Bruce Johnston (criminal)

Bruce Alfred Johnston Sr. (March 27, 1939 – August 8, 2002) 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.

In August 1971, the gang targeted the Dutch Wonderland theme park on Lincoln Highway East.

The police believe that the main culprits were David, Norman, and Bruce, Sr., and that they got away with $33,000 worth of cash and property.

Ancell E. Hamm murdered two Kennett Square patrolmen.

As a result, police began intensively investigating the gang's activities.

The gang broke into the shop at Meadia Heights Country Club in Lancaster, PA. They drilled holes in the side of the shop and disarmed the alarm system, and used dynamite to gain access to a safe.

They made off with $15,000 in money and golf equipment, none of which was ever recovered.

Janet Gazzerro and her husband Frank were convicted of bribing a juror in the Chester County Common Pleas Court where Bruce Johnston, Sr. and others were 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; she said she kept two and gave the third to the juror as a bribe.

Bruce Sr., David and Norman Johnston, and Roy Myers were acquitted of the theft charges.

When the police were gathering information about the burglary ring, Manheim resident Gary G. Hauck was asked to testify.

Hauck had bought a piece of farm equipment but was not aware it was stolen by the Johnston gang in 1976.

Police traced the equipment it back to the ring and wanted Hauck to testify about whom he had purchased it from.

Hauck, then a self-employed auto-body worker, told a reporter he had gotten a call at 2 a.m. 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 rigged to explode.

Hauck investigated, found five sticks of dynamite, and did not identify anyone at the hearing.

Later, during a trial of the brothers, Hauck said he had lied at that hearing because of the threat.

April: The brothers transported $21,900 in stolen cigarettes across state lines.

He founded and led the Johnston Gang, which had a wide network and operated primarily in Chester County, according to a 1980 Pennsylvania Crime Commission report.

He and the Johnston Gang also committed crimes in Lancaster County on several occasions and even crossed the state lines that bordered Maryland and Delaware.

They primarily engaged in theft, stealing items that ranged from antiques to drugs.

In each break-in or theft, gang members used their skills 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 making a false report of criminal activities elsewhere.

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 2- to 4-year sentences for convictions on state charges for this crime.

As the Johnston Gang came under increased police surveillance due to their high-profile activities, they began an assassination campaign to eliminate potential witnesses.

The brothers were found guilty of stealing farm tractors in Ephrata and selling them to an associate.

They were sentenced to 4 to 9 years in prison for the thefts.

Bruce Sr. appealed this conviction, 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.

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 six consecutive life sentences.

David and Norman were convicted of the murders of James Johnston, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson, and Duane Lincoln.

They each received four life sentences.

The Johnston brothers returned to the courts seeking new trials.

The 1986 film At Close Range is based loosely on Johnston's gang.

Bruce Johnston was a son of Louise and James Johnston, Sr. Along with his brother James, Jr., he was raised by his grandmother Harriet Steffy and great aunt Sarah Martin.

Neither of the boys started associating with their father until a few years before Bruce began his criminal activities.