Franny Slater was a local villain who robbed Benny Lewis's luxury flat in October 1972 and stole £5,000 from the affluent bookie. Franny hatched the plan when he learned that his friend Sharon Duffy, barmaid at The Flying Horse, could get access to a key to the flat as her boyfriend Ray Langton was entertaining her at the flat, pretending the "penthouse" was his to impress her when Fairclough and Langton was doing work there. Sharon had swallowed Ray's lies and was bragging about it to Franny when, incredulous at her gullibility, Franny put her straight and persuaded her to borrow the key so that he could make a copy.