Heres a list of hitmen, buttonmen and bagmen who are most certainly not Italian. Dugan took the jest as a personal insult and stormed out on his friend. Related Posts: Richie Ryan; Rudy Giulliani Quote; Cadillac Frank; A Rare Photo of Egan's Rats Leaders; The following day, Coonan and Cummiskey went out for a drink with Billie Beattie at the Sunbrite Bar. He was a habituate of the Sunbrite Bar on 10th Avenue and 50th in Chelsea, Manhattan and The Market Diner in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. After refusing to acquiesce to Nicodemo Scarfos order to pay up a street tax to the family in order to keep operating, a move that would essentially absorb Phillys Greek mob into the Scarfo crime empire, Bouras was gunned down at the citys Meletis Greek Restaurant in 1981, where he was dining with his acquaintance Jeanette Curro, Raymond Martorano and radio host Jerry Blavat. Featherstone plead guilty to one racketeering charge and was soon released for his cooperation. Featherstone, who said he had been Coonans right-hand man, admitted that he had lied under oath in other cases, had been in and out of mental institutions, suffered delusions and was a former abuser of alcohol and drugs. Coonan now was getting national attention. Feb 9, 2019 - Rare pic of Club 596 / Jimmy Coonan (The Westies) headquarters. 7 Theories That Explain Jimmy Hoffa's Disappearance He was released from the mental hospital 4 years later. This new friendship was not to Spillane's liking; however, he did not act on his anger as he did not yet want to risk severing ties with Cummiskey, one of his heaviest hitters. James Michael Coonan (born December 21, 1946), nicknamed "Jimmy C", is an Irish-American mobster and racketeer from Manhattan, New York who, served as the boss of the Westies gang, an Irish mob group based in Hell's Kitchen, from approximately 1977 to 1988. Jimmy Coonan is currently being held at Lewisburg Federal Penetentiary, he is 59 years old and is Inmate Number 13874-054 his projected release date is November 6th, 2036, he'll be like 89 or some shit if he lives that long. The Westies- Hells Kitchen, NY - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM Your email address will not be published. This murder between friends rocked the entire neighborhood, violent as it was known for being. By his teenage years, Coonan stood five feet, seven inches tall and had a stocky build, with broad shoulders and a thick neck. When Mickey returned to the notoriously violent, Irish dominated Hells Kitchen area of New York, his violent tendencies continued. They do things for the Elders who all mostly live in Jersey! [1] An amateur boxer and street fighter, he dropped out of school aged seventeen and embarked on a career in organized crime. Coonan and Featherstone dragged a guy out of a bar and forced him into a van and masturbated on him as a form of intimidation. He opened up the gang to the lucrative drug dealing rackets as well as continuing extortion, numbers, loansharking and counterfeiting rackets in the area. . This Serbian mobster turned journo was an arch opportunist, driven in part by the love he held for his native Serbia, (along with his love of stealing shiny objects). Cummiskey would further himself from the Spillane-led faction of the Hell's Kitchen Irish Mob known as The Spillane Gang and become more and more a member and follower of the young Jimmy Coonan. Privacy Policy. This led to the arrest of Featherstone on a murder charge. Coonan, looking for a more feared and respected gangster like Cummiskey on his side, decided to use Dugan to lure in Cummiskey. A year after his release in 2010, Engs wife Lori was murdered by another Flying Dragon member, David Chea, who killed himself (probably in order to avoid Johnny Engs retribution).[9]. After Danny Grillo and Jimmy Coonan clipped Ruby Stein, Big Paul and Funzi Tieri had a mini sit down to discuss the volatile 'West Side Irish Mob'. That was the one thing that stood out to me in the book. Edward Cummiskey - Wikipedia He had also spent almost a year on the FBI most wanted fugitive list after being a stowaway on an International Longshoremen's Association freighter to Itagua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to avoid a murder charge. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. The Irish-American gang led by Jimmy Coonan and Francis (Mickey) Featherstone aligned itself with the Gambino crime family and enforced its racketeering schemes with a campaign of murder and. ! He was discharged on medical grounds in 1967, claiming to be experiencing hallucinations. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. After four weeks of testimony Coonan was found guilty of racketeering and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. From the 1930s until his explosive death in 1975, Shondor Birns rose through the ranks in Clevelands underworld, becoming the towns most feared and extroverted mobster, constantly investigated, arrested and released, gaining a reputation as a numbers king and as a mediator between feuding gangsters. In 1988, he and his wife went into a witness protection program. Shady doings, ambitious heists and international political skulduggery are elements covered by great journalists like Vojislav Stanimirovic. Mickey Featherstone was a complete nut case. In the 1970s Coonan worked as an enforcer and bodyguard for loanshark named Ruby Stein. There is a documentary somewhere on YouTube from the early 90s where Mickey is in disguise but talks about his days in the Westies. