Fog on the Tyne

by Bernard O'Mahoney

  The West End community breathed a huge sigh of relief when they learned of John Henry’s imprisonment, because they believed that an all-out war with the Conroys had been averted. ‘Temporarily postponed’ may have been a more accurate description of the situation, as neither party was of a forgiving nature. However, John Henry’s imprisonment did take the sting out of the situation, and the families went from being on red alert to amber. Family members would see one another in the street, but little was said, although in time they did begin to exchange strained pleasantries.

  In the late ’80s and early ’90s, there was a huge rise in the number of counterfeit goods being produced in the north-east of England, and it wasn’t just T-shirts and handbags that were being made. Booze, cigarettes and even car parts were being imported and relabelled as the genuine item. Some items were mass-produced locally in small factories and warehouses. Scottish & Newcastle Breweries were forced to reduce their staff following a significant fall in sales in 1998, and this was accredited solely to the activities of bootleggers earlier in the decade. The manufacturing, sale and purchasing of counterfeit goods became extremely popular, simply because people did not consider them to be real crimes. The huge corporations whose goods were being reproduced were, it was felt, already making more than enough money from the public, and so taking a little back would not do them any harm. They were, of course, wrong. Both the music industry and the film industry have had to totally rethink how to market their products, because in recent years they have lost millions of pounds in revenue to the bootleggers.

  Never one to miss a business opportunity, Paddy decided to look into the production and distribution of fake designer T-shirts. A man named Tommy Cowan was flooding the north-east with fake Newcastle United football shirts, and so Paddy went to him for advice. Unbeknown to Paddy at the time, Tommy and a man named John Lee had become the new owners of the Hydraulic Crane pub. When Paddy first approached Tommy, Tommy said that he didn’t wish to have any involvement with him or his business ventures, as he was well aware of his reputation. However, Paddy did manage to get the first batch of T-shirts made via Tommy after sending a third party to him with his order.

  Once the garments had been delivered and Tommy had been paid, Paddy visited him once more. Paddy explained that the T-shirts that he had recently made had in fact been for him. Tommy had been paid in full, there had been no problems and, therefore, after much deliberation, Paddy was able to persuade Tommy to sell him the fake T-shirts in bulk on a regular basis. After a month or two, Paddy received a visit from a man named Dickey Ford, who said that he shouldn’t be doing business with Tommy because he was a police informant. ‘Rip him off,’ Ford urged Paddy. ‘It’s all the fucking grass deserves.’

  ‘Who said he is a police informant?’ Paddy replied. ‘I don’t listen to rumours. If he is a grass, I want to see proof.’

  The next time Paddy saw Dickey, he asked him if he had the paperwork that would prove to him that Tommy was a grass. Rather meekly, Dickey replied, ‘A man named John Lee had it, but he has had to give it back to the policeman he got it from.’ Paddy didn’t mention the fact that he now knew John Lee was Tommy Cowan’s partner in the Hydraulic Crane, but he did ask how Lee had managed to acquire sensitive paperwork from a policeman. ‘John Lee’s sister goes out with a policeman, and he got the information from the police computer,’ Dickey replied. ‘Because he had to enter his name and badge number in order to access the information, he insisted that John give the paperwork back to him once he had read it.’

  Paddy told Dickey that the first thing he ought to do was to go to see John Lee and ask him what he thought he was doing sitting down having cosy chats with a policeman. Paddy then advised Dickey to ask his friend why a policeman would be feeding him such sensitive information if he wasn’t getting anything back in return. Dickey seemed troubled by Paddy’s response and left without saying another word. Paddy chose not to say anything to Tommy about his partner’s betrayal or about the allegations that people were making. As far as Paddy was concerned, there was no evidence to suggest the man was an informant, and so he would continue to do business with him as normal.

