Dutch crime boss 'the Nose' gets life for five murders

The Netherlands' most notorious gangster was jailed for life on Thursday for ordering the murders of five people, including his best friend who was an accomplice in the famed 1980s kidnapping of a Heineken beer tycoon.

Willem Holleeder, 61, nicknamed "The Nose" because of his most prominent facial feature, was convicted after his own sisters gave testimony against him despite threats to their own safety.

"His life went from bad to worse, determined by greed, lust for power and violence", said judges at a high-security court in Amsterdam dubbed "De Bunker" as they passed sentence.

Holleeder became a minor celebrity following the abduction of beer heir Freddy Heineken in 1983. The ganglord appeared on television and was even known as the "huggable criminal" for posing for selfies with fans on Amsterdam's beer terraces.

But the public image masked the brutal reality of a gangland enforcer who ruthlessly wiped out anyone who threatened his position as king of the Amsterdam underworld -- including members of his own family.

In scenes reminiscent of Hollywood mob movies the Godfather and Goodfellas, he ordered the murder of Cor van Hout, his former friend and partner in crime in the Heineken abduction.

Van Hout was also the father of the children of Holleeder's sister Sonja but was nevertheless gunned down outside an Amsterdam restaurant in 2003, after two earlier attempts on his life.

His other sister Astrid wrote a best-selling book called "Judas" about her brother, describing what she said were his rages and increasingly brutal and controlling behaviour.

Holleeder is accused of ordering "hits" on both sisters after they testified against him. They were foiled after a fellow prisoner told police.

"The road was hellish, but we did it for this", Astrid was quoted as telling De Telegraaf newspaper. "We have been portrayed as liars and fantasists by my brother and his lawyers but the judges have destroyed that defence."
"The court comes to the conclusion that there is a great risk of repeated violent criminal offences and that a life sentence is therefore appropriate."
In a handwritten note tweeted by his defence counsel, Holleeder spoke of an "unprecedented media campaign' against him, adding: "I can see only that I have been right all the time."