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. At thirty-nine years old, he had already been convicted of assault and robbery and had been sent to Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York and at 37 was witness to the Attica Prison riot September 9, 1971 during his incarceration. Shondor Birns managed to survive the golden age of gangster historythe 20s and 30sand succeeded in the equally violent 50s and 60s. He allegedly murdered Mike "The Yugo" Yelovich claiming he had to because Yelovich had accidentally shot Cummiskey in the shin bone with a rifle. James Michael Coonan (born December 21, 1946), nicknamed "Jimmy C", is an Irish-American mobster and racketeer from Manhattan, New York who, served as the boss of the Westies gang, an Irish mob group based in Hell's Kitchen, from approximately 1977 to 1988. Because the construction site was in Hell's Kitchen that made it Mickey Spillane's territory, but, the Genovese family front boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno did not like that, so, he sent a freelance Irish hit man from Queens by name of Joseph "Mad Dog" Sullivan to get rid of some of Spillane's main men. Coonan and Cummiskey soon became known associates, as Cummiskey taught Coonan the "tricks of the trade". After Coonan took over as boss of the Westies, he had Stein murdered to gain control of his gambling and loansharking customers. During the early 1970s, Coonan recruited a gang of young Irish hoods and they began kidnapping, beating, and murdering any Spillane loyalists. this awesome character was inspired by one of the most fascinating men in 20th century African American history: Casper Holstein. . Coonan and Ryan will never see the light of day (Sean Ryan wasn't a Westies anyways). Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. ", Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, "Ex-Westies Member Says Gang Boss Cut Off Murder Victim's Head", "Westies Trial: Gruesome Testimony Not For The Squeamish", "United States of America, Appellee, v. James Coonan, Kevin Kelly, James Mcelroy, Kenneth Shannon,william Bokun, John Halo, Edna Coonan, Richardritter, Thomas Collins, Florencecollins, Defendants,kevin Kelly, Defendant-appellant, 938 F.2d 1553 (2d Cir. He would usually tell neighborhood youths about his criminal escapades from his violent past interjected with humor that left his audience laughing. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. The son of an accountant for famous mobsters, Coonan was no stranger to the criminal lifestyle. Organised Crime is a dangerous game. Born July 31, 1965, Hell's Kitchen. This WASP (white, anglo-saxon, protestant) who became the Dean of the underworld in Tampa, Forida didnt have the usual rough upbringing associated with American mobsters. Jimmy Coonan's son? The key prosecution witness, former No. Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. In 1969, Police arrested Coonan on kidnapping and murder beefs. To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary,click here. Humphries had fallen in with a small-time hood named Fred Evans who wanted to grow his bootlegging operation but was confounded by the size and ease with violence displayed by members of Capones gang. He became known as "Jimmy C." As we said last week, Jimmy C. took over the Hell's Kitchen Irish mob after he made a deal with Gambino member Roy Demeo to . NYC tour covers the violent history of Hell's Kitchen and its notorious When you consider that the same guy also fought for the US-backed rebels in the botched Bay of Pigs invasion, got imprisoned for 2 years by the Cubans before fleeing back to the US to forge a criminal empire I mean, why are we only getting a movie now? Proud father of a son that went into military and served in Afghanistan/Iraq. Allegedly, they brought the head of Dugan with them, set it down on the bar stool, ordered his favorite whiskey, lit one of his cigarettes and put it in his mouth. 2 Westie Francis Mickey Featherstone, said the gang had even shot a union leader as a favor to reputed Gambino boss John Gotti. One of these new recruits was 24-year-old Vietnam Vet by the name of Mickey Featherstone. The story is that the Genovese crime family sent a team of heavily-armed hitmen to kill off Spillanes gang. The police and FBI suspected him of a series of mob contract killings. As the courtroom deputy, Bernard Wasserman, read out the verdict against William Indian Bokun, his father swore audibly. He was the brother of Margaret Kagabines, Elaine McCue, Joan Ferrick, Patricia Baeza, Bernard, Robert, Lawrence and Paul. The Westies: Jimmy Coonan - GangsterBB.NET When Coonan was 18 his father was kidnapped by local mobster Mickey Spillane. It was not long before the feared Cummiskey favored working for Coonan over Spillane. In this case, he was found not guilty due to insanity. Those who chose Coonan were immune from these harsh activities because Spillanes gang was on the run and unable to retaliate. Frankos also fingers Chuckie. Since his death, and the slaying of other prominent Greek mobsters in the 80s, the Greek mob has struggled to regain any foothold in the American underworld.