Bruce Johnston (criminal)


Bruce Alfred Johnston Sr. was the leader of one of the most notorious gangs in the history of Pennsylvania, U.S. The gang started in the 1960s and was rounded up in 1978 after his son, Bruce Jr., testified against him. The 1986 film At Close Range is based loosely on Johnston's gang.

Gang

The 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 doing a job in one part of the county, they would divert the state police by phoning a false report elsewhere.

Gang members

1971

In August of 1971 the gang targeted the Dutch Wonderland castle on Lincoln Highway East. The police believe the culprits were David, Norman and Bruce Johnston Sr. and their associates—all members of the "Johnston Gang". The burglars made away with $33,000 worth of cash and property.

1975

The gang broke into the shop at Meadia Heights Country Club in Lancaster, PA. They drilled holes in the side of the Meadia Heights pro shop and disarmed the alarm system, and used dynamite to gain access to a safe. The burglars made off with $15,000 in money and golf equipment. 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 rugs, jewelry and furs. Janet testified that Bruce Sr. gave her two or three garden tractors, of which she kept one or two, and gave the third to the juror in question. Bruce Sr., David and Norman Johnston and Roy Myers were acquitted of the theft charges.

1977

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.

August 1978 victims

When the police were gathering information about the burglary ring, Manheim resident Gary G. Hauck was asked to testify. Hauck had unknowingly bought a piece of farm equipment stolen by the Johnston gang in 1976. Police traced it back to the ring and wanted Hauck to testify who he had bought it from. Hauck, then a self-employed auto body worker, told a reporter he had gotten a call at 2:00 the morning before the preliminary hearing. The caller urged him not to identify anyone at the hearing. To convince Hauck that he wasn't fooling, the caller said Hauck would find dynamite under the seat of his truck, but that it wasn't hooked up. Hauck looked and found five sticks of dynamite, and did not identify at the hearing. Later, during a trial of the brothers, Hauck said he had lied at the hearing because of the threat.

Investigation, arrest, trial and appeal

In 1972 an associate of the Johnston brothers murdered two Kennett Square patrolmen. After that, police began heavily pursuing the gang's activities.

1979

The brothers were found guilty of stealing farm tractors in Ephrata and selling them to an associate. They were sentenced to four to nine years for the thefts.
Bruce Sr. appealed, but the police were already hot on the trail of the brothers for murdering the young members of the operation to cover up other burglaries.

1981

Bruce was convicted of the murders of Gary Crouch, James Johnston, James Sampson, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln and for the attempted murder of Bruce Jr. He received 6 consecutive life sentences.
David and Norman were convicted of the murders of James Johnston, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln. They both received 4 life sentences.

1987

The Johnston brothers returned to the courts seeking new trials. Their attorneys were claiming that in the former trial it wasn't revealed to the defense that key witness James Griffin, a former gang member, had testified under an immunity agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office. The attorneys wanted to know whether or not he made a similar agreement with local and state authorities in exchange for freedom. On the witness stand Griffin testified that he was never prosecuted for committing about 150 burglaries while a member of the gang.

2002

Bruce Johnston Sr. died of cancer at the age of 63 in Graterford Prison, Graterford, Pa.

2013

After testifying against his father, Bruce Johnston Jr. had additional brushes with the law. In 2013, he was arrested on drug delivery charges. “He had the opportunity for a new chance. It did not work out, though. That’s sad,” said Joseph Carroll, the former Chester County district attorney who dealt with Johnston Jr. in connection with his testimony against his father and other members of the gang. “I think some of us felt bad for the guy,” added Carroll. “You grow up in that environment and what could your future be? My impression was that he was a victim of circumstance in where he grew up.“ He is currently serving a sentence of 7-14 years.

Books

, a Chester County reporter who covered the Johnstons' trials for the West Chester Daily Local News, wrote Jailing the Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murderers to Justice in 2009. It is published by Barricade Books.

I spent more than two years of my professional life trailing the investigative team from courtroom to courtroom and to several counties in Pennsylvania following the legal proceedings. I was out at nights when the bodies of the Johnstons' murder victims were unearthed. My most memorable days as a reporter were during the reporting of these murder cases.

Quotes (Norman Johnston)

1999: "We asked him, 'Was it worth it?' and he said, 'Not for 20 days.'"
According to the state police, Norman Johnston was tired and said, "You wouldn't quit."
1999: "I was probed by aliens and that's why I did it."

Film and television

The movie At Close Range was based on the thefts leading up to the murders in 1978. Christopher Walken plays Brad Whitewood Sr., the alias in the movie for Bruce Johnston Sr. Sean Penn plays his son Brad Whitewood Jr. Terry, Whitewood Jr.'s girlfriend, is played by Mary Stuart Masterson.