1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,679 Speaker 1: Before we get started, please rate and review our show. 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: It helps people find us. On this episode of Sports 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: Illustrated Weekly. In the shadow of one of the best 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: soccer teams in the world, one super fan of Manchester 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,959 Speaker 1: United doubled as a legendary area crime boss until he 6 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: was assassinated. The wild true story of who killed Manchester 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: United hooligan and criminal Paul Massey and why he was 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,200 Speaker 1: killed is told here by SI contributor Read four Grave. 9 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: I'm your host John Gonzalez from Sports Illustrated and I 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: Heart Radio this Sports Illustrated Weekly. A quick heads up 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 1: that this story features foul language, gun, violence and murder. 12 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: The year was Manchester United had a new manager. Here 13 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: he is on the first day of his new gig, 14 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: telling the BBC about the awkwardness of meeting the players 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: after former manager Ron Atkinson was Austin, don't they all right? 16 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: Once week got relationship, I'm sure we'll do Vediville Alex 17 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: Ferguson didn't know it, but very well was a vast understatement. 18 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: He was about to usher in a new era for 19 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: the team, an era that would redefine English soccer, not 20 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: just United, all the champions up the Premier League. Of 21 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: course you do. No one can cross a ball or 22 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: bend it like that. And there's a goal from coasts 23 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: But why wonderful save by Hichall got hit by Ryan Giggs. 24 00:01:45,080 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: Oh what's it good? Oh my goodness the Christiano. Yeah. 25 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: In the mid eighties, Manchester United was on the precipice 26 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: of greatness, but just across the river from the Grand Stadium, 27 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: Old Trafford, a gritty, rough and tumble area of Manchester 28 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: called Salford was giving rise to an almost mythical criminal. 29 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: His name was Paul Massey. His story is one of 30 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: hubris and deceit in the shadow of one of the 31 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: greatest soccer teams ever. The legend of Paul Massey can 32 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: be told through these three things soccer hooligan firms, the 33 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: drug trade, and the rave music scene. So you can't 34 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: tell the story of Paul Massey without telling the story 35 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: of Manchester and specifically the story of Salford. That's writer 36 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: Read four Grave, who reported this story for an SI 37 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: Daily cover Manchester. He was really the first industrial town. 38 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: The Industrial Revolution in the seventeen hundred comes about and 39 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: it becomes this textile capital and it gets pretty rough 40 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,119 Speaker 1: and tumble, right away. What Chicago is to New York 41 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: is what Manchester is to London. Very much the second city, 42 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: very much, the more hard scrabble city, very much like 43 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: a city with a chip on its shoulder. And within 44 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: Manchester he is this community of Salford. And what made 45 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: Salford so gritty, so tough, a place where the gangster 46 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: was respected, it was because it was a docktown. Salford 47 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: was the terminus of the Manchestership Canal, the third biggest 48 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: port in in all of England, which is crazy because 49 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: it's inland. It's thirty five miles inland. But they built 50 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: this canal in the late eighteen hundreds to import and 51 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: export all these goods that are being manufactured in Manchester. 52 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: Paul Massey is a child of this area. He's born 53 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen sixties and Salford was still rolling 54 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: as a doc city. But by the nineteen eighties, when 55 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: Paul Massey is supposed to be entering his prime, the 56 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: docks closed. Unemployment at one time among young men in 57 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: Salford was close to and you know anywhere in the world, 58 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: when you get unemployment like that, people turn to bad things. 59 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: That's what Paul Massey did. This is a guy who, 60 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: look he had a rough upbringing. He was kind of 61 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: a guy who was always getting in trouble, always out 62 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: on the streets. So he gets sent off to reform 63 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: school and ends up just really having a life of 64 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: sort of low level crime. But then by his twenties 65 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: this soccer hooligan stuff that he got involved with with 66 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: Manchester United, most famous soccer team probably in the world, 67 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:35,280 Speaker 1: and he was a member of the Red Army, one 68 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: of their hooligan firms. Alright, so hooligan firms also called ultras. 69 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: They're more than just a group of fans, right, It's 70 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: like a step below organized crime, but they're still pretty 71 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: organized guys who just get out, get drunk, getting fights. 