May 18, 2008
Excellent movie! Relentlessly intense and depressing. Powerhouse performances by Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. At Close Range is based on the true story of one of the most notorious gangs in the history of Pennsylvania that was led by Bruce Johnston.
The True Story -
Th...( read more)e gang and its wide network stole primarily in Chester County, according to a 1980 Pennsylvania Crime Commission report, but they made their way into Lancaster County on several occasions. They also crossed the state lines to Maryland and Delaware. They stole items ranging from antiques to drugs.
In each break-in or theft, gang members used their skill in picking locks, cracking safes and disarming or averting security systems. They used walkie-talkies and police scanners. While planning a job in one part of the county, they would divert the state police by phoning a false report elsewhere.
The Crimes -
1971
August 1971: Dutch Wonderland's castle on Lincoln Highway East. One of the men pried open the door to the park's shop, a small building hidden from the road. The burglars gathered a hammer, crowbar, rope and torch. They brought their own walkie-talkies. The men prepared for descent into the park office, in what would later become the worst-ever burglary of the popular tourist attraction. The police believe the culprits were David, Norman and Bruce Johnston Sr and their associates - all members of the "Johnston Gang". The burglars got
$33,000 worth of loot.
1975
The gang broke into the Meadie Heights Country Club's pro shop. They made off with $15,000 in money and golf equipment later that year. They drilled holes in the side of the Meadia Heights pro shop and disarmed the alarm system. They dynamited the safe. None of the merchandise was recovered.
1976
Janet Gazzerro and her husband Frank were convicted of bribing a juror who was on the Chester County Common Pleas Court where among others Bruce Johnston Sr was accused of the theft of a tractor. Janet and Frank received $83,000 in stolen Oriental rugs, jewelry and furs. Janet said that Bruce Sr gave her two or three garden tractors, she kept one or two and the third one went to the juror. Bruce Sr, David and Norman Johnston and Roy Myers were acquitted of the theft charges.
1978
April: The brothers transported $21,900 in stolen cigarettes across state lines. They all pleaded guilty to this crime in 1981.
May: The three brothers stole $28,000 from Longwood Gardens in Chester County. In 1981 they were serving two-to-four year sentences for convictions on state charges of this crime.
The Kiddy Gang -
In 1977 Bruce Johnston Jr. started the Kiddy gang under supervision of his dad Bruce Sr. With the Kiddy gang, they stole small garden tractors, dealt in cigarettes and a lot more. They also stole car parts for Bruce Sr. to resell.
In the summer of 1977, while Bruce Jr. was in prison for petty crimes, his girlfriend Robin Miller claimed she had been raped. Bruce Jr., then 20, agreed to testify against the family, according to newspaper accounts of the gang.
As investigators began questioning other members of the gang, including Bruce Sr.'s stepson Jimmy Johnston, the three senior Johnstons plotted to kill the informants.
In August 1977, Jimmy Johnston and three other members of the Kiddy gang were shot in the head and dumped in a hole. Kiddy gang member James Sampson - whose younger brother was killed earlier - demanded to know where his brother was and was killed in the same way.
Norman and David tried to carry out a $15,000 contract placed by Bruce Sr. on his son. On August 30, 1977, Bruce Jr. was shot nine times during an attack outside his then-fiancée Robin Miller's area home. He survived and later testified against his father and uncles. Miller died in the attack.
Bruce Jr was placed in the federal witness protection program . He has since left the program and goes by his real name.
Although the movie doesn't cover all of this it does show a great deal of what really happened. Very intense movie and very sad too. This is definitely a must see. Powerful, powerful film...and scary as well(in the real life sense). Highly Recommended!
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