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The Irish Sun
16-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Prison governor jailed over fling with Breaking Bad drug gang boss dubbed ‘Jesse Pinkman' who gifted her £12k Mercedes
A PRISON governor has been jailed over an illicit relationship with a drug gang boss who gifted her a £12,000 Mercedes. Kerri Pegg was seen as a "rising star" in the Prison Service and quickly rose through the ranks to become governor at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire. 8 Kerri Pegg received a car from her lag lover after she green-lit his release Credit: PA 8 She has now been jailed Credit: PA 8 The prison governor had a fling with Anthony Saunderson Credit: Unpixs 8 He gifted her a £12,000 Mercedes Credit: PA But her career is now in ruins after she Pegg, 42, has now been jailed after she was found guilty of two counts of misconduct in a public office. One relates to the divorcee's fling with Saunderson and the second by failing to disclose county court judgements about her debts. She was also convicted of one count of possessing criminal property, the Mercedes car, from Saunderson. Preston Crown Court heard Pegg released Saunderson on licence in 2019 despite not having the authority to approve the bid. After he was granted his freedom, the prisoner used cash from selling 34 kilos of amphetamines to buy Pegg the Mercedes coupe. On April 6, 2020, Saunderson was sent a message on Encrochat saying "car her for ya bird 12 quid or work" and a photo of the vehicle. The court was told "12 quid" meant £12,000 and "work" meant drugs. Most read in The Sun Saunderson asked "what work they want" and he was told "top or weed" - meaning cocaine or cannabis. Two days later, he arranged for "17 packs" to be dropped off in Manchester to pay for the car. The Mercedes was registered in Pegg's name, with a pal messaging Saunderson: "Where u ya seedy man u and Peggy out floating orrel in the new whip?" Law enforcement agencies cracked the criminal's Encrochat and discovered he was involved in drug trafficking on a huge scale. Saunderson, who was also known to his criminal pals as James Gandolfini -the actor who played Tony Soprano in the mafia TV Series - has now been locked up for 35 years. 8 Police found flip flops at Pegg's home that contained Saunderson's DNA 8 She was arrested in November 2020 The court was told other messages revealed the "ongoing nature" of his relationship with Pegg. Police searched her home on November 19, 2020, and found a toothbrush and flip flops containing Saunderson's DNA. Officers also discovered a haul of designer clothing and found Pegg was subject to a number of county court judgements for unpaid debts. Prosecutor Barbara-Louise Webster said: "Her downfall was two-fold, the first, despite having a good income, she lived beyond her means. "She spent all her income and more, incurring debts and she had county court judgements made against her. "As a consequence, she became vulnerable and open to exploitation. "The second was that she became emotionally and personally involved with a serving prisoner, Anthony Saunderson and later accepted an expensive car, a Mercedes C class, which was paid for by him out of his proceeds of criminal activity ie trading in drugs." Pegg joined the prison service in 2012 as a graduate entrant and worked at prisons in Risley, Liverpool and Styal. By April 2018, she was a governor at HMP Kirkham, where Saunderson was serving a lengthy jail term. He had been locked up in 2014 for his part in importing £19m of cocaine in shipments of corned beef from Argentina. From the start, there were concerns about Pegg being inappropriately close to prisoners. It was also noted that she spent a lot of time in her office with Saunderson. In October 2018, he put in a request to be released on temporary licence. Despite Pegg not having the authority to green light his release, she intervened and approved his application without notifying the official who should have dealt with the case. Days later she was moved to another jail, later becoming duty governor at HMP Lancaster Farms. Saunderson meanwhile was revealed as one of nine gangland figures responsible for producing amphetamines on an industrial, multi-million-pound scale. The gang made and dealt 2.6 tonnes of amphetamines worth £1million - as well as trafficking heroin, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, MCAT and diazepam. Tarryn McCaffrey, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "Kerri Pegg's conduct fell far short of what might be expected from any professional within the Prison Service, let alone one of such a senior grade as prison governor. Read more on the Irish Sun "She was clearly involved in an inappropriate relationship with Saunderson after he was released and the evidence points to this going back further, to a time when he was in jail. "This relationship, and the fact that Pegg failed to disclose her debts to her employers, amount to a gross breach of trust and are therefore extremely damaging to public confidence." 8 Pegg started up the relationship while she was prison governor 8 She was seen as a 'rising star' in the prison service Credit: PA
