The Westies

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The Westies , also known as West Side Irish mob called, was a mainly Irish Americans dominated gang in organized crime from New York City .

The name came about because she was mainly active in the western district of Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan . The gang had its greatest influence from 1965 to 1988 and was believed to be responsible for the murder of up to 100 people. She had become particularly notorious for her ruthless removal of corpses (fragmentation) and her collaboration with the Gambino family .

history

precursor

At the turn of the 20th century, it was mostly Irish who settled in Hells' Kitchen . The Gophers , one of New York's classic gangs, had ruled the district since 1890 and, at their peak in 1907, could count on around 500 members. The gang later allied with the Hudson Dusters , but neither could prevail against the Italian Five Pointers and the Jewish Eastman Gang .

Apparently, in 1908 , the Gophers came under the control of Jack Zelig , who controlled the largest faction of the Eastmans , when that gang split after the arrest of Monk Eastman in 1904.

In particular, the prohibition in the United States put the gang under further pressure, with this in principle the phase of the classic gang in New York ended and after 1920 the Gophers no longer existed. Some members continued their criminal careers in another form.

Member Owney Madden became a partner of Dutch Schultz , who had his power base in the neighboring Bronx . Schultz was also a member of the Seven Group and was considered the “beer baron of the Bronx”, because Americans of Irish descent did not want to do without beer during the prohibition period .

Schultz , actually a Kosher Nostra , had added many other Irish-born members to his gang besides Madden . In particular with the ex-gophers Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll , Madden and Schultz got into a bloody conflict that ended in 1932 with the assassination of Coll .

Dutch Schultz himself was then murdered in 1935 because he had not followed the instructions of the National Crime Syndicate under Lucky Luciano and continued planning to murder the prosecutor who was investigating both of them.

Irish gang leaders also controlled the area in the 1940s and 1950s. Leaders like Eddie McGrath , along with his brother-in-law Johnny "Cockeye" Dunn and Squint Sheridan , ruled the Manhattan Westside area. In the 1950s, however, the decline of the docks on the West Side began . The era of liner ships was drawing to a close and more and more goods were being transported by air. The three gangsters withdrew; In 1959, McGrath was the last to leave the neighborhood and go to Florida .

Her successor was Michael J. "Mickey" Spillane , who almost fell into the lap of the illegal sources of income of the previous gangster greats. He gained additional reputation through his marriage to Maureen McManus in August 1960, who came from a respected family of politicians. This family, with the help of the Midtown Democratic Club , had exercised political control in the district since 1905.

This political connection opened up new areas of business as the construction sector was now open. The Irish got more and more into labor racketeering and thus had their hands on the construction sites of the New York Coliseum , Madison Square Garden and later the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center .

By 1965, Spillane had usurped most of the illegal business; in particular, this also included the illegal street lotteries. Various other business areas, however, were in the hands of the Italian-American five families of La Cosa Nostra ; especially the Gambino and Genovese families .

The decline in Hell's Kitchen continued to grow. Spillane acted like a godfather of the mafia in the neighborhood, distributing favors and gifts in the neighborhood. Sick neighbors got flowers sent to the hospital or in need to Thanksgiving (s .: Thanksgiving ) a turkey .

Spillane-Coonan War

background

In his early days, Spillane had also resorted to kidnapping to collect ransom money . The father of James “Jimmy” Coonan was the victim of one of these actions in the 1950s . Not only was he beaten with a pistol during his abduction by Spillane (English pistol-whipping ), Spillane had an open affair with Coonan's mother. In 1966, Coonan's dislike of Spillane was revealed when Coonan opened fire on Spillane and his people with a submachine gun from the roof of a house .

Although no one was injured, the message was clearly there. Coonan, his brother Jackie, Eddie Sullivan , Bobby Huggard and Georgie Saflita had positioned themselves.

Westside Rules

Some kind of unwritten West Side law said that no other residents of the West Side should be harmed. Just as Coonan could not immediately take off the popular Spillane, Spillane was also unable to take direct action against Coonan. Even so, rumors soon started circulating that contract killers (from outside) had been hired by Spillane. Eddie Sullivan was supposed to be the first to be eliminated by Bobby Lagville , since he came from the East Side and therefore would not cause any damage to Spillane's reputation .

