Memmber of a criminal gang in Paris , he took the nickname Jacky le Mat meaning the crazy. He was suspected of many crimes but was only condemned in 2008 after an incredible life in horse-racing and in the margins of show business.
He survived in 1977 a killing attempt hit by 22 bullets . This event is the basis of the novel by Franz-Olivier Giesbert "L'Immortel" that became the eponymous movie titled in English 22 Bullets.