The brother of murdered underworld figure Joe Hanlon has revealed the true story behind his "Bananas" nickname. It was thought the 23-year-old was named after Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, an Italian-American mafia boss who ran the Bonanno crime family in New York from 1931 to 1968. The feared gangster was widely known by the media as "Joe Bananas" up to his death in 2002.
However, Paul Hanlon says there is a simpler and less sinister explanation for his brother's nickname. He revealed how his younger sibling had dressed up as a banana for a fancy dress party which was taking place at the former Dungavel open prison in Lanarkshire - a jail for long-term inmates who were preparing for release.
Fancy dress origin
Joe Hanlon was there with close friend Paul Ferris to see Ferris' older brother William. Paul added: "See the Bananas bit. I do knew where they got it from, but it certainly wasn't from the mafia. He was dressed up for charity down in Dungavel for Billy Ferris. There are photographs of him dressed up as a banana. That's where he got the Joe Bananas."
Paul was breaking a 35-year silence to talk about the unsolved murder of his brother in September 1991 in an interview with Glasgow photographer Brian Anderson for his Naked City YouTube channel. He has named the man he believes lured his brother to his death and admits he has never sought justice for his young brother but only revenge.
Double murder details
Joe Hanlon's body and that of close friend and associate Bobby Glover was found in Hanlon's Ford Orion car outside the Cottage Bar in Darleith Street in Glasgow's east end in August 1991. Both had been shot and fatally wounded in the head and chest.
Their bodies were found on the same day as the funeral of convicted drug dealer Arthur Thompson Jnr, who had been shot dead outside his home the previous month. The double murder was seen as revenge by the victim's father, Glasgow crime boss Arthur Thompson Snr, who suspected both men of being involved in his son's death.
Nickname clarification
Paul Ferris, who died last month and was a close friend of Hanlon and Glover, had already been charged with the murder and was in prison at the time. He was cleared the following year of killing Arthur Jnr following a trial lasting three months.
Paul Hanlon continued: "The Joe Bananas bit went about Easterhouse as if he was some sort of madman. He wasn't. It was just a nickname. You can be called Johnny Pineapple. That's all it was." The full interview with Paul Hanlon can be seen on the Naked City YouTube channel.