But the project became known to Coonan and Sullivan and at the end of March 1966 the body of Lagville was found. Only a little later, the rumors manifested that a team of hit men had been recruited from Texas . Coonan and his men had obtained money through minor raids and armed themselves with weapons. They were now ready for the big confrontation with Mickey Spillane. But this project ruined Jackie Coonan, who wanted to rob another bar on his own. However, the sudden resistance of the owner ensured that Jackie Coonan shot him and this was ultimately arrested.

Error and judgment

Only a few days later, on April 3, 1966, the two civilians Jerry Morales and Charles Canelstein were victims of the Coonan troops. Both met Eddie Sullivan in a bar and he imagined the announced Spillane killer team from outside of him.

Sullivan lured Morales and Canelstein into a car under the pretext of a police check (Coonan and other companions were already there). After a short drive and an attempt to rob both of them, the two were driven into an ambush and shot down. While Morales died before the police arrived, Canelstein survived despite serious injuries. A day later, based on testimony , police arrested Coonan , Sullivan and driver Billy Murtha .

On May 12, 1966, everyone involved was sentenced. Sullivan received life imprisonment , while Jimmy Coonan received 5 to 10 years in prison for dangerous physical harm (of which he pleaded guilty). He was taken to Sing Sing , where Brother Jackie was already imprisoned.

Coonan's return

In the fall of 1970, Coonan was released early and returned to Hell's Kitchen. Spillane was still the dominant figure in the area and Coonan was on his own. In 1971 Coonan, who had taken on minor jobs in between, began his gangster life again and committed a few minor robberies.

He later tried kidnapping again , but one attempt failed because the kidnapped man escaped straight into the arms of a police officer. Coonan went into hiding immediately; However, after a few months he returned and was faced with charges in 1972 , but he was acquitted because the victim has since refused to testify.

In 1973 he bought a pub with the little capital he still had, which became known as the 596 Club and which soon became the home of many young criminals in the area. In the aftermath, it was soon seen as a counterpoint to Spillane's headquarters in the White House Bar , where the older generation of gangsters spent their time.

The first people Coonan tried to befriend were Edward "Eddie", "The Butcher" Cummiskey , a thug in the service of Spillane, and Anton "Tony" Lucich , who introduced Coonan to the secrets of loansharking . Soon after, Coonan began to get into the business himself and lent money to acquaintances who, with increasing dependence, began to see him as the boss.

Another incident in 1975 between Coonan and an African-American from Harlem , who and his friends threatened a Coonan acquaintance, sparked another judicial investigation because Coonan had shot him. The whole thing happened under the eyes of two policemen who then arrested Coonan. Coonan was released on bail .

James "Jimmy" Coonan was aware that he couldn't keep acting like this and needed support, some kind of assistant. As this he chose Francis "Mickey" Featherstone .

Coonan & Featherstone

Featherstone was an ex-soldier who had fought in the Vietnam War but had returned early from his service. Already in his youth he had been suspicious of violent behavior and suffered traumatic experiences from abuse during his service. After serving in the army, he deliberately stood in the way of conflicts instead of avoiding them, which subsequently led to various murders. However, his attorneys managed to acquit Featherstone of the murder charge due to mental instability (he was later attested to having schizophrenic paranoia ).

In the summer of 1975 there was now a conflict that would cross the paths of Coonan and Featherstone. Patrick "Paddy" Dugan , a petty criminal and junkie who was a regular at Coonan's 596 Club , shot and killed his best friend Denis Curley in an argument on August 25, 1975. The whole neighborhood was in a state of excitement, especially Eddie Cummiskey , a close friend of Curley , was furious and openly swore revenge . For Coonan this was the chance to sacrifice Dugan in order to win the sympathy of Cummiskey . In the meantime, Coonan's business was getting better and better and he had made contact with Charles "Ruby" Stein , a successful loan shark who was an associate of Anthony Salerno's Genovese family . Coonan was in between with his business partner Charles Krueger ; who also worked as a bartender in Coonan's Club; got into a dispute as he took over business on his own.

