A former gangster known as Rhyl’s “Mr Big” has been jailed for four years and 11 months for a campaign of coercive control and violence against his partner and her sister, in a case a judge called one of the worst of its kind that could be contemplated.

John Gizzi, 55, of Cwttir Lane, St Asaph, was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on Thursday, 12 November. He received four years in prison for coercive and controlling behaviour towards Natasha Farah, known as Tasha, and a further 11 months for the intentional strangulation of her sister, Samantha Farah.

Judge Simon Mills said Gizzi had subjected Tasha to “appalling” behaviour and used “dreadful misogynistic language” towards her as part of a process of humiliation and of destroying her self-worth. He described the case as “one of the worst cases of coercive control, in the context of domestic abuse, that can be contemplated”, and said Gizzi had a “troubling history”.

A campaign of control and violence

Gizzi pleaded guilty to using coercive and controlling behaviour against Tasha between 1 March 2025 and 8 April 2026. Prosecutor Elen Owen told the court the couple had begun a relationship in 2024, and that the abuse that followed was both verbal and physical.

The court heard that Gizzi told Tasha to “die and do us all a favour”, controlled the clothes she wore, rammed her car, threatened her with a dumbbell and pushed her into a hotel swimming pool. He also tossed her clothes onto a roof when he found her at a train station. In one incident at Colwyn Bay Football Club, he tore off a rear-view mirror of the Mercedes she was driving and then punched her while she was still inside the car. The court heard he assaulted her on Valentine’s Day, Boxing Day and Mother’s Day, leaving her with no happy memories of those days.

Tasha’s injuries and her family’s words

Tasha was found hanging at her home in April this year. She suffered brain damage and now needs round-the-clock hospital care. There is no evidence that Gizzi was directly responsible for the injuries she sustained in that incident, but the court heard that the investigation into her condition uncovered the catalogue of abuse.

Her mother, Denise Farah, read a statement to the court describing the “devastating impact” of his actions on the family. She said: “It is the stuff of extreme nightmares. All our precious lives will never, ever be the same again. There has been pain, grief, anger, torture and intense heartache for my beautiful daughter Natasha.” The family branded Gizzi a “monster” and “the devil in disguise”.

Denise Farah told the court that visiting her daughter in hospital for seven months, knowing she was brain damaged and that as a mother she could do nothing, was “pure hell”. She said her grandson Roman, Tasha’s only boy, adores his mother and is going through hell himself.

Strangulation of her sister

Gizzi also admitted the intentional strangulation of Samantha Farah on 3 April this year, after grabbing her by the neck in a pub. Her mother told the court Samantha had also been rammed by Gizzi’s four-by-four, and is now “a shell of herself”, nervous and anxious and not wanting to go out, and that her relationship had broken down.

Sentence, orders and police response

Alongside the main sentence, Judge Mills gave Gizzi a four-month concurrent jail term for failing to disclose a mobile phone PIN to police. He was made the subject of a restraining order and a domestic abuse protection order, both lasting 15 years. Duncan Bould, defending, said his client had “expressed regret and accepted responsibility for his violent behaviour and the harm he caused in the relationship”.

Detective Constable Rebecca Donaghy, of North Wales Police, said the guilty pleas reflected the serious nature of the offending and the sustained controlling and coercive behaviour Gizzi subjected his victim to over an extended period. She said the pattern of behaviour had a profound and lasting effect on her freedom, independence, confidence and sense of safety, and that violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour, remains an absolute priority for the force.

Anyone affected by domestic abuse can seek confidential support. In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted at any time on 116 123. The case was reported in detail by BritBrief and by Hits Radio North Wales.