He opened up the gang to the lucrative drug dealing rackets as well as continuing extortion, numbers, loansharking and counterfeiting rackets in the area. The End of The Westies - The Irish Mob 'Irishman' brings up old question: Where is Jimmy Hoffa buried? Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. What prison is he in? reddit. To be convicted of racketeering, each defendant had to be found to have committed at least two of the 28 racketeering acts cited. His death would be one of many ordered by Salerno seeking to eliminate high ranking and veteran members of Spillane's organization. He took aim and fired a whole 30 round magazine in one long burst at Spillane and some men with him. Featherstone became a valued contract killer for the Westies, working under the direct order of gang leader Jimmy Coonan. 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IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM-Unseen Pic of Jimmy Coonan 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. Coonan failed to murder Spillane and his followers, not even wounding one man, but Spillane got the message. His younger brother is Richard Coonan. Cummiskey, the so-called "Butcher of Hell's Kitchen" taught young Coonan the "art" of body dismemberment, using Paddy Dugan as the textbook. Humphreys is also rumoured to be the inspiration for Tom Hagen, the Corleone Familys consigliere played by Robert Duvall in the Godfather movies.[4]. Despite being innocent of this particular murder, he was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He held sway over the citys illegal gambling rackets for years, making millions and allowing him to gain political connections that solidified his position. Westie members murdered and dismembered him in the back of Coonan's bar, then threw his remains in the Hudson River. His gang soon outgrew the old Irish mob led by Spillane. Featherstone achieved neighborhood fame for single-handedly running a group of toughs from New Jersey out of a Hells Kitchen bar with a rifle. In this case, he was found not guilty due to insanity. Feb 9, 2019 - Rare pic of Club 596 / Jimmy Coonan (The Westies) headquarters. 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. The racketeering charges alleged eight murders, four murder conspiracies and three attempted murders. 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. Coonan eventually interacted directly with John Gotti, who took over the Gambino crime family after the murder of Castellano in December 1985. 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 set up a numbers game and quickly started raking in the big bucks$200,000 a week, with $3000 finding its way into the pockets of corrupt cops that allowed Eto to prosper. The verdict came on the eighth day of jury deliberations. Jimmie Grayson Coan. With the bad blood between Coonan and Featherstone, Coonan decided to set Featherstone up for murder. Your email address will not be published. . His wife, Edna, 44, was convicted of loansharking and tax charges. (completely optional)Chad's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Razor-Wire-Prison-Memoir/dp/B08NJR548L/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1\u0026keywords=blood+on+the+razor+wire\u0026qid=1625283431\u0026sr=8-1Check out our website:www.myfreedomfighters.comPaypal.me/ChadMarks2020Cashapp: $ChadMarks102 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. 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. He allegedly murdered Mike "The Yugo" Yelovich claiming he had to because Yelovich had accidentally shot Cummiskey in the shin bone with a rifle. 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. Duing this time, Jimmy Coonan was in jail on gun possession charges. Coonan and his men forgot to puncture the lungs and Steins torso washed ashore. One of these new recruits was 24-year-old Vietnam Vet by the name of Mickey Featherstone. 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. Featherstone, if still alive is in the Wit Sec. 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 . 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. They have captains and each of the captains have their own crew. He and the others dismember Steins corpse and dumped it in the Hudson River. When Mickey returned to the notoriously violent, Irish dominated Hells Kitchen area of New York, his violent tendencies continued. Almost three months after the Curley murder on November 17, 1975, Coonan and Cummiskey called Paddy Dugan in under the pretense of a hit against the Spillane crew, claiming they needed Dugan to be the wheelman in the murder. Federal Prison. Doing Time With Nicky Scarfo & Jimmy Coonan. Eto survived three gunshots to the head due to the bullets being hand-loaded with an insufficient amount of gunpowder (a method designed to stop investigators tracking the shooters via the spent ammo), the underpowered round grazing Etos skull as opposed to blowing off his head. 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. Featherstones violence caught the eye of Coonan. Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2008. Coonan used these gang members to lure Stein to the 596 Club bar where he was shot to death. . Although Coonan wounded no one, Spillane understood that the younger hoodlum was not to be taken lightly. Spillane went to Coonan's father, slapped him around and told him to get his son under control. 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 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. A Westie named John Bokun went to Hollys bar and shot him. Mr. Coonan's wife, Edna, who prosecutors said had helped run the Westies while her husband was in jail on other charges, was sentenced to a total of 15 years on two counts of racketeering and . Explore. In 1979 both Featherstone and Coonan were arrested but acquitted for the murder of a bartender named Harold Whitehead. Jimmy Coonan (@jimmy_coonan) | Twitter Only one defendant, John Halo, was acquitted on all charges. Birns was born in Czechoslovakia in 1907. Holstein lived it largehe owned many luxury cars, had two swanky apartments in New Yorks Harlem area, a house on Long Island and thousands of acres of land in the state of Virginia. During this incarceration Featherstone was injected with Thorazine. Gangland Wire - Westies Part 2 Jimmy Coonan goes down - 37:46 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. During the early 1970s, Coonan recruited a gang of young Irish hoods and they began kidnapping, beating, and murdering any Spillane loyalists. Privacy Policy. In addition, the jury found Coonan participated in most of the racketeering acts charged against him, including seven murders. Westie Eddie "The Butcher" Kaminsky and Jimmy Coonan murdered a druggie who killed one of their fellow members and carried the man's body across the rooftops from one tenement building to the. 