One day you're a made man, the next, you're sleeping with the fishes. She said the Government explained the scope and value of his cooperation, along with the severity of his offense. He had his wife Sissy record some conversations with Westie Billy Bokun, brother of John, in which he admitted to killing Holly. With this evidence, Featherstones conviction was overturned in September 1986 according to The National Registry Of Exonerations, and Featherstone agreed to become an informant. Jimmy on the left & Larry Sessa, alleged Colombo Crime Family mobster. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an informant and brought down Coonan's gang. That isnt her daughter, its her neice. Florida Democrats skewered Gov. Mickey Featherstone relationship list. From a New York Times-bestselling author: A true story of Irish gangsters in Manhattan"A harrowing account of big city crime" (Library Journal). In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Featherstone was born on West 43rd St.,[1] one of nine children. Judge Sweet said at the sentencing of Mr. Featherstone that the sentence involved an effort to balance ''a violent past, a redemptive present and an uncertain future. Mickey Featherstones Oldest Son Was in Kuwait before 9/11 and is now married to a School Teacher, His 2nd son Just received a Medal of Bravery from the armey his oldest daughter is married and has her own business and his youngest daughter is in college on a Athletic Schollarship. He never saw combat. I wonder how much of it was drugs. Those who knew him in the neighborhood often crossed the street when they saw him coming their way. In 1988, because of Featherstones testimony, eight of the gangs members were ultimately convicted of racketeering and other offenses related to their participation in a RICO criminal enterprise with Coonan himself getting 75 years in prison. Contract murders are a relatively new enterprise, they said. They said that over the years it has been steeped in gambling and loansharking. But I completely agree with, amongst others, Will Corocan's review. In the criminal underworld, trust is a slippery commodity. Mickey Featherstone is a former Irish American mobster and member of the Westies, an organized crime syndicate from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan in New York City, led by James Coonan. Francis T. "Mickey" Featherstone is a former Irish American mobster and member of the Westies, an organized crime syndicate from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan in New York City, led by James Coonan. [5] He was freed in December 1988[5] and went into a witness protection program. Mickey Featherstone : r/Mafia - Reddit Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Relationships. At 17, Featherstone lied about his age and joined the army with dreams of becoming a Green Beret. He was blond haired and baby-faced. Sissy Featherstone had regular interactions with Billy Bokun, and she was able to record Bokun describing the shooting of Michael Holly while wearing a wig, as well as expressing his belief that Kevin Kelly had asked him to wear the wig in order to eliminate Featherstone as a competitor for power within the Westies. By the late 1970s, the Westies had also become an enforcement arm of the equally feared Gambino family, carrying out assigned executions and sharing in weekly profits. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. The title should be changed to 'The True Crime Classic About Mickey Featherstone's Time As Part Of New York's Notorious Irish Mob'. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. [1][5] His wife Sissy co-operated with the District Attorney's office to tape incriminating conversations with gang members, including Bokun. Mickey Featherstone, The Hitman Who Took Down The Westies The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob - amazon.com At first, it appeared that he had won. Increasingly drunk on a regular basis, Featherstone was disciplined by the armed forces for various acts of criminal mischief, and after only a year, claiming to suffer from hallucinations, was medically discharged in 1967. The Westies would also carry out some of the Gambino familys most gruesome dirty work. Defense lawyers have complained in Federal District Court that Mr. Featherstone and other informers received highly beneficial deals from the Government to obtain their testimony in the Gambino trial and that the jury was not told that the informers were being freed. NYC tour covers the violent history of Hell's Kitchen and - amNewYork ', Asked if she was a member of the Westies, he responded, 'She's hardly a member of anything at all.'. ''At least for the time being,'' the judge said, ''the Westies have been broken as an organization, largely as a result of your cooperation.''. The ruthless reputation of the gang came to the notice of the Gambino family, and boss Paul Castellano, who summoned Coonan and Featherstone to a meeting in a Bay Ridge, Brooklyn restaurant in 1978. Aussie tourist 'very sorry' for drunken, nude rampage in Indonesia. An unhinged man with a hot temper and a hair trigger, Mickey Featherstone was known to kill for little to no reason at all. Irish mobster Danny Greene took on the Cleveland Mafia. Featherstone's penchant for violence and intimidation caught the eye of Coonan and Featherstone became Coonan's right-hand man by 1976. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Featherstone, This week we finish up our series with Justin Rimmel from Mysterious Circumstances talking about the downfall of one of the most violent gangs in the history of NYC. Morgenthau said in their heyday there were 30 Westies, but that number has been reduced to 10 or 15 as many of them have been jailed or killed. American military personnel of the Vietnam War. Kelly is a fugitive who has been indicted for the attempted murder of a carpenter's union official. We have no records of past relationships for Mickey Featherstone. Relationship history. '', See the article in its original context from. Featherstone, despite standing 57 with wide blue eyes, shaggy blonde hair, and a boyish face, soon developed a killers reputation that might not have been apparent from his appearance alone. This pic is of edna. (Video) Mickey Featherstone - 60 Minutes Interview 1 killed in shooting at Massachusetts house party, Heavy shelling in Kherson, Kharkiv destroys residences, Cuba postpones International Workers' Day parade over fuel shortages, Democrats, Republicans remain split on debt ceiling plan, SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches following aborted mission, delays. Or, as was the case with Mickey Featherstone, you find you've been chosen as the fall guy for a power grab within the gang. Coonan held Holly responsible for Bokuns death, but his murder was repeatedly put off over the years. 