Roy DeMeo, his Gambino contact, was murdered and Coonans Gambino family connection became Daniel Marino, a capo from Brooklyn. Jimmy C. purchased a machine gun and got on top of a Hells Kitchen tenement building waited for Micky Spillane. Featherstone and Coonan were tried for the murder of a Hells Kitchen barman in 1979 but were acquitted, not for want of evidence; one juror perjured himself at trial and a key witness just so happen to take his own life riiiight. The key prosecution witness, former No. Paul Castellano, who was the Godfather of the Gambinos, requested a meeting in an Italian restaurant with the leader of the Westies, Jimmy Coonan, in an attempt to reel in the gang's worst excesses. This dismembering method of disposing of his victims was used by Coonan many times. Jimmie Grayson Coan (Bobba to her family) was born on January 2, 1935 in Charleston, Arkansas to Joseph and Rena Pritchett. he learned that he had been set up and framed by his own gang. 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. However, Cummiskey was part of the Spillane crew and Dugan was part of the Coonan crew, and Spillane forbade violence against the Coonan gang unless they struck against his men first. 7 Theories That Explain Jimmy Hoffa's Disappearance 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? Big John Boss of the Westies - Page 2 - TheWestiesTheIrishMob Wall was from a wealthy family, his father was a respected physician and his mother was the daughter of the former mayor of Tampa. He left for England and acquired an English accent years ago. For more information, please see our After being released from jail in 1970, he started building up his own Irish gang so he could take over the rackets from Mickey Spillane. In addition, the jury found Coonan participated in most of the racketeering acts charged against him, including seven murders. IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM-Unseen Pic of Jimmy Coonan He would usually tell neighborhood youths about his criminal escapades from his violent past interjected with humor that left his audience laughing. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It was not long before the feared Cummiskey favored working for Coonan over Spillane. Coonan's niece Alberta Sachs was party to the murder, providing the knives and helping with the cleanup. Featherstones violence caught the eye of Coonan. Mickey Spillane: The Gentleman Gangster/Jimmy Coonan and the Westies Gang: Directed by Datha Keane. 7 Westies Given Sentences Of Up to 75 Years in Prison He got involved with the Milano family out there, and Jimmy Caci, and was huge into the cocaine and porn business in the late 80's and early 90's. Wore a wire during the Colombo wars against Teddy Persico Jr and Luchese capo John Baudanza. 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. Dont tell me to shush 3/8 John Bokun angrily told a marshal. Helpful. Coonan authorized the hit of Michael Holly while Billy Bokun was dressed as Mickey Featherstone. 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'. 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 kill the previous boss, Mickey Spillane, in 1977 . Jimmie Grayson Coan Obituary - The Desert Sun Mickey Featherstone was a complete nut case. Pinterest. Birns was born in Czechoslovakia in 1907. Humphries decided that fighting fire with fire was the best plan, hijacking a Capone truck at gunpoint. Pinterest. His wife, Edna, 44, was convicted of loansharking and tax charges. 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. Featherstone became a valued contract killer for the Westies, working under the direct order of gang leader Jimmy Coonan. [5], Chelsais Bouras piloted the Greek mob of Philadelphia through the turbulent 70s, forging a close tie with Raymond Martorano (pictured), a soldier for the citys longstanding crime family the Scarfos, and overseeing loan sharking, gambling and methamphetamine operations. In 1977 when Mickey Spillane was killed outside his apartment, Featherstone was arrested but acquitted for his killing. A member of the Westies forgot to deflate the lungs before throwing the torso in and Steins torso washed up on shore and was found a few days later. r/Mafia on Reddit: Jimmy Coonan 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 learned how to dismember murder victims from Edward Cummiskey, a fellow Westies member, prison-trained as a butcher.. During the late 1970s, Coonan and his Westies allied themselves with the Gambino family and his main contact was Roy DeMeo. In 1979 both Featherstone and Coonan were arrested but acquitted for the murder of a bartender named Harold Whitehead. The hit-squad killed 68 members of Spillanes gang with most of them killed by being gunned down. Coonan is serving his time at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. The Irishman: Who Really Killed Jimmy Hoffa? | Den of Geek Defense lawyers had contended that there was no such organization as the Westies. Famous for his part in the 1971 robbery at the Villa Vizacaya in Florida that saw an estimated $1.5 million worth of art and silver objects, including a priceless silver bowl once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte, Stanimirovic paid his dues to society and went on to write for a living. The New York Daily News August 23, 