[6]. Coonan and a number of the Westies gang owed money to a popular Jewish loan shark named Ruby Stein. He put the hands in bags in a freezer with the intention of using them to put those fingerprints on a gun he would use later. He was operating under the blessing of the Chicago Outfit for decades until, in 1983, the FBI uncovered Etos illegal bolito game. According to lore, the carton contained Dugan's penis, which was later rumored to have been placed in a pickle jar and kept in a refrigerator. One of the most compelling characters in HBOs prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire was Dr. Valentin Narcisse, a Marcus Garvey-supporting pillar of his community that also indulges in some nefarious gangster behaviour, portrayed by the amazing Jeffrey Wright . Ken Eto recovered and proceeded to testify, allowing for the state to get 15 mobsters in prison along with a clutch of corrupt cops. He was raised in a five-room walk-up apartment on West 49th Street. Birns was born in Czechoslovakia in 1907. Prosecutors Mary Lee Warren and David Brodsky had contended the six men and two women on trial were the violent core of the Westies, which they said seized control of the neighborhood once known as Hells Kitchen and maintained their rule with horrible and ghoulish acts of murder., Witnesses testified that in at least three murders, the victims body was cut up and disposed of in what Ms. Warren called the nightmarish signature crime of the Westies.. 10 American Mobsters Who Were Not Italian Americans Adlers producing credits include Valkyrie, Superman Returns, Constantine and Starsky and Hutch. Baldwin also wrote an untitled Gregory Hoblit project, set up at Castle Rock, and an untitled Pierre Morel Tokyo thriller for Paramount. Gangland Wire - Westies Part 2 Jimmy Coonan goes down - 37:46 'Irishman' brings up old question: Where is Jimmy Hoffa buried? Knapp scheduled sentencing for April 18. [8][9] Coonan was first eligible for parole in 1998. This was a broken man. Although Coonan failed to hit anyone he shot upon he was now well known amongst the Hells Kitchen crew. James Coonan - Wikipedia [3][4], Coonan was the bodyguard/apprentice of loan shark Charles (Ruby) Stein according to The New York Times article that alleged he was "known and feared on the West Side as a murderer and kidnapper". Several Westies owed money to Stein and were looking to escape these debts. Mickey Spillane, known as "the last of the gentleman gangsters,' and Jimmy Coonan, who led the much-feared Westies. Federal Prison. Doing Time With Nicky Scarfo & Jimmy Coonan. Islam Comes to Britain. From time to time, the Westies worked for the Gambino crime family as a contract killer squad. All Rights Reserved. Edward "Eddie The Butcher" Cummiskey Jr. (1934 Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan to August 20, 1976 Chelsea, Manhattan) was a New York mobster who served as a mentor to Jimmy Coonan, leader of the Westies. "The Irish Mob" Mickey Spillane: The Gentleman Gangster/Jimmy Coonan A Westie named John Bokun went to Hollys bar and shot him. Featherstone became upset with the direction the Westies were headed and confronted Coonan about his problems. Featherstone, if still alive is in the Wit Sec. He won a brutal turf war with mobster Ignacio Antinori who, in 1940, was gunned down whilst enjoying his morning coffee at a restaurant. When Coonan was 18 his father was kidnapped by local mobster Mickey Spillane. Convicted hitman Donald Frankos claimed that Irish mob boss Jimmy Coonan shot Hoffa in Michigan before dismembering his body with a power saw and meat cleaver, according to a 1989 Detroit Free press story. His wake was held at the former Buckley Funeral Home at 445 West 43rd Street (now Crestwood Funeral Home and Cremation Services) in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan and the funeral was held at Holy Cross Church (Manhattan) and he was buried in Saint Raymond's Cemetery (Bronx). Westies Part 2 Jimmy Coonan goes down - Gangland Wire THE LORD'S OF HELL'S KITCHEN - The New York Times The tome, published two decades ago, centers on the rise to power of the Westies gang during the 1970s and 80s in the Hells Kitchen section of Manhattan. Westies - Wikipedia Jimmy Coonan's nephew, John "Jackie" Coonan jr. runs things in the Kitchen. 7 of 8 Convicted in Westies Rackets Case | AP News Instead of a cross, she hid an inverted pentagram in a flower engraved into the stone. In order to clear his name Featherstone recorded conversations between the Westies and Coonan so that he would be cleared of the murder charge and he could use the evidence he had to put Coonan behind bars. Coonan and his men forgot to puncture the lungs and Steins torso washed ashore. If your enemies catch you, your face will get blown off. After his death, Cleveland went on to suffer many more bombings in the wake of Birns assassination, getting dubbed Bomb City, USA in the press, with 36 bombings in 1976 alone.