  About a month later, Michael and Stephen Sayers knocked on Paddy’s door and said they had heard he was interested in purchasing an embroidery machine. Paddy had been watching how Tommy produced the fake garments. It appeared to be none too complicated a procedure, and so he had made enquiries about obtaining a machine for himself. Paddy was told that a large embroidery machine would cost in the region of £12,000, and so he decided to seek out a heavily discounted one via his criminal associates. Moments after answering the door, Paddy was in a car with the Sayers brothers heading towards a rendezvous with a person who had such an item for sale. When they pulled up outside the Hydraulic Crane pub, Paddy had a good idea who he was going to be introduced to.

  John Lee shook Paddy’s hand warmly when the Sayers brothers introduced him, and said he had heard that Paddy wished to purchase a cheap embroidery machine. Paddy didn’t know if Lee was aware that he knew he was Tommy’s partner or if he knew that he had spoken to Dickey Ford about his allegations, but his demeanour and the conversation suggested that he was oblivious to both facts. Lee described the machine and told Paddy the address where it could be found, which, of course, was Tommy’s house. ‘That’s your partner’s address, isn’t it?’ Paddy asked. Stuttering and mumbling, Lee was unable to give a satisfactory answer or explanation, and so Paddy walked back out of the pub, leaving Lee and the Sayers brothers behind.

  The next time Paddy visited Tommy to collect his T-shirts, he sat him down and told him what had been going on behind his back. ‘Have you got problems with these people, Tommy?’ Paddy asked. Hesitating at first, Tommy began to tell Paddy about a campaign of intense bullying and harassment by his partner and others to get him out of the pub. The Enterprise Zone had attracted lots of new businesses whose employees were frequenting the Hydraulic Crane at lunchtimes, and it was growing into a very successful business.

  ‘They are demanding to buy me out, Paddy. What can I do?’ Tommy asked, almost in desperation. Paddy knew exactly what Lee, Ford and their friends the Sayers were up to. They were trying to force Tommy out of the pub so that they could take over a lucrative business for peanuts. Paddy told Tommy that he still had enough money to buy a share of the pub from him and mentioned that if he did become involved in the business once more nobody would dare to try to intimidate him.

  The following day, Paddy handed over £10,000 in cash and became partners in the pub with not only Tommy but also John Lee. The atmosphere between Lee and Paddy could at best be described as dire, and Paddy ensured that it remained that way for several weeks, until Lee suggested that he wanted to sell his share of the business. After handing over another £20,000 in cash, Paddy became the joint owner of the Hydraulic Crane with Tommy, and the business went from strength to strength thereafter. To prevent objections from the police, Paddy was essentially a silent partner, but everybody knew that the pub was his concern.

  During the day, they served food for office staff and general workers, and by 6 p.m. the locals would begin to arrive. The pub was always busy with the type of people who were not afraid to spend their money, and Paddy’s presence ensured that there was never any trouble. For the first time in his life, Paddy Conroy genuinely believed that he was finally going to be able to settle down to living some form of normal existence with his family. But, as always, fate was waiting in the wings, preparing to knock him back down with the cruellest of blows.

  Chapter Four

  IN THE NAME OF HIS FATHER

  THE BULL WAS arrested after a trail of stolen goods that had been taken during ram raids led the police to the Conroys’ front door. Nobody was surprised. The police, however incompetent you may think they are, always get you one way or another. A prison sentence looked inevitable, and so the Bull decided to postpone his free holiday within the confines of one of Her Majesty’s Victorian retreats to go on the
run. It’s inconceivable that the Bull imagined he was going to evade capture for all time. No doubt he had made prior arrangements that clashed with Northumbria Police’s plans for him, and so he had chosen to delay the justice that awaited him. Unfortunately for all of the Conroy family, a much darker cloud loomed on the horizon. In the absence of the Bull, Paddy’s mother had gathered all her children in the front room and broken the terrible news that their father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

  The Conroy family was naturally devastated, but, true to form, their father, Leonard, refused to let them show him any sympathy or concern for his fate. Leonard simply told his children that he didn’t want any fuss – what will be, will be – and that they should continue living their lives as before. As soon as the Bull heard about Leonard’s condition, he handed himself in to the police and explained that he had done so in order to be there for the Conroy family. Unfortunately, the police failed to reciprocate the Bull’s humane good intent and asked magistrates to remand him in custody to await trial. They, of course, duly obliged.

