McGEHAN Kris.  Waikato Times; Hamilton, New Zealand. 18 June 1998:

Police sources say Taylor, an escaped armed robber, is an intelligent, formidable criminal.

Waikato police officers who dealt with him during his lengthy criminal career say the 41-year-old, who escaped from Paremoremo Prison on Monday night, knew the law well and used it to his best advantage.

He considered himself a “bush lawyer” and took every opportunity during his stays in jail to read legal books. Taylor, who has Waikato ties, was one of four to escape from Paremoremo’s medium security wing. He escaped with fellow armed robber Matthew Thompson and convicted murderers Graeme Burton and Darren Crowley.

Arthur Taylor would often sit in a Hamilton pub, beer in hand, cigarette hanging from the lips.

Maybe he’d be masterminding his latest bank robbery or thinking of ways to outwit the police.

But those in the know knew not to get on the wrong side of Arthur William Taylor.

He loved robbing banks. He loved guns. Chances are that if he was pushed, he’d use them.

Police sources say Taylor, an escaped armed robber, is an intelligent, formidable criminal.

Waikato police officers who dealt with him during his lengthy criminal career say the 41-year-old, who escaped from Paremoremo Prison on Monday night, knew the law well and used it to his best advantage.

He considered himself a “bush lawyer” and took every opportunity during his stays in jail to read legal books. Taylor, who has Waikato ties, was one of four to escape from Paremoremo’s medium security wing. He escaped with fellow armed robber Matthew Thompson and convicted murderers Graeme Burton and Darren Crowley.

There have been no sightings of the men but a man was to appear in court in Auckland today on charges relating to assisting in their escape.

Police who have dealt with Taylor in the past describe him as extremely dangerous, obsessed with guns and a master of disguise. But he also has a sense of humour.

Taylor was largely unco-operative during police interviews and exuded a cold exterior. One officer believes he may have masterminded the group escape from Paremoremo — “he has the nous and the intelligence to do it.”

Born in Wellington, Taylor moved to Ohinewai, north of Huntly, with his family when he was a child.

He first brushed with the law in his teens in the early 1970s and has seldom been out of trouble since.

He knows the Waikato well and has family and friends scattered throughout the region. He has had a series of de facto relationships and some children.

While Taylor lived mostly in Waikato’s smaller towns, he could often be found drinking in pubs in Dinsdale, Ohaupo and Glenview.

He made gang connections with the Outcasts, Black Power and the Nomads.

His first major crime was the armed robbery of the Otaki TAB in 1980. While serving part of his 4 1/2-year sentence at Oakley psychiatric hospital, he escaped.

In 1992, Mt Eden Prison guards released Taylor by mistake because of a clerical error. He had been convicted for growing cannabis and conspiring to commit armed robbery. Taylor successfully argued in court that his release did not constitute an escape.

He was transferred to Paremoremo later that year after Mt Eden prison guards found a loaded pistol strapped to his back when he returned from court.

Taylor defended himself in his 1993 trial for the aggravated robbery of the Te Kauwhata BNZ bank. He used several stalling tactics in the 5 1/2-week trial in the High Court at Hamilton, initiating lengthy arguments on points of law.

During the trial, the armed offender squad escorted Taylor on his daily trips from Waikeria Prison to the court because police had been told he might escape en route.