72 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: Paul Massey uses those connections to really find a footing 73 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: in the gang world. You know, there were small time stuff, 74 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: credit card scams, gasoline scams or steal gasoline and sell it. 75 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: He's doing jail time for this sort of stuff and 76 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: slowly that ends up building into something much bigger. And 77 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: this is sort of how Paul Massey's greatness comes together. 78 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: He's sort of at the nexus of soccer hooligan firms, 79 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,240 Speaker 1: of the drug trade, and most interestingly, and to me, 80 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: you know, as an outsider of this, most surprisingly the 81 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: rave music scene. Paul Massey is the nexus of these 82 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: in the late eighties and early nineties, and that that's 83 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: where he really makes his name, pulling him millions of 84 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: dollars a year. Whose security firm at one point had 85 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: a twenty employees. That is when in the nine when 86 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: these hooligan firms come together with drug importation and rave music, 87 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: that's where Paul Massey goes from a tough guy to 88 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: Mr Big. Manchester became the sort of nexus not just 89 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: for England but also for Europe to be this destination 90 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: for drug culture and ecstasy. And at one point Manchester 91 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,359 Speaker 1: becomes known as mad Chester because it's this drug fueled 92 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: club scene and one of the clubs was the Hacienda. 93 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: Explained to everybody how Paul Massey factored in there. He 94 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: had been pretty active hooligan member in the late seventies 95 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: early eighties. This is when hooliganism in England was you know, 96 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: it was enough of a big deal that Margaret Thatcher 97 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: convened a quote unquote war Cabinet to address hooliganism. This 98 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: is a big deal. Manchester United got banned from matches 99 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: on the European mainland for a short period because it's 100 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: fans were so crazy. So Paul Massey comes from that world. 101 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: And then in the mid eighties the band New Order, 102 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: who was the band that came out of Joy Division. 103 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: They were right at the forefront of rap music. They 104 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: owned this club called the Hacienda, and this is when 105 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: Manchester was at its roughest spot in the mid nineteen eighties. 106 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: But then New Order goes to a Bitha, the island 107 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,920 Speaker 1: off of Spain, to record an album and that's when 108 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: they discover that's the very beginnings of rave music, and 109 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: New Order brings that back to England, brings that back 110 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: to the Hacienda, and the Hacienda transforms into the hottest 111 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: club maybe in all of Europe. At this point it's 112 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: the mid to late eighties when the Hacienda really starts 113 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: picking up. Manchester is also a university town. There's a 114 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:45,119 Speaker 1: hundred thousand university students there and it becomes the place 115 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: to be for young, cool, hot people in Manchester and 116 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: for Manchester, this city with a chip on its shoulder, 117 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: to suddenly become cool, not just cool for the North 118 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: of England, but cool for all of England, for all 119 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: of Europe. That's something that the city very much took 120 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: pride in and I think we all probably by this 121 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: point no what goes with rave music ecstasy. So in 122 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: this weird way, the business model for this club doesn't 123 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: work that well for the people own it, not for 124 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: Peter Hook, not for the guys from newer because people 125 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: are taking pills that they buy at the front door, 126 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: they're drinking water, they're not drinking alcohol, and they're just 127 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: raving all night long. But guests who figured out how 128 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: to leverage selling the pills to all these ravers, it 129 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:41,319 Speaker 1: was Paul Massey. So he figures out if he controls 130 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: the doors to these clubs, he can control the entire 131 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: drug trade for all of Manchester and for all of 132 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,199 Speaker 1: this club scene. Paul Massey's greatest skill was that he 133 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: could turn out a crowd that goes back to his 134 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,959 Speaker 1: hooligan days. He he just had this natural charisma to him. 135 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 1: He wasn't the big sky who wasn't the best looking guy, 136 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: but he was someone who never backed down from a 137 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,199 Speaker 1: fight and someone who just had a respect with so 138 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:08,719 Speaker 1: many people. So if Paul Massey said we're gonna go 139 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: to this club on a Saturday night. We're gonna get 140 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: a hundred people. When you get two hundred people, these 141 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: ex hooligans, and we're gonna go to the security staff 142 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: in the front and we're gonna basically occupy this club 143 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: until the owners were lent and say okay, you're our 144 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: new security staff. And then Paul Massey guts to sell 145 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,719 Speaker 1: all these ecstasy tabs at a huge markup and make 146 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: millions upon millions of dollars doing this over the years. 