1976 death notice for Cummiskey reports "Edward was the son of Edward Cummiskey Sr. and Mary Cummiskey nee Hyndes. The association between Italian Americans and the Mafia is as strong as the association between Italian Americans and pizza. The house in Hazlet, New Jersey is the last small cottage at the end of a dead end street. NYC tour covers the violent history of Hell's Kitchen and its notorious While serving time in an upstate New York prison, Cummiskey learned the trade of butchery and became a butcher with the Amalgamated Meat Cutters, allowing him to take advantage of his sentence to perfect a new and gruesome murder method. Coonan had a following amongst the younger Irish in the neighborhood (including Billy Beattie, Billy Bokun, Kevin Kelly, Jackie Coonan, Eddie Coonan, Mickey Featherstone, James McElroy, Joey Schultz, Richie Ryan and Tommy Hess) as well as earning the respect of some old timers such as Tommy Collins, who shifted their allegiance to Coonan from Spillane. Coonan joined with the Italiansbecause Spillane had refused the Mafias efforts to control criminal activities in and around the Jacob Javits convention center. 2 Westie Francis Mickey Featherstone, said the gang had even shot a union leader as a favor to reputed Gambino boss John Gotti. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations. The following day, Coonan and Cummiskey went out for a drink with Billie Beattie at the Sunbrite Bar. The Irish Mob: Mickey Spillane And Jimmy Coonan Younger The Elder 3.57K subscribers Subscribe 27K views 3 years ago This episode explores the lives of Mickey Spillane, known as "the last of the. You can contact the show to be a guest or to interview me!For general business inquiries: bloodontherazorwire@gmail.comIn today's video, I talk about the expriencies I've had with my brother and other various subjects. Afraid that Eto would turn states witness, the mob decided to take him out. Organised Crime is a dangerous game. 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.. Federal Prison. Doing Time With Nicky Scarfo & Jimmy Coonan. Tools 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. Although Coonan wounded no one, Spillane understood that the younger hoodlum was not to be taken lightly. Mickey Spillane, known as "the last of the gentleman gangsters,' and Jimmy Coonan, who led the much-feared Westies. Jimmy Coonans criminal career started in his teens. The main differences between most early 20th century American businessmen and Holstein? How the Irish Mob nearly wiped out the Italian Mafia in NYC 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" Murray Humphries somehow managed to impress Capone enough to get himself recruited into the organization he had just robbed blind. Cummiskey was murdered by hitman Joseph Sullivan on August 20, 1976, in a bar. In addition, the jury found Coonan participated in most of the racketeering acts charged against him, including seven murders. The Westies is a riveting true crime saga and also one of the great untold stories of the 20th century Irish-American experience, McCarthy said. Its just a matter of the government, piling it all together. Those who chose Coonan were immune from these harsh activities because Spillanes gang was on the run and unable to retaliate. His younger brother is Richard Coonan. Islam Comes to Britain. In the 1970s Coonan worked as an enforcer and bodyguard for loanshark named Ruby Stein. 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. Rare pic of Club 596 / Jimmy Coonan (The Westies) headquarters Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. All defendants face up to 20 years apiece on both racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. In retaliation and to set Mickey Featherstone up to take the fall, Billy Bokun, Johns brother got a car identical to Mickey Featherstones and put on a long haired wig and fake mustache to look like Featherstone. Any word on Mickey Featherstone? : r/Mafia - Reddit Humphreys is also rumoured to be the inspiration for Tom Hagen, the Corleone Familys consigliere played by Robert Duvall in the Godfather movies.[4]. One of these new recruits was 24-year-old Vietnam Vet by the name of Mickey Featherstone. Maybe Amato. 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. Your email address will not be published. His wife, Edna, 44, was convicted of loansharking and tax charges. This story of Jimmy Hoffa's death first entered the public consciousness in 1989 when Donald Frankos gave an interview to Playboy Magazine where he claimed that Hoffa was killed by a New York Irish mafia boss by the name of Jimmy Coonan and buried at the home field of the New York Giants and New York Jets football teams. if you want to support the channel, we have multiple options for you. The Genovese crime family took over Spillanes construction business, and all of his organized crime businesses, and from that point on the Genovese crime family also ruled all of Hells Kitchen with an iron fist. Explore. After four weeks of testimony Coonan was found guilty of racketeering and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Westies currently in prison? - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM The hit was probably ordered by his greatest rival, famous Florida gangster Santo Trafficante Sr.