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. 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. Thats the nightmare of RICO (the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act).. Pinterest. It would also see a string of gang members turn on their former friends too, Jimmy McElroy, Billy Beatie and Tony Lucich being the main ones Jimmy Coonan was sentenced to 75 years in prison on racketeering charges, including seven murders and other crimes. The main differences between most early 20th century American businessmen and Holstein? 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. In another bar room fight in 1971, he shot and killed a guy named Linwood Willi. In September 1986, Judge Alvin Schlesinger overturned Featherstones conviction in the murder of Michael Holly. During the early 1970s, Coonan recruited a gang of young Irish hoods and they began kidnapping, beating, and murdering any Spillane loyalists. Eto entered the witness protection programme, relocated to Georgia where he lived a long, event free life. This dismembering method of disposing of his victims was used by Coonan many times. During the 70s and 80s, he became the leader of The Corporationa sprawling crime/business empire that consisted of bolita games across the US eastern seaboard as well as holdings in Peruvian casinos and a host of investments in legitimate businesses. 3.0 out of 5 . 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. 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. Several Westies owed money to Stein and were looking to escape these debts. He would usually tell neighborhood youths about his criminal escapades from his violent past interjected with humor that left his audience laughing. The following day, Coonan and Cummiskey went out for a drink with Billie Beattie at the Sunbrite Bar. James Coonan was born December 21, 1946 in Manhattan, New York. He was a high school drop out, like many of the Westies. He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Although Coonan wounded no one, Spillane understood that the younger hoodlum was not to be taken lightly. Coonan joined with the Italiansbecause Spillane had refused the Mafias efforts to control criminal activities in and around the Jacob Javits convention center. In 1969, Police arrested Coonan on kidnapping and murder beefs. Afraid that Eto would turn states witness, the mob decided to take him out. He formed an alliance with a man named Mickey Featherstone and a few former members of Hells Kitchen who were afraid of Coonan. 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. Coonan and Cummiskey soon became known associates, as Cummiskey taught Coonan the "tricks of the trade". Coonan failed to murder Spillane and his followers, not even wounding one man, but Spillane got the message. Humphries didnt follow that path, but certainly made use of many lessons in how the judicial system worked, becoming an arch manipulator of law enforcement and gatherer of political influence. The hit was probably ordered by his greatest rival, famous Florida gangster Santo Trafficante Sr.[10]. The Westies murdered Stein, dismembered him, and threw the remains in the Hudson River. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. Featherstone, if still alive is in the Wit Sec. 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. Curley was like a younger brother to Cummiskey, as both had started out as small-time Irish hoods in Hell's Kitchen. He passed away in 2004. Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2008. With the bad blood between Coonan and Featherstone, Coonan decided to set Featherstone up for murder. He was allegedly involved in the kidnapping of Genovese crime family bookmaker Paul (Eli) Ziccardi as well as later participating in the gang war between Spillane and Coonan during the mid-1960s. However, the two soon proceeded with their real plan by brutally murdering and butchering Dugan. 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. 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. 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. 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. James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. [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. and our 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. James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. Spillane went to Coonan's father, slapped him around and told him to get his son under control. 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. Featherstone became a valued contract killer for the Westies, working under the direct order of gang leader Jimmy Coonan. One could make the argument that entering the Marine core during the turbulent Vietnam War at the age of 17 essentially sealed his fate: the impressionable young man, possible harbouring underlying schizophrenia, engaged in violent combat in the green hell and white heat hat was the conflict in Vietnam. Two of Coonan's hoods were Dennis "Rhinestone Cowboy" Curley and Patrick (Padd)y Dugan, both lifelong best friends. McCarthy, Adler and Baldwin are also collaborating on an adaptation of Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Colemans Tower that Baldwin is penning. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | RSS | More, Jimmy Coonan brought the Westies into the 20th Century and presided over the most bloody and violent gang in New York City history. 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. When he was . Is this the same man I know? Scan this QR code to download the app now. Privacy Policy. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Instead of a cross, she hid an inverted pentagram in a flower engraved into the stone. In 1977 when Mickey Spillane was killed outside his apartment, Featherstone was arrested but acquitted for his killing. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. 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. In 1979 both Featherstone and Coonan were arrested but acquitted for the murder of a bartender named Harold Whitehead. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. 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. 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. His wife Edna was given 15 years. From time to time, the Westies worked for the Gambino crime family as a contract killer squad. Knapp scheduled sentencing for April 18. Then, it was finally time to begin building the Jacob Javits Center in Hell's Kitchen, which would turn into a tremendous money maker. Mr Anonymous Jul 01, 2010 #2 Kevin Kelly is out now. His death would be one of many ordered by Salerno seeking to eliminate high ranking and veteran members of Spillane's organization. Featherstones wife, Sissy, wore a wire and engaged other Westies in incriminating conversations to help her husband get out of jail. When Coonan was 18 his father was kidnapped by local mobster Mickey Spillane. 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. Featherstone became disillusioned with Coonan and the Westies after they forged a closer alliance with the Gambino crime family; Featherstone wasnt too keen on non-Irish mobsters and resented the way other groups used the Westies as glorified errand boys. He went on trial with Coonan for the killing of Harold Whitehead, and they were acquitted in December 1979 after one witness killed himself and another refused to testify. ", 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. 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 . Pinterest. 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. Its just a matter of the government, piling it all together. This led to the arrest of Featherstone on a murder charge. They have captains and each of the captains have their own crew. [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. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. He drove up and shot and killed Michel Holly on the street in front of witnesses. Dont forget to listen to Aaron on the Big Dumb Fun Show, live on Monday nights. 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 . 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'. Edna put out a family memorial, about their family being chained together in hell in the afterlife. Unfortunately we do not know the nature of their meeting, but we do know that usually any person dragged into a meeting with Capone wouldnt leave with his legs intact (and may even leave through the back door in a carpet). Birns was born in Czechoslovakia in 1907. 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. Turn on post notifications so you dont miss a video! [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. The gang then tipped the cops thatFeatherstone killed Holly. In addition, the jury found Coonan participated in most of the racketeering acts charged against him, including seven murders. [5] Coonan wanted more, and several West Side neighborhood thugs gathered around him, including Francis "Mickey" Featherstone. During this incarceration Featherstone was injected with Thorazine. John Gotti began running the Gambino Crime Family after Roy DeMeo had died and he used Coonans Westies as a killer squad for the family. With Robert Spillane, Jim McManus, T.J. English, Joseph Coffey. That was the one thing that stood out to me in the book. Mickey Spillane or someone in his gang kidnapped Mr. Coonan for ransom and someone pistol whipped Coonans father. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Coonan reportedly killed a loan shark victim who could not pay his debt, dismembered him and cut off his hands. In 1980, the Secret Service put Featherstone in jail for using fake currency at a massage parlor. James Coonan is currently serving his 60 year sentence in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. Learn how your comment data is processed. Murray Humphries somehow managed to impress Capone enough to get himself recruited into the organization he had just robbed blind. 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. Helpful. Featherstone became upset with the direction the Westies were headed and confronted Coonan about his problems. 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. 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?
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