Inside Paul Massey’s rise and fall from nightclub hardman to gangland ‘Mr Big’ executed by assassin called ‘The Iceman’

A NOTORIOUS gangster nicknamed "Mr Big" was a man "out of time" when he was gunned down by an assassin, a crime boss has revealed.

Kingpin Paul Massey, 55, was riddled with bullets on the drive of his Salford home after a contract hit from a rival gang in 2015.

Gang member Mark Fellows - nicknamed "The Iceman" - had lain in wait for the Salford dad armed with an Uzi sub-machine gun.

As soon as Massey climbed out his car Fellows started firing.

The savage murder put an end to a decades long criminal career for Massey.

He had risen from running security in nightclubs during the 1990s - most notably the famous Hacienda in Manchester - to becoming one of the most notorious gangsters in the country.

The kids he was mixing with were volatile and it was always going to end in disaster.

His name is still feared and revered in Manchester eight years on from his killing.

But despite his legend status among some in the local community, underworld figures have said it was just a matter of time until he was taken out.

One former crime boss, who knew Massey, told The Sun: "Paul was a 90s gangster who should have put the past behind him.

"The scene had changed while Paul was locked up.

"He thought that he could wind the clock back to 1996 but you can't go back in time.

"The kids he was mixing with were volatile and it was always going to end in disaster."

The former associate said the drug economy was the only dynamic behind Salford's modern underworld, not individuals like Massey.

He added: "That whole era of 'Mr Bigs' and all that is all gone.

"It's all about graft (drugs) and money.

"Nobody cares about nightclub doors and who is the hardest and all of that."

RISE OF MR BIG

Massey grew up in 1970s Salford and became involved in serious crime in the 1980s, when armoured robbery crews and door firms dominated the Mancunian underworld.

The up and coming mobster became a leader within the 'Salford firm' gang which ran security at famous nightclubs including The Hacienda during the so called 'Madchester' era of acid house music.

Despite a successful criminal career the Salford thug was jailed for 14 years in 1999 after he stabbed a man in the groin on Whitworth Street, in the heart of the city's clubland.

He was released on licence in 2007, and later became friendly with the brutal 'A Team' gang which had replaced the old Salford firm he had once led.

GANG WAR

Massey enjoyed nights out in city's clubs with the new generation of criminals where he would relive his glory years.

However, a fall-out within the young crew resulted in a bloody street war where enemies where shot, beaten and attacked with machetes.

Grenades were thrown at family homes and at one point gangsters threatened to decapitate a young mum with an industrial saw.

A schoolboy was shot in the leg on the doorstep of his own home and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were forced to pull in support from other forces to help stem the bloodshed.

It is thought Massey had attempted to act as a mediator between the rival factions, a role which may have led to his death.

OUT FOR REVENGE

After the kingpin's shocking death in October 2015, his pals vowed to get revenge against his killers.

A hit-squad even travelled to Spain to hunt down a man they felt was responsible for Massey's hit.

But they were thwarted when Policia Nacional officers and detectives from the UK raided an apartment in Marbella.

Inside they found haul of weapons including knives and a loaded pistol.

Massey's best friend, John Kinsella, had promised to exact revenge on Fellows, who was quickly identified as the gunman
within the underworld community.

That whole era of 'Mr Bigs' and all that is all gone. It's all about graft and money.

However, the contract killer had other plans, cycling up behind the scouse hardman and executing him in front of his partner on the morning of May 5, 2018.

Fellows finished Kinsella off with shots to the head on a slip way off the M62.

Massey's pal, who had once intervened to protect
Liverpool FC star Steven Gerrard from underworld thugs, was well known across Merseyside and Manchester.

Over recent years Greater Manchester Police worked tirelessly to bring the majority of the gang members involved in violence before the courts.

Fitness freak Fellows received a whole life sentence for the murders of Massey and Kinsella.

He was tracked down after a GPS signal on a Garmin device he used while running put him at the scene of the murders.

Steven Boyle, who helped Fellows track down Kinsella, was told he must serve a minimum of 33 years in prison.