147 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: So Paul Massey figures us all out. He creates this 148 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,439 Speaker 1: criminal enterprise with these other hooligans that he was associated with. 149 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,679 Speaker 1: He's quite literally living the high life. And as we 150 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: all know, these things generally tend to run their course. 151 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: Eventually it does for Paul Massey rolls around and he 152 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: gets arrested. What happens to him? And why is he 153 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: sentenced to fourteen years in prison? You know, this is 154 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 1: a story of I think great ubris. Paul Massey was 155 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,559 Speaker 1: on top of the world in Salford and in Manchester. 156 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: Paul Massey, according to authorities, stabbed a guy. Stabbed a 157 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,679 Speaker 1: guy in the groin. The guy almost died he's put 158 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: on trial and he sentenced to fourteen years for attempted murder. 159 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: This is when Paul was at the top of his world. 160 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,240 Speaker 1: But it's not like this is a guy who is 161 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 1: afraid of prison. If anything, that's a recruiting ground for him. 162 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: If you get the sense of like the Godfather aspect 163 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 1: of Paul Massey, he had so many friends who were 164 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: in prison, and once he got out, he'd send Christmas 165 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: cards to them and he'd include fifty pounds that they 166 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: could spend at the prison commissary. Paul Massey when he's 167 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,839 Speaker 1: in prison, he's still connected and he assumes when he 168 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: comes back out that he's gonna kind of pick right 169 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: up where he went off. He gets out of prison 170 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: and he says he's a change man, but really it's 171 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: more are about even though he had these connections while 172 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: he was inside, and he meets new people in the 173 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 1: criminal underworld when he gets out, Manchester has sort of 174 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: changed a little bit. There are new gangs. There's a 175 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 1: new gang called the A Team and another new gang 176 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,280 Speaker 1: called the Anti A Team, which is not very creative 177 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,599 Speaker 1: but still no joke. So Massey doesn't quite have the 178 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: same power and influence he did when he went inside. 179 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: Right Paul Massic gets out of prison, he proclaims to 180 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: be a new man. I think if you talk to 181 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,199 Speaker 1: law enforcement authorities out there, they would look at that 182 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: claim very skeptically. But he did end up running for 183 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,839 Speaker 1: mayor of Salford. Question Salford because it was bought and 184 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:42,559 Speaker 1: betted that would be And I watch when I watch 185 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: side as well, and maybe a little hard to understand 186 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,360 Speaker 1: what he's saying. They're somewhat ironically it's I got a 187 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: passion for Salford because I was born and bred here. 188 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 1: I want to help the elderly, I want to help 189 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: the youth, and I want to try to reduce crime 190 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,160 Speaker 1: and also try to reduce the problem of drugs and 191 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:06,760 Speaker 1: Salford as well. He restarts his security firm, p m 192 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: S Security, and he says, you know, this time we're 193 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: above board. However, he's running for mayor and the police 194 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 1: arrest him for all sorts of fraud allegations for PMS Security, 195 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: which sort of tanks his candidacy. I think he finished 196 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,080 Speaker 1: like seven out of twelve. But yeah, in a way, 197 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: this world had kind of moved on. However, Paul Massey 198 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,960 Speaker 1: still commanded respect in this world. He ends up becoming 199 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: sort of like the advisor to this this gang called 200 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: the A Team, specifically a young man named Stephen Britton. 201 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 1: He's brought in to broker peace between gangs when they 202 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: are gang wars. This is not a place in Salford, 203 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: especially among these people who grew up in this gang 204 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: world where they snitch. They refer to it as grasses. 