Cape Town - He was called the “Gentleman’s gangster,” and went from being a child entrepreneur baking peanut clusters in his mom's kitchen to becoming one of the most notorious underworld figures in the City and country.
Mark Roy Lifman, 57, was shot dead outside a shopping mall in George on November 3.
Police quickly arrested two suspects – Johannes Jacobs and Gert Bezuidenhout. They are facing murder charges.
Lifman led a double-life. He was always neatly dressed, often in a suit, his hair slicked back and he wore sunglasses. He could easily have been mistaken for a headmaster or even a professional in the business sector.
He was a husband and father and kept his family life private and out of the troubles that had followed him since 1999, say high-ranking police officials who spoke anonymously to the Weekend Argus.
Seasoned journalist and author, Mandy Wiener, in her book, Ministry of Crime, details his prolific life.
In an interview she had with him, he had disclosed his personal life, growing up in Rondebosch and Sea Point in a Jewish family, to his first taste of the property and security industries and nightclubs.
Lifman had an entrepreneurial mind. He began his business ventures at a young age, baking peanut clusters and coconut ice, then pies. He moved on to horse racing but was banned after allegations of intimidation, including run-ins with the taxman and the property and security industries, surfaced.
Lifman attended Sea Point High school and later enrolled in the army.
That was followed by a stint in technical college.
He dreamt of driving and owning flashy cars.
In her book, Weiner says it was when Lifman tried his hand at property, that he began purchasing homes in Eerste River, Kuils River, Brackenfell and, later, Delft. It would be there where he and Jerome “Donkey” Booysen, the alleged leader of the Sexy Boys gang, would cross paths.
Booysen worked for the City of Cape Town at the time. Lifman purchased three properties in Delft for R10 and began receiving threats from gangsters. That was when Booysen apparently stepped in to keep trouble at bay.
This was the version Lifman had revealed during his exclusive interview.
A now-retired police officer, who worked in intelligence, profiling underworld figures, said Lifman and Booysen had become close friends when they had started getting involved in property.
“Jerome and Mark were tight property magnates for a very long time, using the Sexy boys to strong-arm people at auctions to keep bids.”
It seemed Lifman had someone watching over him for a while – despite being arrested 12 times since 1999, he was never convicted.
Another police official said Lifman's rap sheet included charges of assault, reckless driving, pointing of a firearm, intimidation, indecent assault and murder.
Lifman became known publicly in 2005 when he was accused of the indecent assault of seven boys and made appearances in the Atlantis Magistrate's Court. He denied that he was a paedophile.
Lifman, who had been granted R200 000 bail, pleaded not guilty to the charges, including that of the attempted murder of a man who had procured the boys, and defeating the ends of justice.
Lifman was acquitted. The State's case had collapsed because of issues with witnesses.
IOL reported earlier this week that the National Prosecuting Authority said the murder trial of steroid king Brian Wainstein would go ahead.
Lifman had shared the dock with Booysen, Andre Naude, Egan Norman, Sam Farquharson, Wayne Henderson, Ricardo Maarman, Typhene Jantjies, Bevan Ezaus, Bradley De Bula, Kashief Hanslo, Rowendel Stevens, Ismail Cupido and Igor Russol.
The State is set to prove that Lifman was the main accused in the murder of Wainstein and had conspired with Nafiz Modack, Colin Booysen, Carl Lakay, Ashley Fields, Emile Goodley and James Dalton to kill Wainstein.
It has yet to be revealed what Lifman's net worth was.