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Guilty – prison governor who had relationship with ‘Jesse Pinkman' drug boss
A 'rising star' prison governor who began a relationship with a Liverpool drug gang boss is facing jail after being convicted of misconduct in a public office. Kerri Pegg, 42, swapped her Honda Jazz for a £12,000 Mercedes C class car, paid for by 34 kilos of amphetamines, by Anthony Saunderson, a major organised crime boss, who is now serving 35 years behind bars. Divorcee Pegg, described in court as, 'petite, blonde and bubbly', signed off on temporary release for Saunderson while she was a governor at HMP Kirkham. Saunderson was known to criminal associates as 'Jesse Pinkman', the drug dealer in Breaking Bad, or 'James Gandolfini', the actor who played Tony Soprano in the mafia TV series. Pegg, a keen gym-goer inside jail, was seen as a 'rising star' in the Prison Service, quickly climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor in six years, along the way also having breast enhancement surgery. During her trial at Preston Crown Court, it emerged Saunderson had developed and delivered a programme, titled BADD (Beating Alcohol and Drug Dependency) for inmates at several jails – while at the time being a major drug dealer, running an amphetamines factory. Pegg claimed her contact with Saunderson was due to his involvement in the BADD programme. But even members of his gang grumbled that their boss was spending too much time with Pegg and away from his wife and 'work'. Pegg was convicted of two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of possession of criminal property. The jury was out for two hours and 43 minutes, following a three-week trial. Pegg made no reaction as the guilty verdicts were delivered. Judge Graham Knowles told Pegg a prison term was 'inevitable', but bailed the defendant to the court building while a sentencing date is arranged either later on Tuesday or at a later date.
BBC News
03-04-2025
- BBC News
HMP Kirkham: Gang boss's DNA 'found at prison governor's flat'
A prison governor has denied being in a relationship with the boss of a drugs gang even though his DNA was found on a toothbrush and flip-flops at her Pegg, 42, is on trial accused of misconduct in a public office after allegedly helping Merseyside criminal Anthony Saunderson get day-release from HMP Kirkham in Lancashire. She told Preston Crown Court that while she had been "incredibly stupid", she believed his DNA had got into her flat because she had taken her toothbrush into work. Ms Pegg is also accused of failing to declare County Court Judgments (CCJs) to Prison Service bosses and accepting a £12,000 Mercedes car from Saunderson, paid for with drugs, after his 2019 release. The jury has previously heard how Ms Pegg was seen as a "rising star" in the Prison Service, climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor within six years. The prosecution allege she began spending more and more time with Saunderson as he came towards the end of his 10-year sentence Prosecutor Barbara Louise-Webster, cross examining Ms Pegg, showed jurors the Size 10 Hugo Boss flip-flops that had been found in her apartment. She suggested Saunderson had been visiting her "a number of times, because you were having a relationship?""No," replied Ms Webster continued: "That's the reason there's a toothbrush with his DNA on it, in your flat. You accept the Hugo Boss flip-flops found in your flat had his DNA and your DNA?""Yes," Ms Pegg said."What size are you?" Ms Webster said."Me, I'm size four," Pegg replied. Earlier in the trial, a tearful Ms Pegg told jurors she did not think she had done anything prosecution said police seized a Mercedes C class saloon outside her home in November addition to the flip-flops and toothbrush, officers also found designer clothes, shoes, handbags and jewellery inside her apartment in Orrell, court heard Saunderson had been given a 10-year jail term in November 2014 for drugs conspiracy and money was moved to HMP Kirkham in June Pegg is alleged to have broken prison rules by approving his temporary release from custody without proper months after his release in May 2019, the court heard he became involved in another conspiracy to supply drugs and was later identified as the boss of a drug gang. Saunderson 'was a colleague' He was found to have been using the handle Jesse Pinkman - referring to a drug-dealing character of that name in the TV crime drama Breaking Bad - to communicate on the