Crossword Genius

Son: a cruel, wicked criminal (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

larcenous

'criminal' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'son a cruel wicked' is the wordplay.
'wicked' indicates anagramming the letters.
'son'+'a'+'cruel'='sonacruel'
'sonacruel' anagrammed gives 'LARCENOUS'.

(Other definitions for larcenous that I've seen before include "Related to theft" , "Thievish" , "Relating to theft" , "Inclined to appropriate" , "concerning certain crimes" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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