205 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: We say, you know, snitches go and did is right, 206 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 1: But they very much lived by the code. And this 207 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: is something that's really important to understand about Paul Massey 208 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: and his world. Police aren't the ones who are called 209 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: in to sort of mediate these gang wars. It was 210 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: Paul Massey. So that also means he can find himself 211 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:25,839 Speaker 1: suck in some pretty hairy situations. Yeah, and one of 212 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: the harriest read it goes down on the night of 213 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: July in the shadow of Old Trafford Stadium. Something really 214 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: dark happens. Yeah, something incredibly dark. He's driving home, he 215 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: had just gotten back from a vacation with his partner 216 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: of almost thirty years, louise Lydiat. He ends up going 217 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: to a bookie and then before he gets home, about 218 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 1: a half mile from his house, there's a place called 219 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: Bargain Booze, and he got a bottle of Bacardi, two 220 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,719 Speaker 1: leaders of coke, and he drives home just have a 221 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: quiet night with his wife. And as he's getting home, 222 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: about seventeen seconds behind him, there's a stranger who's following him. 223 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:13,079 Speaker 1: He gets home and pulls up his BMW five series 224 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: to the gate. Outside is really nice red brick home 225 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: that you know his decades as this sort of gang 226 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 1: leader and used all his his money to purchase And 227 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 1: just as he gets out of his car, a man 228 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: pulls up on a bicycle. He's wearing military gear and 229 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: he has what prosecutors believe is a newzy and this 230 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: dude just starts firing at Paul Massey. This rain of bullets, 231 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: eighteen bullets rained down on him. One of them hit 232 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: his left shin, another one hit three fingers in his 233 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: right hand, just tore one finger all the way off. 234 00:14:55,960 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 1: He sort of escapes this first barrage, hides behind some 235 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: trash men's calls. Imagin He's yelling, I'm shot, I've been shot, 236 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: hurry up, and the operator is trying to figure out 237 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: where he is. He tells him his address and he's 238 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: saying hurry up, hurry up. He shot at me and 239 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: then his phone cuts out and what happened right then 240 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: was a bullet tore through Paul Massey's fifth rib on 241 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: the left side of his body, passed right through his chest, 242 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: hit his heart and his lungs and it lodged in 243 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: his back. The bicyclists jumps on his bicycle bikes away 244 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: through a through a cemetery and a church parish. This 245 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: was not something Paul Massey was particularly surprised of. He 246 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: he knew that he was, you know, a man who 247 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: had been hunted. He had told a documentary crew from 248 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: the BBS, see this mant Swten. It's Matt Swaten and 249 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: I'm not sending of it. I know the stakes and 250 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: immediately word starts to get around. This wasn't just some 251 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: dude who got nicked in a gang killing. This was 252 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: Mr Big, a guy who was renowned, not just a Manchester, 253 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: all over England. And that night people first show up 254 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: at the scene. His son, one of his sons comes 255 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: to the scene and they end up gathering at a 256 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: pub just down the street called the robin Hood Pub. 257 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: It starts raining and they basically had more or less 258 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,280 Speaker 1: awake for him. Immediately the pub closes and they end 259 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: up going out in the rain after midnight in the 260 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: parking lot of the pub, just remembering this man that 261 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: it was certainly a dangerous man, but was absolutely revered 262 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: and feared in this world of Salford. Eventually two men 263 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: emerge as possible suspects, of them order of Massey and 264 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: also one of his associates, John Kinsella. So tell us 265 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,919 Speaker 1: a little bit about who the suspects were and how 266 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 1: the investigation unfolds. For three years, there's nothing. You get 267 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,719 Speaker 1: the sense that everyone on the streets knows what happened. 268 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,359 Speaker 1: But for three years this was an unsolved murder. But 269 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,120 Speaker 1: then John Kinsella, one of Paul Massey's lieutenants, an enforcerer, 270 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: guy who was really talented martial artist, also happened to 271 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,920 Speaker 1: be the man who was accused of throwing acid in 272 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: someone's face at Paul Massey's funeral. Really classy guy. And 273 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: guess what happens. A man on a bicycle he pulls up, 274 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,440 Speaker 1: he fire shots at John Kinsella, kills John Concella point blank. 275 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: She she shoots him in the back, and then it 276 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,360 Speaker 1: doesn't take a genius to say, hey, maybe these two 277 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: things are related. Maybe this gang war between the A 278 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: team and the Anti A team, this gang war that 279 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: Paul Massey had mediated, this gang war that Paul Massey 280 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,880 Speaker 1: had taken one side on the This led to Paul 281 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,160 Speaker 1: Massey's murder, and this also leads to John Concella's murder. 