  It was the Bull’s first time in prison, and, coupled with the knowledge of Leonard’s deteriorating health, he found it extremely difficult to cope with. Leonard had been the Bull’s father in every way but name, and the Conroy children’s feelings of despair and sadness were no greater than his. When rumours began to circulate about protest marches being organised throughout the West End to highlight the lack of compassion being shown to the Bull, the authorities’ ice-cold attitude began to thaw, and when the Bull reapplied for bail it was granted. For nine long months, Leonard Conroy followed the advice that he had given to his family and got on with his life. He drank with his friends and went about his business as if there was nothing wrong with him.

  When the disease did eventually overcome Leonard, he lay on his deathbed struggling to breathe. A doctor was called, and he suggested performing a tracheotomy, a procedure whereby a tube is inserted into the patient’s throat to make good his airway. The doctor explained that Leonard was near death but that a tracheotomy might prolong his life for a few more days. Shaking his head, Leonard glared at the well-meaning doctor and indicated that he was refusing any further treatment. He had lived his life with his head held high, and he wanted it to end with dignity. It was hard for the Conroy family to let Leonard go sooner than they should have had to, but none of them was going to argue with him. Not long after, a paramedic arrived at the Conroy home and tried to intervene, but Leonard’s brother Billy grabbed hold of him and bundled him outside the front door. With his family standing proud and as one around him, Leonard Conroy closed his eyes and passed away peacefully shortly afterwards. It was the only fight that Leonard had ever lost in his life. He was a real man’s man, a gentleman, and his children were very proud to have called him Father.

  Leonard’s funeral was the largest gangland funeral the north-east had ever known. Everybody turned out to pay their respects to him. Paddy, on the other hand, tried hard to pretend that the funeral wasn’t happening. He refused to look at all the mourners. Instead, he sat in a car at the head of the funeral cortège with his head bowed, just staring at the floor. After Leonard’s death, the Bull appeared in court and was sentenced to serve a short prison sentence, Neil kept the residents of the West End of Newcastle stocked up with electrical goods from his ram raids and Paddy continued to strive to make an almost honest living.

  Upon the Bull’s release from prison, he and Neil were asked to frequent the Green Tree pub in Benwell Village by the owner, Harry Perry. In his prime, Perry had been one of the guv’nors in Newcastle, but age and injuries received from being shot had convinced him that it was time to take a back seat. The Green Tree pub had been attracting an undesirable element of late, and Perry thought that the presence of the Bull and Neil on the premises would deter people from causing trouble. For their services, the Bull and Neil were paid a small wage and were given free access to the bar. After several weeks and as many bloody battles, the Bull and Neil had cleared the pub of urban warriors, but Harry Perry had failed to pay them. Despite the messages the Bull and Neil left with the bar staff about their overdue wages, Perry refused to contact them, and so one evening they decided to wait in the pub for him to arrive.

  The Bull and Neil were playing pool and enjoying a drink when Perry eventually walked into the bar. Trying to keep relations amicable, the Bull politely reminded Perry that they had not been paid, and Perry replied, ‘Come and see me upstairs in a few minutes, and I will sort that out for you both.’ When they had finished playing their game, the Bull and Neil went upstairs to a dining area, which they discovered was empty except for their once infamous employer, who was propping up the bar. As they approached him, Perry pulled out a revolver from the inside pocket of his jacket and said, ‘There you go, lads. You can have this gun instead of your wages.’

  Neil laughed, grabbed the revolver and immediately pointed it at the Bull, who pushed his hand away and said, ‘Don’t be fucking stupid.’

  Neil looked at the chamber of the revolver, saw that it was empty, put the gun to his head and said, ‘Look, man, it’s fucking empty.’ They were the last words Neil ever spoke.

