Ex-Paratrooper, -European Karate Champ & the Hamburg Demi-Monde`s Chief Enforcer : THOMAS "Karate Tommy" BORN

Dishonourably discharged from the West German military (where he had served as a paratrooper) for beating up a non-commissioned officer, Thomas "Karate-Tommy" Born went underground to escape prosecution by civilian authorities. Months later, the former European champion of Shotokan Karate resurfaced in the infamous red light district of Hamburg, the "Reeperbahn". Being strong & good-looking, Born was told by a barmaid, he had everything that it took to "run with the BIG DAWGS". The son of an Air Force ("Luftwaffe") officer and World War II fighter ace was extraordinarily well-spoken for a red light kingpin, but his status as a "Kiez Legend" was as much due to his brutality as to his ability to escape from the seemingly most hopeless odds. Like a cat, Thomas Born seemed to have nine lives. In 1981, for instance, "Karate Tommy" was the sole survivor of a shootout in a Sankt Pauli brothel in the course of which 5 of Born`s associates from the infamous "Nutella Gang" were killed. In 1987, Born was finally brought to trial. Lucky for him, he never had to face trial for several cases of murder in which he had been implicated.