[1]. In 1986, the police arrested Mickey Featherstone for the murder of Michael Holly. he was slain during the wild 1970s, blown up along with his fancy Lincoln Continental by a bomb planted (purportedly) by the Hells Angels, contacted by his former enforcer Danny Greene. But that simply is not the whole story. 3.0 out of 5 . Jimmy Coonans criminal career started in his teens. He is a little obsessed with lists. Spillane went to Coonan's father, slapped him around and told him to get his son under control. Only one defendant, John Halo, was acquitted on all charges. Johnny Eng, AKA Onionhead or Machinegun Johnny, was the leader of the Flying Dragons street gang in the 1980s, controlling heroin in the Chinatown area of New York. For more information, please see our Spillane was the mob boss who ran Hells Kitchen and was said to have pistol whipped Coonans father before kidnapping and beating him. 1991)", "7 Westies Given Sentences Of Up to 75 Years in Prison", "Prosecutor Says Gang Terrorized Hell's Kitchen", James and Edna Coonan's 1989 appeal brief, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Coonan&oldid=1151269070, 75 years' imprisonment and a $1 million fine, This page was last edited on 22 April 2023, at 23:47. Thats 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. McCarthy founded production-financing company Blue Engine to focus on developing crime stories for film and TV. What Happened To Jimmy Hoffa? 7 Theories As 'The Irishman' Comes Out How the Irish Mob nearly wiped out the Italian Mafia in NYC Featherstone achieved neighborhood fame for single-handedly running a group of toughs from New Jersey out of a Hells Kitchen bar with a rifle. Later that evening, Paddy Dugan came across Dennis Curley walking around the streets of Hell's Kitchen and shot Curley twice in the head, killing him instantly. In addition to the Coonans, both of Hazlet, N.J. and Bokun, the others convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy were: James Jimmy Mack McElroy, 42; Richard Muggsy Ritter, 50; Thomas Collins, 53, and his wife Florence, 52, all of Manhattan. When Benicio Del Toro has been cast to play a real-life figure, you know that person is bound to be a badass. I hope you enjoyed, please subscribe if you did! Explore. Humphries decided that fighting fire with fire was the best plan, hijacking a Capone truck at gunpoint. Thats the nightmare of RICO (the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act).. Pinterest. NEW YORK (AP) _ Seven people were convicted Wednesday on federal racketeering charges for taking part in the violent activities of a murderous gang known as the Westies, which terrorized Manhattans Hells Kitchen neighborhood for 20 years. Wall could not win his second mob warin 1955, Wall was killed by getting beaten to a bloody pulp with a baseball bat and having his throat slit at his home. The way he became part of Al Capones Chicago Outfit is pretty amazing, tantalisingly lacking in enough key info to render the tale legendary as opposed to simply a footnote in mob history. The latest Tweets from Jimmy Coonan (@jimmy_coonan): ""The acid test of materialism is not how much I have or don't have, but my preoccupation and concern over it." Chip Ingram" After many years on the run in Peru, Battle was indicted back in the US on racketeering charges, having amassed more than $1 billion from drug trafficking, illegal gambling and loan sharking. Unable to make a decent living, Birns family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where his mother set up an illegal alcohol still in their apartment during Prohibition. On Feb. 11, 1984, two Westies drove Leone to New Jersey, pulled over to offer him a hit of cocaine, and shot him in the head. But the key verdict was the jurys decision that the Westies did exist, that it constituted a racketeering enterprise and that the convicted defendants had participated in its activities to further the gangs criminal goals. They have captains and each of the captains have their own crew. In Japanese, the word is nezumi but that also means mouse in English. He testified against Jimmy Coonan and other gang members. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. Learn how your comment data is processed. The hit was probably ordered by his greatest rival, famous Florida gangster Santo Trafficante Sr.[10]. His father was an accountant and not involved in criminal activity. Coonan failed to murder Spillane and his followers, not even wounding one man, but Spillane got the message. Wall was from a wealthy family, his father was a respected physician and his mother was the daughter of the former mayor of Tampa. Jimmy Coonan? - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM The Genovese crime family wanted to run all mob activity associated with the convention center. Along with Bouras, Curro was also killed whilst Martonaro and Blavat escaped with minor injuries. Beattie was then instructed to go over to Dugan's apartment and bring down the carton of milk from the refrigerator. if you want to support the channel, we have multiple options for you. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988.

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