Bent cop dubbed ‘The Sheriff of Soho’ after accepting bribes of dominatrix dances and call girls is jailed
A BENT cop dubbed “The Sheriff of Soho” for accepting bribes of dominatrix dances and call girls has been jailed.
Frank Partridge, 49, turned a blind eye to crime including violent brawls and sexual assault in return for extravagant bungs.
The sergeant, who was in charge of policing 3,000 clubs, bars and restaurants, attended Premier League games, gigs and a £3,000-a head ticket for a charity party at Elton John‘s Berkshire home.
He also accepted escort services, an £8,000 family holiday to Morocco, meals at luxury restaurants and bespoke suits while in charge of licencing in London’s West End.
When he was eventually arrested, officers found a video of Partridge being whipped by a dominatrix dressed as Cat Woman.
The clip of the laughing cop was on a phone belonging to Ryan Bishti, 43, the owner of Cirque Le Soir nightclub in Soho.
Partridge has now been jailed for seven-and-a-half years at Southwark Crown Court.
He admitted three counts of bribery relating to a made-to-measure suit, bespoke shirts, entertainment at the Cirque le Soir and tickets to events – including Wireless Festival and a Metallica gig.
The cop was found guilty of four bribery charges but was cleared of one count relating to a Man Utd shirt signed by Wayne Rooney.
Bishti and two other defendants were convicted of one charge of bribery.
Phillip Evans, KC, prosecuting, earlier said: “[Partridge] had responsibilities for consulting with police at the City of Westminster Licencing Unit – the local authority responsible for granting licences to commercial premises who wanted to sell alcohol, situated most particularly in the West End of London.
“In short, he was responsible for policing the licenced premises at the West End and the other defendants in this trial either worked in that licensed trade or had an indirect interest in it.
“The relevant police department, where Frank Partridge worked, would therefore have a significant influence on, whether premises were granted licenses, on what conditions those licenses had attached to them and if granted, a significant influence on whether the premises kept the license.
“He developed and nurtured relationships with those he was charged with policing, and he used those relationships for his own benefit and in turn for their benefit.”
On one occasion, the cop was tasked with reviewing the licence for Dstrkt nightclub after a “shocking list” of sexual assaults allegedly took place.
Owner Anna Ginandes booked a family holiday for Partridge and his family at the Mazagan Beach and Golf Resort in Morocco to avoid him shutting the venue down.
She also treated him and his wife to a £382.38 meal at the Sumosan Japanese restaurant in Mayfair, where the manager was told to treat Partridge as a “VIP guest”.
When fights kept erupting at Sketch nightclub, Partridge recommended a security firm, who repaid him in bespoke suits and a ticket to an Elton John charity bash.
The corrupt cop, who left the force in 2016, also spent the night at the Battersea home of Bishti along with two escorts.
He joined the police in 1992 as part of the Metropolitan Police Clubs and Vice Unit overseeing those providing security for licensed premises and the licensing trade organisations.
Bishti was convicted of one charge of bribery and the jury were not asked to return a verdict on the alternative count.
Ginandes, 45, and Terry Neil, 55, the boss of security firm TSS, were also found guilty of one count of bribery and cleared of another.
Neil’s ex-wife Soraya Henderson, 57, and Eamonn Mulholland, 55, were cleared of both charges.