Coonan now faked a kidnapping of Krueger, which was planned from the start. Performers included Billie Beattie and Paddy Dugan . The ransom demanded was laid out by (the initiated) Coonan for Krueger , for which he was grateful. But Dugan's drug problems made Dugan unpredictable; only a few months later in November 1975, he kidnapped Krueger again without Coonan's permission and again demanded the ransom from Coonan . Dugan disappeared without a trace on November 17, 1975; presumably he was the victim of Coonan and Eddie Cummiskey , who murdered him together and dismantled the body. Cummiskey learned the profession of butcher (hence his nickname ) in the Attica Correctional Facility and was thus a professional in targeted cutting. Dugan's murder should ensure that Coonan learned this profession.

Featherstone, now back in jail for a parole violation , heard of Dugan's murder , which he was not pleased with. Dugan had previously given false testimony in court for Featherstone. Immediately after his return to Hell's Kitchen, Featherstone confronted Billie Beattie , who presumably had lured Dugan into an ambush. But Coonan informed Featherstone about the background of the murder and at the same time offered him a place in his crew, which Featherstone refused at that time.

In December 1975, however , Featherstone got into another conflict, this time with a Puerto Rican , who was then murdered by him. Featherstone was very drunk at the time and couldn't remember what had happened the following day. Instead, he found Coonan and Cummiskey informing him (they were in the bar) and saying that they had taken care of the body. Not long afterwards, in January 1976, Featherstone would witness how Cummiskey and Coonan solved another problem case in their own special way.

Death of Spillane

Thomas Devaney was shot dead on July 20, 1976 , followed only a few weeks later on August 20 by Eddie Cummiskey in a bar. Responsible for the murders was the hit man Joseph "Mad Dog" Sullivan , who was often hired by the La Cosa Nostra .

Devaney and Cummiskey were both Spillane's allies , but Coonan was just as concerned as both had begun to shift their loyalty in his direction. In early 1977, another Spillane ally ( Tom "The Greek" Kapatos ) was assassinated and it became apparent that Anthony Salerno was behind the conflict with Spillane over the construction site of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center .

Again offered Coonan now Featherstone on to work for him, whereupon he entered this time. From then on he worked as a bodyguard who accompanied Coonan on his money collection and, if necessary, used force just like him. In addition, Coonan slowly began to take over the lottery racket, as Spillane had slowly withdrawn for fear of assaults and attacks and had moved to a quieter residential area in order to leave the district that had become unsafe for him.

Coonan noticed the dwindling power of Spillane and used this weakness to establish contacts with La Cosa Nostra himself , whose organizational structure he has always admired. One of the first people he got to know was Edward "Danny" Grillo , a soldier in the Gambino family who was part of Roy DeMeo 's "street crew" . Coonan quickly became acquainted with this too.

On May 5, 1977, Billie Beattie picked Jimmy Coonan up. In the 596 Club Been Tommy Hess , Richie Ryan and Danny Grillo present, arrived than both. They planned the assassination of Charles "Ruby" Stein. On the same day, Beattie and Coonan picked him up and drove him to the club, where he was ultimately shot by Grillo . The background to the murder was that Coonan suspected on the one hand that Stein had something to do with the murders of Cummiskey and Devaney , on the other hand he was also highly indebted to Stein .

Richie Ryan was trained in the art of carving by Coonan in this murder . The body was later submerged in the water at Ward's Island , but just days later the bloated torso washed ashore in Queens .

On May 13, 1977 Michael J. "Mickey" Spillane was gunned down in the street in Queens by Roy DeMeo , who presumably did this as a favor for Coonan (without his knowledge) and thus caused a change of power. Spillane died the same day.

"The Westies"

Cooperation with the Gambino family

The following months were marked by a few murders, which were probably in connection with Coonan's takeover in the district. However, since the murder of Charles Stein, a police investigation has taken place, which also tried to shed light on the processes of the change in power and the new murders.

Nonetheless, Coonan and Featherstone led a brutal regime and the press took notice. In the course of reports after various references to the location of suspected murder victims, the group was nicknamed "The Westies" . The gangsters themselves then began to use this name. Especially when the leaders were later sentenced, this term was picked up again by the media.