Encrochat encrypted mobile phone the same time, in July 2019, the court heard Saunderson was contracted by some prisons to run a project, titled Breaking Alcohol and Drug Dependency (BADD).Ms Pegg, who was involved in co-ordinating drug strategy in a number of prisons, said she was "passionate" about the BADD project and thought of Saunderson not as an ex-inmate but a "colleague".She said this explained her contact with when police cracked the Encrochat system, it revealed Saunderson's drug dealing and his alleged relationship with Ms denies two counts of misconduct in a public office, one by having a relationship with Saunderson and the second by failing to disclose the CCJs. She also denies one count of possessing criminal property, namely the Mercedes from trial was adjourned until Friday. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Telegraph
26-03-2025
- Telegraph
Prison governor's convict boyfriend gave her £12k Mercedes, court told
A prison governor began a relationship with a drug dealer who gave her a £12,000 Mercedes car after she released him on licence from jail, a court heard. Kerri Pegg was seen as a 'rising star' in the Prison Service, quickly climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor in six years, Preston Crown Court heard. But the 42-year-old 'didn't play by the rules' and while governor at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire began a relationship with inmate Anthony Saunderson, who gave her the coupé bought with drug money, it is alleged. When police raided her home in Orrell, Wigan, they found a toothbrush with his DNA on it, jurors heard. Barbara-Louise Webster, opening the case for the prosecution, told the jury of seven women and five men: 'Despite her success, she didn't play by the rules that everybody else had to follow. 'Her downfall was two-fold, the first, despite having a good income, she lived beyond her means. 'She spent all her income and more, incurring debts and she had county court judgments made against her. As a consequence, she became vulnerable and open to exploitation. 'The second was that she became emotionally and personally involved with a serving prisoner, Anthony Saunderson, and later accepted an expensive car, a Mercedes C class, which was paid for by him out of his proceeds of criminal activity, i.e. trading in drugs.' Ms Pegg denies two counts of misconduct in a public office, one by having a relationship with Saunderson and the second by failing to disclose county court judgments about her debts. She also denies one count of possessing criminal property, the Mercedes car. She joined the prison service in 2012 as a graduate entrant, working at prisons including Risley, Liverpool and Styal. By April 2018, she was a governor at HMP Kirkham, where Saunderson was reaching the end of a lengthy sentence for drugs offences. But from the start of her time at the jail, there were concerns about Ms Pegg being inappropriately close to prisoners, jurors heard. It was noted that she spent a lot of time in her office with Saunderson and, in October 2018, he put in a request to be released on temporary licence. Though such requests are routine, there are clear and specific rules for how they should be dealt with – rules which Ms Pegg broke, Ms Webster said. She did not the have authority to approve the release, but intervened and approved the application without notifying the official who should have dealt with it, it is alleged. Days later, she was moved to another jail, and later became duty governor at HMP Lancaster Farms. Saunderson was released from prison in May 2019 and in early 2020 was using an EncroChat encrypted mobile phone, used by organised criminals to send messages and secretly communicate. Drug trafficking When the system was cracked by law enforcement agencies, it showed that Saunderson was involved in drug trafficking. He has since been convicted for those offences. Other messages also showed the 'ongoing nature' of his relationship with Ms Pegg, the court heard. On April 6 2020, Saunderson was sent a message on EncroChat saying 'car her for ya bird 12 quid or work' and a photo of the black Mercedes coupé. The '12 quid' meant £12,000 and 'work' meant drugs. Saunderson asked 'what work they want' and he was told 'top or weed' – that is, cocaine or cannabis. Two days later, Saunderson arranged for '17 packs' to be dropped off in Manchester to pay for the car, it is alleged. The Mercedes was then registered to Ms Pegg at her home on April 11 2020 and a message to Saunderson from a friend read: 'where u ya seedy man u and Peggy out floating orrel in the new whip?' Ms Pegg was arrested at her home on Nov 19 2020. Police found expensive clothes. They also found a toothbrush and a pair of flip-flops. Both items were found to have mixed DNA samples on them, matching the DNA of Ms Pegg and Saunderson.