[10]. Two of Coonan's hoods were Dennis "Rhinestone Cowboy" Curley and Patrick (Padd)y Dugan, both lifelong best friends. He was operating under the blessing of the Chicago Outfit for decades until, in 1983, the FBI uncovered Etos illegal bolito game. Coonan, 41, was found guilty of attempted murder, murder conspiracy, loansharking, extortion and income tax evasion among other crimes. During the early 1970s, Cummiskey took on a young protg by the name of James "Jimmy C" Coonan, a violent younger generation Irish hoodlum who wanted to take out the old-timer Mickey Spillane. 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. With the bad blood between Coonan and Featherstone, Coonan decided to set Featherstone up for murder. In 1980, the Secret Service put Featherstone in jail for using fake currency at a massage parlor. 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. Required fields are marked *. Engs brutal reign came to an end in 1993 when he was sentenced to 24 years in jail, having to pony up $3.5 million in fines and giving up his massive Pennsylvania estate as further punishment. He was released from the mental hospital 4 years later. The story is that the Genovese crime family sent a team of heavily-armed hitmen to kill off Spillanes gang. Jimmy Coonan brought the Westies into the 20th Century and presided over the most bloody and violent gang in New York City history. Coonan soon continued his criminal career by creating the Westies gang. His father was an accountant and not involved in criminal activity. Apr 01, 2003 #15. That was the one thing that stood out to me in the book. Report abuse Permalink. To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary,click here. Jimmy Coonan, John Moe, Robert Herman, Kevin Kelly, Sean Ryan, and who else? At least 30 of Spillanes gang were killed by bombings. A longtime gangster of the Manhattan's Westside ghetto known as Hell's Kitchen, Cummiskey served under Mickey Spillane following his release from prison. he is the son of the notorious gangster Jimmy Coonan of the Westies, the Irish Mob in New York. To subscribe on iTunesclick here,give me a review and I will send you a link to see the film for free. [5] Coonan wanted more, and several West Side neighborhood thugs gathered around him, including Francis "Mickey" Featherstone. Beattie was then instructed to go over to Dugan's apartment and bring down the carton of milk from the refrigerator. An off-duty policeman in the bar saw John Bokun shoot Michael Holly, then he shot and killed John Bokun. During the early 1970s, Coonan recruited a gang of young Irish hoods and they began kidnapping, beating, and murdering any Spillane loyalists. But the defense attacked the credibility of Featherstone, an admitted three-time killer, and other informants who testified for the government in return for leniency. The Westies went on to kidnap, torture, and murder members of Hells Kitchen until Spillane had to go into hiding and turn over power of Hells Kitchen to Coonan. /r/Mafia features stories, interviews, documentary and news articles about organized crime around the world. The Genovese crime family wanted to run all mob activity associated with the convention center. This led to the arrest of Featherstone on a murder charge. 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. Out of all the things he did, cutting hands off and saving body parts etc. Jimmy Coonan (1977-1986)- Jimmy Coonan led the most violent Irish gang Hell's Kitchen and New York has ever seen. 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]. Mickey Featherstone - Wikipedia Here is one of the recent photos of Westie's boss Jimmy Coonan, taken in 2015 in prison. He won a brutal turf war with mobster Ignacio Antinori who, in 1940, was gunned down whilst enjoying his morning coffee at a restaurant. Two, he made his money via illegal gambling. [5] According to testimony given in 1987 by ex-Westies member turned informant William Beattie, Stein was killed and beheaded in 1977 in a move to erase Coonan's debt and prove the Westies power through viciousness. Knapp scheduled sentencing for April 18. The racketeering charges alleged eight murders, four murder conspiracies and three attempted murders. Learn how your comment data is processed. He passed away in 2004. 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. Dugan took the jest as a personal insult and stormed out on his friend. 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. 7 of 8 Convicted in Westies Rackets Case | AP News In 1920, the still blew up as Birns mother was near it and killed her, leaving young Shondor to first have to live in a Jewish orphanage before eventually being taken in by his grandmother. You can contact the show to be a guest or to interview me!For general business inquiries: bloodontherazorwire@gmail.comIn today's video, I talk about the exp. 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. 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 now was getting national attention. Spillane went to Coonan's father, slapped him around and told him to get his son under control. 3.0 out of 5 . In 1986, the police arrested Mickey Featherstone for the murder of Michael Holly. Jimmie Grayson Coan. His son, Pavle (pictured), followed in his fathers criminal and journalistic footsteps, spending 16 years in jail over two stints and now covering criminal stories for publications such as The Washington Post and online work with The Daily Beast.