The La Cosa Nostra was now apparently ready to work with Coonan at the highest level and to accept him as a business partner. In February 1978, Coonan and Featherstone were summoned to meet Paul Castellano , the boss of the Gambino family. Roy DeMeo from the Gambino family is said to have made the contact. Mafia greats such as Carmine Lombardozzi , Joseph N. Gallo , Anthony "Nino" Gaggi , Aniello Dellacroce and Frank "Funzi" Tieri ( Genovese family ) were also present.

At that meeting, Stein's murder was also discussed, but Coonan denied any involvement in the murder. Castellano allowed the "Westies" to use their family name in their businesses in the West Side , but demanded a percentage share in the profits and the end of the "cowboy methods", as the Italians assessed the savage behavior of the Irish. While Coonan was satisfied with the new partnership, Featherstone mistrusted the Italians, from which he became increasingly dissatisfied.

The collaboration with the Gambino family increased Coonan's self-confidence enormously, which was reflected in his demeanor. He copied the mafiosi's behavior in clothing, protocol and exaggerated threats. Attempts to get his accomplices to interact with DeMeo's crew mostly failed.

First problems: murder and counterfeit money

An example of Coonan's increasingly self-assured - but also unpredictable demeanor - was the murder of Harold “Whitey” Whitehead in November 1978. The cause of his murder by Coonan was an insult he uttered to Jackie Coonan in the past. However, the hushing up of the murder as a robbery failed.

Not only that not all cartridge cases had been removed, Bobbie Huggard , who was present at the murder and who had returned to Hell's Kitchen after several years on the run, inadvertently left a greeting card from his girlfriend. When the body of Whitehead was discovered, a major police investigation began, which was initially unsuccessful.

At the same time, however, an unrelated investigation into counterfeit money that had emerged in the area and in which Mickey Featherstone , who had set up the business himself, was involved, intensified . In the following months, the police managed to smuggle an undercover agent into the narrow circle around this source of income, who was ultimately able to contact Featherstone's partner, Ray Steen .

The following weeks were used to tighten the noose around the counterfeit ring and ultimately the printing plates were found during a house search in Featherstone's apartment . The police also met another partner there, Billy Comas , who was also present at the Whitehead murder .

Steen and Comas were soon convinced to testify against Featherstone and Coonan , and both were arrested shortly thereafter. On the advice of his attorneys, Featherstone pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, while Coonan admitted to having illegal weapons.

However, in addition to the pressure plates, the murder weapon had also been found in Featherstone's apartment , which was confirmed by ballistic tests . Bobby Huggard , John Crowell and Billy Comas , the three people who were also present at the murder that day, were named as witnesses who should now testify against the duo . While Coonan and Featherstone were convinced that Huggard was not going to testify, neither were sure about Crowell .

At Comas , too, there had been rumors about his collaboration with the investigative authorities; However, this committed on 22 March 1979 in a hotel with a firearm suicide . The trial ended with Featherstone and Coonan's acquittal on the murder charge, since only the statements of Steen and Crowell were contradicting each other.

In June 1980, Featherstone was also acquitted by a court of the murder of Spillane , of which he was also accused shortly after his arrest.

Featherstones return

On July 26, 1983, Featherstone was released early from prison and learned from his wife, Sissy , that the rest of the crew had not taken care of his family financially during his enforced absence. In contrast to the Coonans , where Edna Coonan had regularly taken care of collecting her husband's shares.

At first, much to the amazement of his West Side comrades, Featherstone tried to return to a legal life. When he wanted to borrow money from Edna Coonan to buy a house , she declined.

When Edna , on behalf of Jimmy Coonan , demanded that Featherstone take care of three people - Bull Maher (who allegedly cheated Coonan out of money), Billie Beattie (Edna Coonan's ex-boyfriend) and Vinnie Leone (who also allegedly did the Coonan's money withheld) - he refused.

However, he began working with old-time accomplices in 1984, most notably Jimmy McElroy and a young newcomer named Kevin Kelly . Both were responsible for the murder of Leone in February 1984 and wanted to receive sources of income at the piers as a reward . However, Jimmy Coonan placed the condition that Featherstone should return to the gang. In the period that followed, Featherstone and his two new partners successfully completed a number of projects; u. a. they relieved Bull Maher of his sources of income. But Featherstone was dissatisfied with his new gangster life and was already considering the possibility of becoming a key witness for the government at that time.

