Anthony "White Tony" Johnson

Anthony "White Tony" Johnson
Johnson 1990
Native name	Anthony James Johnson
Born	22 July 1968 Manchester, England
Died	22 February 1991 (Aged 22) Penny Black Pub, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England
Cause of death	Shooting
Resting place	Southern Cemetery, Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester
Other names	Johnson White Tony
Occupation	Criminal
Years active	1984 - 1991
Known for	Head Of Cheetham Hill Gang
Home town	Manchester
Opponent(s)	Desmond Noonan
Criminal status	Deceased
Allegiance	Cheetham Hill Gang
Time at large	1984 - 1991

Anthony James "White Tony" Johnson^[1] (22 July 1968 – 22 February 1991) was an English organised crime figure, the one-time head of the Cheetham Hill Gang in Manchester. He was murdered in 1991 when he was gunned down in the car park of the Penny Black pub, Cheetham Hill. Fellow organised crime figure Desmond Noonan was tried for the murder, but acquitted.

Early life

Johnson was raised in a home mired with tragedy. His mother was 15 when she had him, and neither she nor his natural father spent much time with him. For most his childhood he lived with his grandmother, Winnie Johnson, in her modest semi-detached house in Fallowfield in south Manchester. Winnie had suffered the loss of her 12-year-old son in 1964, Keith Bennett. Keith was killed by the Moors Murderers.

Johnson wasn't big, but was muscular and good in a fight. On one occasion Johnson was with a friend at the Arndale Centre when two black youths attacked Johnson's friend. Johnson's friend said "Tony didn't hesitate; he just went straight into them, and the black lads backed off", adding "he had no fear at all".

Johnson left school at 16 in 1984. He began work as a window cleaner and glazier, which did not last long. His mother stated "I knew he was into something shady because you don't claim dole and drive around in a flash car". His grandmother knew Johnson was involved in illegal activities when her house was raided by police. Johnson refused Winnie's questions about his criminal activities, telling her to "Mind your own bleeding business...".

Winnie Johnson said he was obsessive over clothes, often watching her ironing his clothes to make sure no creases were left.

Johnson had a girlfriend, and soon, a baby daughter. "He loved his little daughter. But I don't think his girlfriend's family wanted her to have anything to do with him," said a relative.

He had befriended Tony McKie, often called "Black Tony", as well as the Adetoro Brothers, who were famous for their shoot out with police on the M6 in April 2000, leading to Olatunde Yakub Adertoro's 8-back-to-back life sentences.^[2] All of them were associates of Cheetham Hill. They gradually became full-time members of the Hillbillies.

Gang involvement

The Cheetham Hillbillies operated in the Waterloo Estate in the 1980s and 1990s. The gang specialised in blags, pushing drugs in clubs and violence. Johnson had been involved in the Cheetham Hill Gang for years prior to his death.^[3]

Johnson began as a lowly member of the gang, where he often committed robberies and gang member hits. He was involved in a killing on Saturday, January 9, 1988, of rival gang member Anthony "Sketch" Gardner, who was 26. Gardner was a member of a local Moss Side based gang. As Gardner drew up outside a sheban on Saturday, January 9, 1988, Johnson stepped out of the shadows, pulled a sawn-off shotgun from under his coat, pressed it against Gardner’s chest, and fired. It took Gardner about a minute to die on the pavement. Hearing the shots and believing the police had arrived, customers poured out of the sheban, throwing their drugs into the street. Later police found more than £1,000-worth of heroin and cocaine abandoned.^[4]

He advanced up the ranks to become the driver and bodyguard for the then leader of The Cheetham Hill Hillbillies, ferrying him around in a Ford Sierra Cosworth.

In February 1990, the Pepperhill Mob lost a kilo and half of heroin from a contact the gang had in London. Two people carrying the heroin were arrested and the heroin was seized, which led to a drought of heroin in Manchester and left the Pepperhill Mob vulnerable. Johnson moved on this, which led to a Cheetham Hill-Moss Side gang war. Later, the Hillbillies gunned down Delroy Brown, the leader of the Pepperhill Mob, to no avail.

Johnson and a few Cheetham Hill Gang members tipped Brown's car over in front of hundreds of people at a festival in Moss Side, to prove their power and intent towards the Pepperhill Mob.

In 1990, Johnson was spotted by police in a Kevlar (bullet proof) jacket, with semi-automatic firearms. This was a major discovery by the police, as they previously had little knowledge of the weapons and equipment used by gangs in Manchester at the time.^[5]

The police began multiple operations to seize guns and drugs form the Hillbillies, with little impact.

