentially, they decided that because of his legal business in ganja in the Netherlands that it was illegal for him to even have the money from such things in a Thai bank account, which seems to have been his real mistake, transferring huge sums into a Thai bank account and last I heard he is serving a multiple decade sentence in a Thai prison somehwere. You can bet that his money isn't just sitting in his account waiting for him for when he gets out. I don't see how any of these attacks on foreigners, the Big Joke effect,  solves anything, there is nothing constructive about any of it aside from a way to appropriate peoples assets by the police, cow foreigners into submission for more malleable workers, prop up egos, a false sense of national pride etc  its a rather poor substitute for say enforcing laws, having competent people at entry points to the country who can actually sort out the kind of people that are bad for Thailand. But then again maybe they'll do it, maybe they'll actually execute him, make an example of him hoping the human rights people and international press will not care because of what the guy was involved in. Rather a shame, but most people seem to think if you are criminal you deserve no justice at all, rather ungenerous to say the least, yet if its you whose on the wrong end of things...and particularly if there has been some mistake and you were not guilty of anything, you wouldn't want to be facing the death penalty.

Whether you agree with the death penalty or not, (personally I don't) It is extremely stupid of him to be smuggling/importing/exporting class A drugs in in a country like Thailand where the death penalty exists.  There are plenty of successful businessmen  who come to Thailand and do not get involved in any type of criminal activities. He must have somehow been involved or known what was going on. Even if he had the slightest idea that his money was being used by his wife or third party to smuggle the drugs, he should bailed out FAST!

Edited November 14, 2018 by rowan1981
correct grammer

[catman20]

3 hours ago, petermik said:

The business is now being "run" by his wifes family I am reliably informed

shouldn't be too long for the business to go skint and up for sale soon then. ????

[decca60]

1 hour ago, kcpattaya said:

Interesting read all these comments here...
As if everyone knew the couple - at least we all seem to have an opinion...
Anyway: I knew them both plus their 2 children. 
What "the parents" got is probably well-deserved. It is heartbreaking however: That these innocent kids have to bite the dust.
 

I agree with what you say Sir, I got yo know them as well and the 3 kids. 2 as a couple plus one she had previously with another french guy. My wife and I had respect and confidence for Luke. In the frame of his marine business he helped me with clearing customs, unloading the boat from container and fix all the details to get the boat on water. He was a nice person to deal with, very correct prices for his services, respectfull, involved in what he was doing for me. All documentation in due form and on time. So this guy had full respect from me while he was very helpfull and honest with us. Not the common big mouth expat working here. I recomended him to a friend doing the same operation and he was also very satisfied. I always saw him, even by chance in town driving either his brown Pajero or his Ducati never a Merc or BMW. I also know his boat and it's far away to be a "luxury yacht" although it was a good size cat.

 

I saw his wife twice with the kids. I found her to be a "pompous idiot" pretending to be a layer having an "influent family"....bad luck my wife who is a true one(not thai) found after few chats she didn't know anything about this kind of job. I saw HER driving a Merc..

My wife and I felt from our chairs when we saw them arrested at Swampy last year and even more when we learnt the reasons behind. Although the thai justice should have strong evidences  against them to put them in the death corridor, I still have hard time to believe the Luke I knew has been involved in all that nasty sh..t.

As a summary yes indeed very sad for the kids

 

 

 

 

[Miss Pickle]

Think it is always a bit of a Give Away that something Is Illegal with his cars and Yachts you don’t get that sort of Money running a seedy bar in Soi Buakhao.Deserves all he gets

[catman20]

3 minutes ago, rowan1981 said:

Whether you either agree with the death penalty or not. (personally I don't) It is extremely stupid of him to be smuggling/importing/exporting class A drugs in in a country like Thailand where the death penalty exists.  There are plenty of successful businessmen  who come to Thailand and do not get involved in any type of criminal activities. He must have somehow been involved or known what was going on. Even if he had the slightest idea that his money was being used by his wife or third party to smuggle the drugs, he should bailed out FAST!

taking the short cut, he knew what he was getting into. live by the sword etc.

[rowan1981]

1 minute ago, catman20 said:

taking the short cut, he knew what he was getting into. live by the sword etc.

Exactly!