Desmond Noonan
| Desmond Noonan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
8 August 1959 Whalley Range, Manchester, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 19 March 2005 (aged 45) Chorlton, Manchester, England |
| Occupation | Business Man |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra |
Desmond "Dessie" Noonan (8 August 1959 – 19 March 2005) was an English organised crime figure from Manchester, who acted as a political fixer for the Noonan crime family. He and his younger brother, Dominic Noonan, were suspected by police to be responsible for at least 25 unsolved murders during their 20-year reign over Manchester's underworld.
Mainly because of the very dangerous contacts Desmond Noonan had made during his reign as "Britain's number one crime boss," his family was at the end of the 1990s known as "one of the most notorious crime families in British history".
Born in Whalley Range, Manchester into an Irish family, Noonan emerged from poverty and into the criminal scene with his brothers Damian and Dominic Noonan. His criminal career began as a doorman in the early 1980s; his reputation as a fighter and his overall appearance gave him credibility on the club doors of Manchester.
Noonan then started to put his own men on the doors. By the late 1980s, 80 % of the Manchester nightlife security was said to be controlled by Desmond Noonan and his family. Around this time Dominic Noonan was jailed for 15 years for his part in an armed robbery at a bank in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. During his imprisonment, still in control of the crime family, Damian and Derek Noonan were forging links with other notable Manchester gangs including the Cheetham Hill and Salford gangs.
The Noonan family tended to have nothing to do with the Moss Side gangs, although Desmond was part of a group who provided gangs with guns and other weapons. After involving himself in Manchester's nightlife, Desmond started to become involved with other criminal and political circles outside Manchester. He went to forge links with gangs in London, Newcastle and Liverpool. It is alleged that Desmond Noonan also associated with many powerful criminal figures based in Leamington, Coventry and Birmingham. The association was based on the movement of guns and drugs between the West Midlands and the North West. Although the relationship was profitable it soon turned sour, leading to a war that saw a number of murders take place in Manchester and Birmingham, ultimately ending with the slaying of Ashley Foley and Josh King, both found shot in the face (to prevent an open-casket funeral). Desmond Noonan was held by West Midlands Police, but the case was dropped due to lack of evidence.
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