Johnson, with other gang members, was at the West Indian Carnival in Chapletown, Leeds when a scuffle with people at the carnival led to a shoot out. Multiple people were shot, many of them civilians. This led to Johnson's arrest. Two gang members accompanying Johnson were imprisoned, while Johnson was released.

Johnson got his name because although he was a white man, he led a predominantly Afro-Caribbean gang.

Johnson was involved in many other criminal activities, including a £362,000 security van robbery at Mumps Bridge, Oldham, in November 1990, which led to his feud with the Noonans. A month later he robbed Bassett's sweet factory in Sheffield, where he, with two other masked gunmen, chased payroll guards of the factory. They left with around £78,000.

Club-related violence

Johnson had a notorious reputation for getting into fights in the The Haçienda. After Roger Kennedy,a respected doorman who was able to keep a lid on the Manchester gangs, left and was replaced with a London firm, the violence escalated. Two weeks after the replacement, Johnson threatened one of the doorman with a gun. Tony Wilson was so aggravated by gang attacks, mainly from Johnson, that he agreed to close down the The Haçienda. With police help, it opened again, and the Cheetham Hillbillies started attacking club goers and staff. On one occasion, Johnson grabbed a microphone and stated that he was "Top Dog".^[6]

A London Firm doorman quoted a conversion he had with Johnson:

Johnson: "You're not showing me any respect."

Doorman: "What respect are you showing me? You could buy and sell me ten times over and you're giving me shit on the door over 3 quid."

Johnson: "I could do something."

Doorman: "I'm always here, so you know where I am if you want to"

Johnson: "You're a cheeky bastard, you."

Doorman: "If you ask me 'Can I come in for nothing?' rather than telling me, that's different. I'm not gonna argue over 3 quid, but you are."

Johnson: "So I'm alright for coming in then?"

Doorman : "Yeah, 3 quid..."

Johnson: "Cheeky Bastard."

Doorman: "You pay to get in and I'll get you a drink..."

The doorman also quoted the following conversation as an example of Johnson's troublemaking attitude, which took place when Johnson sat on the bonnet of a car belonging to the Licensing Police, who occasionally visited the club:

Doorman: "Look, I'm going to get some shit. Would you please get off the car?"

Johnson: "Why aren't they coming out to tell me?"

Doorman: "Because they know they can make me do it, Tony."

Doorman: "He went "Alright, then."

Later that year, Johnson threatened one of the doormen with a gun, leading Tony Wilson to close down the The Haçienda. Making a big spectacle to news to try to get the police to intervene in order to re-open the Haçienda.

Death

At a New Year party in 1991, a gun-toting 22-year-old Johnson threatened some of Damian Noonan's successors on the door at the Haçienda. Johnson was already in trouble with members of the Noonan family because of a dispute over the division of the spoils from a £362,000 security van robbery at Mumps Bridge, Oldham, in November 1990.

Johnson was shot in the car park of the Penny Black pub (Winterford Road), Cheetham Hill, in February 1991. The Pub, which was closed and torched shortly after the attack, was part owned by Derek Noonan of the notorious Irish-Mancunian crime family. Desmond Noonan, brother of Domenyk, was tried for the murder but acquitted. This led to Desmond Noonan being stabbed to death 24 years later.^[7]

The gun battle started with Johnson being ambushed in the car park of the Penny Black pub. Johnson was with "Black Tony" McKie, and was driving along in his White Ford Cosworth^[8] when they were flagged down by two men in a car in the pub car park. Their escape was blocked by a taxi with Paul Flannery inside. Flannery, who was wheelchair bound, shot Tony Mckie. McKie then began to run to a nearby house. Brothers Desmond, Derek and Damian Noonan, and Michael Sharples, joined in the attack. Johnson was hit in the back as he tried to get away. Someone then shouted: 'Finish him off,' and two shots were fired. He was shot in the neck and through the mouth.^[9][10]

Tony McKie underwent major surgery, as the bullet wound left him too sedated to be interviewed. When he recovered he refused to speak to authorities or to testify in court.

Johnson's funeral was attended by over 200 people. A 30 car strong motorcade pulled up to the Southern Cemetery, Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. So many people attended the funeral that the service spilled from the chapel to the main graveyard.

After his death Tony Wilson decided to open the The Haçienda again.

The Noonan gang were tried twice for Johnson's murder. The first trial in 1992 collapsed, and the second in 1993 ended in acquittals. The Greater Manchester Police are not looking for any alternative suspects. In 1999, Damian Noonan was shot while on the door at the Phoenix Club in the city.

Johnson was survived by his three children.^[11]

References