  The Bull tried in vain to snatch the gun from him, but before he could do so Neil had squeezed the trigger and a loud explosion filled the room. When the bullet entered Neil’s head, he immediately crumpled to the floor. As Neil’s lifeblood poured from a gaping wound, the Bull knelt down beside him and tried to administer first aid. ‘Get a fucking ambulance, Harry,’ the Bull shouted. ‘Get a fucking ambulance now.’ Instead of doing what he was told, Harry Perry kept asking the Bull where the gun was. ‘Here is the gun,’ the Bull replied. ‘Take the fucking thing.’ As soon as Perry had taken possession of the weapon, he fled from the pub with it and left the Bull cradling Neil.

  The gunshot had been heard by a resident in an old people’s home next door, and they had telephoned the emergency services. Within minutes, ambulancemen, firemen and police officers were rushing into the pub to go to Neil’s aid. The Bull was still holding his stricken friend, who was alive but unconscious, when firemen first burst into the room. They physically lifted the Bull up and carried him away from Neil, who was then left alone in a pool of his own blood. The Bull was arrested by the police on suspicion of attempted murder, and Neil was rushed to Newcastle General Hospital.

  As soon as Perry had stopped running in the opposite direction of the incident and composed himself, he telephoned a senior police officer he was acquainted with and said that he needed to talk with him urgently because something had gone terribly wrong. The first Paddy heard about his brother Neil being injured was when a police officer rang him and said that he should attend the hospital, as his brother had been hurt. The officer added that he did not know what had happened to Neil or if his life was in danger. When Paddy arrived at the hospital, he was told that Neil was in the operating theatre and that he would be informed of any news in due course. As Paddy paced up and down the waiting room, two surly-looking detectives approached him and identified themselves as the officers who had telephoned him. ‘How did you get my phone number?’ Paddy asked.

  ‘Your friend Michael Bullock gave it to us,’ one of the detectives replied. ‘He is in a lot of trouble, Mr Conroy, and is asking to see you.’ When Paddy asked the detectives why the Bull was in trouble, they told him that Neil had died and the Bull had been arrested for shooting him.

  Paddy was in deep shock, but his instincts told him that he had to stay calm and keep his head. Paddy could not do anything for his brother, but he knew that he could help the Bull, and so he rushed to the police station, where a senior detective was waiting for him in the reception area. The detective offered Paddy his condolences, but he was not interested in fake sentiments and so demanded to see the Bull. The detective looked shocked and said that Michael Bullock was the man that police believed had murdered Paddy’s brother. ‘And what is the Bull saying about your belief?’ Paddy asked the detective.

>   ‘He has been questioned and has said that the shooting was a terrible accident,’ replied the detective.

  ‘Let me talk to the lad,’ Paddy said. ‘I will know as soon as he looks at me if he intended to shoot my brother.’

  When Paddy walked into the interview room, the Bull was slumped at the table. Paddy saw before him a broken man. He knew in his heart that the Bull could never intentionally hurt his brother or any of his family, but he had to ask the question. ‘Well, Bull, what happened?’ Paddy asked.

  Looking directly at Paddy, the Bull replied, ‘It was an accident. Neil was messing about with . . .’

  ‘Hold it there,’ Paddy said. ‘Sit there and don’t say another fucking word to anybody until I tell you to, and I mean anybody.’

  Paddy knew that Neil would not want his best friend to spend one minute in jail for his own stupidity, and so his job now was to ensure that did not happen. The police, never ones to allow the truth to get in the way of what they believed, charged the Bull with Neil’s murder, and, despite Paddy’s pleadings with the magistrates to grant him bail, the Bull was remanded in custody to HMP Durham to await trial.

  An air of suspicion hung heavy over Neil’s death, because the Bull had refused to say where the gun had come from and where it had gone after the shooting. Because the weapon was not found at the scene, the police were confident that somebody other than the Bull had been present during the incident. To make matters worse for the investigating officers, who clearly had their own theories, when the forensic scientists and the pathologist concluded their investigations, there seemed to be little doubt that the Bull had in fact told the truth about Neil’s death. Reluctantly, detectives visited him in prison and explained that if he wanted the murder charge dropped he would need to cooperate by at least telling them where they could find the gun, so that ballistic tests could be done to support his account of the incident. Despite the fact that the Bull was facing a murder charge and the possibility he might have to serve life imprisonment, he still refused to cooperate with the police.