Jacky Imbert

Jacques Imbert (30 December 1929 – 11 November 2019) was a French gang leader who first came to prominence in 1960s Marseille's underworld, where he was considered "The Last Godfather". His nickname "Jacky le Mat" means "Jacky the madman" in Provençal. In prison his cellmate was Gustave Méla, nicknamed "Gu le Terrible", another criminal that would become notorious in the 1960s, and adopted the nickname Jacky Le Mat.

In 1948 Imbert enrolled in the French Army and spent four years in the 15e Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais in Oran, French Algeria. He was discharged for having a "character incompatible with military regulations".

Years with les Trois Canards At the start of the 1950s Imbert joined the Bande des Trois Canards, the "Three Ducks Gang", so-named after the cabaret club which was their den. The gang specialised in burglaries, hold-ups and racketeering, and was said to have built a cellar in their club in which people who resisted paying protection money would be tortured. It was while he was in this gang, mainly composed of Marseille Italians, that Imbert met another future gang leader, Tany Zampa, with whom he would forge a close friendship. Other members were Marius Bertella, Gégène le Manchot (Gégène the one-armed) and Gaétan Alboréo. It was with them that the young Imbert learned the ropes of the trade, becoming a central element of the team, thanks to his self-control and his determination.

Imbert's legitimate work during this period was as a stunt driver, also taking part in races on Marseille's Old Harbour. He became known as a womaniser, with two marriages and six mistresses.

In 1961 he was convicted of pimping in a case involving Raymond Infantes, the kingpin of Oran's brothels, and condemned to six months in prison. Infantes had played on his connections to escape a prison sentence while implicating Imbert, who would never forgive him.

Attempted murder by Zampa Gang On 1 February 1977 Imbert survived a murder attempt by Tony Zampa's crew. He was shot many times and doctors removed twenty-two projectiles, including seven bullets, from his body. His right arm remained paralysed as a result of the attack; though the French newspaper Le Monde wrote, "Small matter, he learned to shoot with the left".

Imbert's revenge came when eleven of Zampa's associates were gunned down for the failed murder attempt. Imbert was later arrested as he allegedly prepared for another killing. No charges were brought against him, and he was released after six months. When he came out a truce had been declared. After this period, Imbert seemed to lead a quiet life between the Caribbean, Italy and France. In the 1980s he was also the public relations man for the discothèque "Bus Palladium" in Paris, which was owned by his friend Richard Erman, a Russian-born businessman.

He was a close friend of Francis "The Belgian" Vanverberghe, another mob boss whose early drug trafficking was described in the movie The French Connection. Vanverberghe was shot dead in a betting club near the Champs-Élysées, Paris, in September 2000.

Trials Police were investigating a criminal operation run by the Russian Mafia who were planning to build a clandestine cigarette factory in a warehouse in a suburb of Marseille.

On 16 June 2006 Imbert was sentenced to four years for extorting money from Paris businessmen in the early 1990s. Imbert's counsel appealed the verdict, but on 2 January 2008 Imbert was sentenced to two years.

In popular culture 22 Bullets, a French film released in 2010, was based on Imbert, who was portrayed by actor Jean Reno.