The Independent
26-03-2025
- The Independent
Prison governor had relationship with drug dealer inmate, court hears
A prison governor began a relationship with a drug dealer who gave her a £12,000 Mercedes car paid for in drugs after she released him on licence from jail, a court heard. Kerri Pegg, 42, was seen as a 'rising star' in the Prison Service, quickly climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor in six years, Preston Crown Court heard. But Pegg 'didn't play by the rules' and while governor at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire began a relationship with an inmate Anthony Saunderson, who gave her the coupe car bought with drugs, it is alleged. When police raided her home in Orrell, Wigan, they found a toothbrush with his DNA on it, jurors heard. Barbara-Louise Webster, opening the case for the prosecution, told the jury of seven women and five men: 'Despite her success she didn't play by the rules that everybody else had to follow. 'Her downfall was two-fold, the first, despite having a good income, she lived beyond her means. 'She spent all her income and more, incurring debts and she had county court judgements made against her. 'As a consequence, she became vulnerable and open to exploitation. 'The second was that she became emotionally and personally involved with a serving prisoner, Anthony Saunderson and later accepted an expensive car, a Mercedes C class, which was paid for by him out of his proceeds of criminal activity ie trading in drugs.' Pegg denies two counts of misconduct in a public office, one by having a relationship with Saunderson and the second by failing to disclose county court judgements about her debts. She also denies one count of possessing criminal property, the Mercedes car, from Saunderson. Pegg joined the prison service in 2012 as a graduate entrant, working at prisons including, Risley, Liverpool and Styal and by April 2018, was a governor at HMP Kirkham, where Saunderson was reaching the end of a lengthy sentence for drugs offences. But from the start of her time at the jail there were concerns about Pegg being inappropriately close to prisoners, jurors heard. It was noted she spent a lot of time in her office with Saunderson and in October 2018, he put in a request to be released on temporary licence. Though such requests are routine there are clear and very specific rules for how they should be dealt with – rules which Pegg broke, Ms Webster said. She did not have authority to approve the release, but intervened and approved the application without notifying the official who should have dealt with it, it is alleged. Days later she was moved to another jail, later becoming duty governor at HMP Lancaster Farms. Saunderson was released from prison in May 2019 and in early 2020, was using an Encrochat encrypted mobile phone, used by serious, organised criminals to send messages and secretly communicate. When the system was cracked by law enforcement agencies it showed Saunderson was involved in massive drug trafficking. He has since been convicted for those offences. But other messages also showed the 'ongoing nature' of his relationship with Pegg, the court heard. On April 6 2020, Saunderson was sent a message on Encrochat saying 'car her for ya bird 12 quid or work' and a photo of the black Mercedes coupe. The '12 quid' meant £12,000 and 'work' meant drugs. Saunderson asked 'what work they want' and he was told 'top or weed' – that is, cocaine or cannabis. Two days later Saunderson arranged for '17 packs' to be dropped off in Manchester to pay for the car, it is alleged. The Mercedes was then registered to Pegg at her home on April 11 2020 and a message to Saunderson from a friend read: 'where u ya seedy man u and Peggy out floating orrel in the new whip?' Pegg was arrested at her home on November 19 2020, with police finding expensive items of designer clothes. They also found a toothbrush and a pair of flip flops at her flat. Both items were found to have mixed DNA samples on them, matching the DNA of Pegg and Saunderson. And paperwork seized showed Pegg was the subject of a number of county court judgements for unpaid debts. The trial continues.
