A GANG of “guns for hire” who spread lawless violence in a spate of gun and grenade attacks across Merseyside were today starting life behind bars.
The five were the “go to” men for gangsters across the area as they carried out attacks on underworld rivals. But their spree saw innocent people caught in the middle as indiscriminate shootings and grenade attacks escalated. At the top of the tree sat Tony Downes and Kirk Bradley, a “thick as thieves” pair of career criminals from Huyton , and Gary Wilson, who used his ill-gotten gains to buy himself a plush seafront Southport home. Bradley and Downes, both 26, never got their hands dirty – Downes was directing operations from his cell in HMP Liverpool and was said to be the group’s “chief executive” by a judge yesterday. Instead their underlings, “trusted and active lieutenants” Craig Riley and Joseph Farrell, were given “jobs” to carry out and would farm some tasks out to younger crooks wanting to make a name for themselves. On their instructions, the young thugs would be given guns or explosives and...