[7]. Dash cam tour of Hells Kitchen Manhattan, taking you to the murder site of infamous New York City mob loanshark Ruby Stein and headquarters of the westies Irish mob that rivaled the Italian mafia, While explaining the gruesome details of the murder and dismemberment. https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/49257984/download.mp3, Crooked: Interview about a Corrupt 1920s Attorney General. Jimmy Coonan? - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM Growing up in Hell's Kitchen he played hockey with many future Westies-aligned criminals at Hell's Kitchen Park and boxed at Boys & Girls Clubs of America and eventually started burglarizing commercial buildings in Lower East Side, Manhattan and cargo from warehouses in West Side, Manhattan. He is a little obsessed with lists. Roy DeMeo was a close friend of James Coonan and as a favor to Coonan he found Spillane and murdered him. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. Dont worry pop, Im all right, Bokun shouted across the courtroom before being led back to jail. Coonan reportedly killed a loan shark victim who could not pay his debt, dismembered him and cut off his hands. When he was . 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 . Mickey Spillane or someone in his gang kidnapped Mr. Coonan for ransom and someone pistol whipped Coonans father. After his release he resumed power, but in 1988 was convicted of racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and sentenced to 75 years in prison with the judge's recommendation of denying parole. In addition to the racketeering convictions, some of the defendants, including reputed Westies boss James Jimmy Coonan, were found guilty of crimes ranging from attempted murder and loansharking to drug dealing and tax evasion. Ken Eto recovered and proceeded to testify, allowing for the state to get 15 mobsters in prison along with a clutch of corrupt cops. The body, Frankos said, was. Shondor Birns managed to survive the 'golden age' of gangster historythe 20s and 30sand succeeded in the equally violent 50s and 60s. On August 25, 1975, Curley jokingly pulled a gun on Dugan while the two were drinking in a local pub. Born July 31, 1965, Hell's Kitchen. Frankos also fingers Chuckie. Dash cam tour of Hells Kitchen Manhattan, taking you to the murder site of infamous New York City mob loanshark Ruby Stein and headquarters of the westies Irish mob that rivaled the Italian mafia,. 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. Today. 10 American Mobsters Who Were Not Italian Americans He was the brother of Margaret Kagabines, Elaine McCue, Joan Ferrick, Patricia Baeza, Bernard, Robert, Lawrence and Paul. Related Posts: Richie Ryan; Rudy Giulliani Quote; Cadillac Frank; A Rare Photo of Egan's Rats Leaders; 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Mr Anonymous Jul 01, 2010 #2 Kevin Kelly is out now. Thanks to a long history of films, books and TV shows focussed on mob families like the Corleones and the Sopranos, as well as a host of real stories covered in films like The Untouchables, Goodfellas and, of course, the ultimate classic gangster flick Gotti starring John Travolta, when we think about American organised crime, we think Italian. In September 1986, Judge Alvin Schlesinger overturned Featherstones conviction in the murder of Michael Holly. T.J. English described Cummiskey as, "curly black hair, piercing blue eyes, and the cockiness of a bantam rooster, Cummiskey looked and sounded like a gangster from the 1920s". [2] When Coonan was a young man, his father John was kidnapped, pistol-whipped and severely beaten by Mickey Spillane, a well-known mobster who frequently employed the kidnap-for-ransom racket of local merchants to their families. Duing this time, Jimmy Coonan was in jail on gun possession charges. At the time of his death he was married to Shirley Forstmann and father of three- Tammy Ann, Clifford and Terrence." Read Next: Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Saweetie and More Honored on Gold Houses 2023 A100 List, Adele Lim Directing Ashley Park in Untitled R-Rated Comedy for Lionsgate, Point Grey (EXCLUSIVE), Netflix Delaying The Gray Man Production Amid Surging California COVID-19 Cases, Millie Bobby Brown to Star in the Russo Brothers Sci-Fi Film The Electric State, Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Premiere Date Revealed by Steve Martin and Martin Short at Comedy Show (EXCLUSIVE), Jock Zonfrillo, MasterChef Australia Judge, Dies at 46, Matthew Lawrence: 'My Agency Fired Me' After I Refused to Take My Clothes Off for an Award-Winning Director, Willie Nelsons 90th Birthday Is Smoking, With Snoop Dogg, George Strait and Neil Young Among the Party Favorites at the Hollywood Bowl, Super Mario Bros. Movie Officially Smashes $1 Billion Globally, COVER STORY | How a Sex Scandal, Big Egos and Putin Led to Jeff Shells Sudden, No Payout Exit From NBCU, Ryan Goslings Greta Gerwig Barbie Tee and Margot Robbies Pink Two Piece Embrace Barbiecore, The Brilliance of Harry Belafonte in 12 Songs, Bob Odenkirk Joins The Bear Season 2 (EXCLUSIVE), Is This 'Beau Is Afraid' Character a De-Aged Joaquin Phoenix?