282 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: But this time the assassin who we'd all think would 283 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:13,359 Speaker 1: probably be the same assassin from three years ago, this 284 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: time he didn't cover his tracks as well. There was 285 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,680 Speaker 1: CCTV security footage they captured a man on a bicycle 286 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,479 Speaker 1: with his face covered, peddling towards John Concella's home at 287 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:29,640 Speaker 1: five am. Enough the suspicion that authorities thought they could 288 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:35,160 Speaker 1: arrest this man, Mark Fellows gets arrested, and he did 289 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 1: make a key mistake that police investigators quickly find out. 290 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: And this is a really interesting part of your story, read, 291 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 1: because I think in TV and in the movies, they're 292 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: all these dramatic, sensational ways that investigators cracked the case, 293 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: but that actually happened here. Mark Fellows. He didn't really 294 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: look like a gangster. He looked either like an accountant 295 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: or like a competitive jogger, which guess what he was. 296 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,400 Speaker 1: He was a talented runner, and when he would run, 297 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,399 Speaker 1: he would track his runs with a garment four runner 298 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: ten GPS watch. And if you are would be assassin, uh, 299 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: you don't bring your cell phone with you. You don't 300 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: want to be tracked. You want to really be sure 301 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: that there are no ways that police can figure out 302 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: where you were. You certainly don't want to wear a 303 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: garment four runner ten GPS watch. Now, Mark Fellows did 304 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:37,119 Speaker 1: not wear this watch when he assassinated Paul Massey. He 305 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: did not wear it when he assassinated John Kinsella. But 306 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: when police searched his home had probably cause of searches home, 307 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: they find this watch a few weeks before Paul Massey 308 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,920 Speaker 1: had been killed, back in two thousand fifteen, they find 309 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 1: what they believe was a reconnaissance mission that Mark Fellows 310 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: had gone on. Traces him going from his house and 311 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: it goes to massey house, It goes to the cemetery 312 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: at the parish church of Saint Anna across the street. 313 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,239 Speaker 1: It gets turned off for about eight minutes and then 314 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,680 Speaker 1: it gets turned back on and goes back. Why would 315 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:16,399 Speaker 1: this man travel fifteen miles on a bike to go 316 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: right across the street from Paul Massey's house, just weeks 317 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: before Paul Massey would be murdered. That was really one 318 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: of those caught red handed type moments. Yeah, So what 319 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,680 Speaker 1: happens then with Fellows because Massey and can sella the 320 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 1: trial for their murders is sort of combined and the 321 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: prosecution lays out its case. What ends up happening with 322 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: the verdict. Their murders are combined, and also the defendants 323 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: are combined. Remember earlier I told you when Paul Massey 324 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: was driving to the liquor store that the day that 325 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: he got murdered, there was someone seventeen seconds behind him 326 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: in a car. There was a spotter in this His 327 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: name was Steven Boyle. And Steven Boyle and Mark Fellows 328 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: were both arrested in connection with these two murders. And 329 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: Steven Boyle what he said to investigators right when he 330 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: got arrested, he did the most unsoulfard thing possible. He 331 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 1: opened his mouth. What he said to police he said, 332 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: I haven't murdered anybody, but I probably know more things 333 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 1: about it than I should. And when he goes on trial, 334 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,360 Speaker 1: Mark Fellows doesn't cop to anything, but Stephen boyle does 335 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 1: he breaks the code. He says on the stand that 336 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: he thought this was just a drug deal and he 337 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 1: basically threw his fellow gang member under the bus. After 338 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,680 Speaker 1: both of these men were found guilty of homicide, Mark 339 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:50,640 Speaker 1: Fellows was given a double life sentence, which is incredibly 340 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 1: rare in England. No chance of parole. The judge said 341 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:57,280 Speaker 1: to him after he gave him the sentence. He said, 342 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: I have never had to deal with a contract killer 343 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 1: of your kind before, and Mark Fellows kind of mixed 344 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:05,679 Speaker 1: the hair on your neck. Stand up a little bit. 345 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,639 Speaker 1: When the sentences were being read, he smirked, and then 346 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,159 Speaker 1: guards were leading him out of the courtroom and he 347 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,479 Speaker 1: supposedly turned to boil the guy who broke the spotter, 348 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: his old friend, the guy who broke the code and 349 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: threw him under the bus. He made a throat slashing 350 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: gesture him and he said to him, it's your fucking fault, 351 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:31,120 Speaker 1: you fucking grass. If it weren't for two things, if 352 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: it weren't for this Darman watch, and if it weren't 353 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 1: for this guy who who broke the code, who he 354 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 1: spoke to police, who testified in court. I believe and 355 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,119 