2 mo. Mickey knew he'd been framed, and was able to convince the police to let him prove it. Then in April 1985, he was shot and killed on a New York City street by a man using a silencer. On April 25, 1985, Billy Bokun (John Bokuns brother), wearing a wig to look like Featherstone, approached Holly on a crowded street and killed him, firing five bullets into his back. He could have been sentenced to a maximum of 20 years for racketeering. How feared was Mickey Featherstonereally? Judge Sweet, noting that Mr. Featherstone had already served the equivalent of a five-year sentence on a murder charge that was later dismissed, said the probation on the racketeering charge included conditions that the defendant take part in counseling and rehabilitation programs. Please enable scripts and reload this page. gb1993 2 yr. ago [1] He spent time in a series of mental hospitals, being released in 1975. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. and our TwitterFrancis T. Mickey Featherstone was a member of the Irish mob until he was framed for a murder he didnt commit and turned informant. Defense Lawyers' Complaints. Meanwhile, the District Attorneys office agreed to work with Featherstones wife to obtain evidence confirming Featherstones claims. Led by Jimmy Coonan and, From an introduction made by his long time friend Tom Sheer, Joe Poletto was introduced to Art Ruffles, special agent in charge of the FBIs organized crime unit in charge of the Gambino, DeMeo and Westies cases. Mickey Featherstone, a short, slight 38-year-old with a blond mop and an almost-adolescent expression, had been charged with at least three other murders during the previous 17 years, but he was . Morgenthau said they were among the top hitmen in the gang. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. Mr. Featherstone also provided information in other investigations, and testified in the continuing trial of several men accused of committing murders and other racketeering acts as part of the Gambino crime family. Even among his murderous peers, he was known as a brutal killer. Mickey Featherstone - Wikipedia Kevin Kelly - The Irish Mob Register Log In Home Forums Organized Crime - Real Life How feared was Mickey Featherstone . We have no records . The Westies reign of terror was largely built on the back of, The Westies, a gang long known to law enforcement officials, if not to the public, as one of the most savage organizations in the long history of New York gangs. We start getting into the deep water on talking about the Westies and their activities in the late 1970's early 1980's. This dichotomy was Mickey in essence. Francis T. Mickey Featherstone was a member of the Irish mob until he was framed for a murder he didnt commit and turned informant. DeSantis Gets Chilly Reception in DC From Frustrated Florida Democrats Support The National Registry of Exonerations , The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022, Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, Witness Recantations: Preliminary Findings, May 2013, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 - 2012, Tell us about an Exoneration that we missed, Tell Mickey Featherstone: The Dangerous Hitman Currently Free In - Grunge Circumcision, Serial Killing, Criminal Behavior and American Medical [2] After borrowing Coonan's gun, he shot dead Linwood Willis in a confrontation outside a bar in 1971, but was found not guilty due to insanity. Mickey Featherstone - Top podcast episodes - Listen Notes Nicky Scarfo the former head of the Philadelphia crime family pictured in the late 80s, One of the most blood thirsty and paranoid bosses of his time. [2] Featherstone did time in the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield Missouri on the psychiatric ward in 1982. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Jimmy Coonan, the ruthless leader of the Westies in the 1970s. This Featherstone is littlebit like leonetti - talks clearly, calmy, but what a psycho! That's when the 'Westies', a ruthless gang of Irish American extortionists, racketeers and contract killers, took in the violent young Featherstone and put him to work. Courtroom. Reality of Hell's Kitchen Is Playwright's Material Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Prior to the murder of Michael Holly, Featherstone had been charged with at least three other murders, but each time he had entered pleas of insanity and was acquitted. [1] Rather than serving his sentence he instead told prosecutors that Bokun had committed the murder, and he became an informant. So she cant better her life due to her family history? April 28 (UPI) -- A bear stuck in a Nevada tree was rescued by wildlife officials and firefighters who tranquilized the bruin and then caught the large animal in a tarp. He was circumcised. He came back home and moved his way up in the Westies, making a name for himself as a killer. Grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. The Westies only numbered around 15 members, all Irish American, yet became the dominant criminal force in Hells Kitchen. Scan this QR code to download the app now. In this case, he was not only innocent of the crime, he also knew who had done it. They pulled over, either to do cocaine or because one of them asked him to. However, Holly returned to New York City several years later. On Dec. 21, he received a suspended sentence with five years of probation after Federal and state authorities sent letters commending his cooperation to Judge Robert W. Sweet, who sentenced him in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Brisman Craigslist Murder Phillip Markoff was born 1986. IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM-Mickey Featherstone and Family UPDATE The district attorney said they were 'very brutal. The shooter, Featherstone had learned, was William Billy Bokun, the brother of Hollys alleged victim, John Bokun. Authorities said Leone was a loanshark and a bookie who created no-show jobs and took kickbacks from dockworkers on the Hudson River piers that border the Irish gang's territory in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side. . Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Francis Mickey Featherstone, a leader of New York Citys Irish organized crime gang known as the Westies, was set up by other members of the gang to take the fall for the 1985 murder of Michael Holly. With this evidence in hand showing that Featherstones fellow gang members had turned on him and set him up, his conviction was overturned in September 1986, and Featherstone agreed to become an informant. He is famous for Irish American mobster and Vietnam Vet. [4], Featherstone was convicted in March 1986 for the April 1985 murder of Michael Holly, despite being innocent of this particular murder, which was a revenge attack probably carried out by another of the Westies, Billy Bokun. ''These conditions are imposed to protect you from a psychiatric breakdown and any resulting harm to the community in which you will live. Nebraska students toss water balloons for Guinness World Record. Mickey Featherstone - Wikiwand But now, Coonan realized he could kill two birds with one stone. April 29 (UPI) -- An Australian tourist facing possible flogging after being accused of going on a drunken nude rampage in the Indonesian province of Ache says he felt "almost possessed" at the time. It was very difficult for police and prosecutors to convict men associated with this group because witnesses were terrified of the members and their willingness to quickly kill anyone who crossed them.

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