Decline

Coonan's second return

In December 1984 James "Jimmy" Coonan returned from prison and immediately resumed contact with the Gambino family, which was not very well received by the Westies . Meanwhile Roy DeMeo had been killed and Coonan befriended Danny Marino .

Paul Castellano had come under pressure from the public prosecutor. Dominick Montiglio in particular was worried because it was known that he was cooperating with the government and wanted to testify against Castellano . Coonan quoted Featherstone , who had had contact with Montiglio several times in the past and demanded that he make statements that would incriminate him in court.

In early 1985, Featherstone and most of the accomplices were dissatisfied with Coonan's reign, since Coonan's reign was now demanding such a large share of the profits that less was left for the rest, and began planning the assassination of their boss. However, the operation was interrupted by the murder of Michael Holly on April 25, 1985. He was gunned down in the street and only a day later the main suspect, according to witness statements, was arrested: Francis "Mickey" Featherstone.

The culprit, however, was Billy Bokun , whose brother was believed to have died in 1977 through Holly's fault. Bokun used a wig and a fake beard that day to look like Featherstone . In addition, he borrowed the same type of car that Featherstone owned.

Featherstone's key witness

To have been the fact tricked, was Featherstone aware in the coming weeks when he mitbekam how Bokun admitted this before his lawyers, but they advised him to secrecy about it and called the process witnesses who against Featherstone testified. Bokun himself never showed up, so it was not surprising that Featherstone was found guilty of murder on March 29, 1986.

It was then that Mickey Featherstone realized he had nothing more to lose. In the months that followed, he and his wife Sissy began to cooperate with the government and testify against their former Westies companions. In the course of the investigation, his innocence was proven in September 1986 and the March verdict was overturned.

Subsequently, the main prosecutor Rudolph Giuliani was able to work out a RICO case against Coonan and his accomplices, which led to a successful indictment. In September 1987 the trial of Coonan began in which Featherstone testified in court for several weeks. Much of the Westies were sentenced to long prison terms. James "Jimmy" Coonan alone was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Featherstone and his family were accepted into the witness protection program.

From Hells' Kitchen to Clinton

After the trials, Kevin Kelly and Kenny Shannon became the most influential and active gangsters on the West Side . They mainly engaged in sports betting, gambling and dealt cocaine . After two years of activity, they could no longer withstand the pressure of legal persecution and revealed themselves to the authorities. Guiliano therefore cherished the hope of finally defeating the "Irish mob", since he had now got hold of all the leading figures.

But the neighborhood in the neighborhood had changed. Hell's Kittchen was no longer shaped by Irish-born workers, but by a well-to-do middle class of employees. This change was also reflected in the name of the neighborhood, which was now Clinton .

The Serbian Yugoslav Bosco “The Yugo” Radonjich had already worked on a lower level for Jimmy Coonan . Just as the illegal business had previously fallen into Spillane's hands, Radonjich now filled the void and took over the Irish gang. He also succeeded in renewing contacts with the Gambino family, which was now under John Gotti .

Gang member Brian Bentley and two Latinos Associate started a large-scale series of frauds in which over 1,000 victims were harmed from 1989 to 1992. Furthermore, the Westies again provided powerful men and murderers for the Gambinos , which only ended with the imprisonment of John Gotti in 1992.

In 1999 Radonjich was apparently arrested in Miami while stopping over. However, since the main witness, Sammy Gravano , had become a criminal again, no charges were brought. Radonjich evaded further persecution by returning to Yugoslavia . He died there in 2011 after a brief illness.

Leader of the Irish gangsters in Hell's Kitchen

literature

  • TJ English:
    1. The Westies: Inside the Hell's Kitchen Irish Mob. St Martin's Paperbacks, 1991. ISBN 0-312-92429-1
    2. Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0-06-059002-5
    3. The Westies. Inside New York's Irish Mob; St. Martin's Press 2006; ISBN 0-312-36284-6

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