Speaker 1: I know the prosecutor believes that there would not have 356 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: been enough evidence to put him in jail. What's so 357 00:22:56,359 --> 00:23:00,200 Speaker 1: interesting about this story. Paul Massey and Mark fell those 358 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: they were, they were enemies, they were on opposite sides 359 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 1: of this blood feud between these two games. But in 360 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,920 Speaker 1: this weird way, because Mark Fellows, even though he killed 361 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: Paul Massey, he followed the code. He was a true 362 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,440 Speaker 1: Salford lad as they would call them. In a weird way. 363 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:25,879 Speaker 1: I feel like Paul Massey would respect that. Kelly Massey 364 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,360 Speaker 1: is is his daughter would vehemently disagree with it. Thinks 365 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 1: that he's a rat and a coward and it's an 366 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 1: awful human being. I know Louise his his partner, would 367 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: disagree as well. But in that world, the worst thing 368 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: you can do. Paul Massey said at one point in 369 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 1: this BBC documentary, you know, if he ever got caught 370 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,399 Speaker 1: by the cops and he said, I do my jail, 371 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:50,119 Speaker 1: but the last thing that he would do is grass 372 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,720 Speaker 1: on someone. He said, I'd rather hang myself first. I 373 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: think the overlap here is important because you you mentioned 374 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: Massey's funeral. All these people turn out, lot of people 375 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 1: wearing Manchester United gear. Paul Massey is buried in Manchester 376 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 1: United gear. And so there's this tribalism for football and 377 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: soccer hooliganism, but there's also a tribalism to the criminal underworld, right, 378 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: And isn't that the intersection really of the story, that 379 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 1: it's this tribalism that got Massey into the life and 380 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: that same tribalism that ended up being his undoing. And 381 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,160 Speaker 1: we'll talk about tribalism. If you're a Tottenham Hotsper fan, 382 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,800 Speaker 1: if you're a Manchester United fan, you know you wear 383 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,960 Speaker 1: the jersey, you're excited, you're a big fan. Tribalism with 384 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:40,880 Speaker 1: hooligan firms goes so much deeper, and I think that's 385 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: very much what happened in the streets of Salford with 386 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,120 Speaker 1: these gang wars that went on for decades. I think 387 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 1: you're dead on right when you talk about the tribalism. 388 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: People don't just want to be make money. They want 389 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: to be identified with something, as part of something, and 390 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,360 Speaker 1: same with hooligan's, same with gangs. I think it's all 391 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,680 Speaker 1: just how we as humans just want to be part 392 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: of something bigger, even if it's something that will lead 393 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 1: to our demise. It's such a sensational, over the top 394 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: story that it's almost too much to be believed, but 395 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 1: it actually did happen. A remarkable bit of reporting and 396 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: writing by you. You can read his story. I encourage 397 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,720 Speaker 1: everybody to do so on SI dot com. We will 398 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: link to it in our show notes read four Grave, 399 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:35,200 Speaker 1: Thank you you're the man. Appreciate you having me, Thanks 400 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,400 Speaker 1: for listening, and a reminder to please rate and review 401 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 1: the show that helps people find us. Sports Illustrator Weekly 402 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: is a production of Sports Illustrated and I Heart Radio. 403 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I 404 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 405 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: favorite shows. And for more of Sports Illustrated It's best 406 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: stories and podcasts, visit SI dot com. This episode of 407 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated Weekly was produced by Jordan Rizzieri, Jessica You're Mooski, 408 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: and Isaac Lee, who was also our sound engineer. Our 409 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,360 Speaker 1: senior producers are Dan Bloom and Harry sward Out. Our 410 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: executive producers are Scott Brodie and me John Gonzalez. Our 411 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 1: theme song is by Nolan Schneider. And if you've stuck 412 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:21,919 Speaker 1: around this long, we leave you with this Yeah, one 413 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 1: of the one of the more thrilling moments like we 414 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 1: we we get a little bit like jaded when you're 415 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 1: interviewing athletes, like Okay, I'm going, you know, ask a 416 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: few questions Lebron James, But interviewing rock stars a whole 417 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: different beast. I got to interview Peter Hook from New 418 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 1: Order for this story. Was just the coolest dude on Earth. 419 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 1: And he was telling me I live in Minneapolis, and 420 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,920 Speaker 1: he was telling me about playing at the local club 421 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 1: that I sometimes go to, and I'm like, oh man, 422 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 1: so I'm supposed to the next time Peter Hook and 423 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 1: his new band is Peter Hook in the Light, next 424 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: time they come to Minneapolis, I'm supposed to grab a 425 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 1: beer with him. Fingers crossed on that