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. An eighth defendant was acquitted of all charges as the five-month trial ended. The Westies- Hells Kitchen, NY - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM Jimmy was ashamed that his father was treated like this and he swore revenge against Mickey Spillane. ! In 1980, the Secret Service put Featherstone in jail for using fake currency at a massage parlor. Shady doings, ambitious heists and international political skulduggery are elements covered by great journalists like Vojislav Stanimirovic. 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. Eto entered the witness protection programme, relocated to Georgia where he lived a long, event free life. To subscribe on iTunesclick here,give me a review and I will send you a link to see the film for free. James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. Having left his native California (after a stint, like many Japanese Americans, in an internment camp in the 40s), Eto moved to Chicago in 1949. Pinterest. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Although reportedly on good relations with both Spillane and Coonan (despite rumors of Cummiskey defecting to the Westies), he was shot at point blank range and killed by Joseph "Mad Dog" Sullivan while drinking at the Sunbrite bar on August 20, 1976. Well, whatever the correct Japanese terminology, Chicago-based mobster Ken Eto blabbed to the feds about the Chicago Outfit. Jimmy Coonan? - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM [5] Coonan wanted more, and several West Side neighborhood thugs gathered around him, including Francis "Mickey" Featherstone. Coonan decided to remove his gangs debt by murdering Stein. 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. The Peter Pan wiseguy they killed in NJ taught them that move. James Coonan is currently serving his 60 year sentence in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. A rat is a rat in any language. The hit was probably ordered by his greatest rival, famous Florida gangster Santo Trafficante Sr.[10]. He left for England and acquired an English accent years ago. Although Coonan failed to hit anyone he shot upon he was now well known amongst the Hells Kitchen crew. 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. That was the one thing that stood out to me in the book. Westies - Wikipedia 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. He became known as Jimmy C. As we said last week, Jimmy C. took over the Hells Kitchen Irish mob after he made a deal with Gambino member Roy Demeo to kill the previous boss, Mickey Spillane, in 1977. He was a high school drop out, like many of the Westies. He was the brother of Margaret Kagabines, Elaine McCue, Joan Ferrick, Patricia Baeza, Bernard, Robert, Lawrence and Paul. 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. Islam Comes to Britain. Any resident of Hells Kitchen who who took Spillanes side were subject to beatings, kidnappings, store vandalism, and robberies. With Robert Spillane, Jim McManus, T.J. English, Joseph Coffey. 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. On August 25, 1975, Curley jokingly pulled a gun on Dugan while the two were drinking in a local pub. Learn how your comment data is processed. Required fields are marked *. Cummiskey was murdered by hitman Joseph Sullivan on August 20, 1976, in a bar. 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. Beattie was then instructed to go over to Dugan's apartment and bring down the carton of milk from the refrigerator. James Coonan - Wikipedia Helpful. Jimmie Grayson Coan Obituary - The Desert Sun He passed out and when he awoke, he found they had given him a circumcision. 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. In 1966, Coonan fired a machine gun at Spillane and his associates from atop a Hell's Kitchen tenement building. What Happened To Jimmy Hoffa? 7 Theories As 'The Irishman' Comes Out Mickey Spillane or someone in his gang kidnapped Mr. Coonan for ransom and someone pistol whipped Coonans father. ", 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. James Coonan - Crime Museum All defendants face up to 20 years apiece on both racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Coonan, 41, was found guilty of attempted murder, murder conspiracy, loansharking, extortion and income tax evasion among other crimes. He passed away in 2004. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. For more information, please see our He is a little obsessed with lists. Heres a list of hitmen, buttonmen and bagmen who are most certainly not Italian. 7 of 8 Convicted in Westies Rackets Case | AP News Born July 31, 1965, Hell's Kitchen. Jimmy Coonan brought the Westies into the 20th Century and presided over the most bloody and violent gang in New York City history James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. [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. 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. The house in Hazlet, New Jersey is the last small cottage at the end of a dead end street. He now lives under an assumed name somewhere in the USA.[2]. Maybe Amato. Shondor Birns managed to survive the 'golden age' of gangster historythe 20s and 30sand succeeded in the equally violent 50s and 60s. He won a brutal turf war with mobster Ignacio Antinori who, in 1940, was gunned down whilst enjoying his morning coffee at a restaurant. [8][9] Coonan was first eligible for parole in 1998. The body, Frankos said, was. Very few mobsters live a long, stress-free life and die of old age. I know John Thomas Coonan personally. Mickey Spillane: The Gentleman Gangster/Jimmy Coonan and the Westies Gang: Directed by Datha Keane. [3] Author T.J. English has credited this event in several books as Coonan's motivating factor in the takeover of the Westies. Shane McCarthy, Gil Adler (Superman Returns) and Frank Baldwin are developing a feature version of T.J. Englishs mob tale The Westies and will produce through McCarthys Blue Engine Entertainment and Gil Adler Prods. Jimmy Coonan brought the Westies into the 20th Century and presided over the most bloody and violent gang in New York City history. 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. He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations. He died whilst awaiting a prison transfer in 2007 at the age of 77.[8]. Coonan and Ryan will never see the light of day (Sean Ryan wasn't a Westies anyways). 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. Several Westies owed money to Stein and were looking to escape these debts. His father was an accountant and not involved in criminal activity. Its just a matter of the government, piling it all together. The key prosecution witness, former No. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. Along with Bouras, Curro was also killed whilst Martonaro and Blavat escaped with minor injuries. Mickey Spillane, known as "the last of the gentleman gangsters,' and Jimmy Coonan, who led the much-feared Westies. r/Mafia on Reddit: Jimmy Coonan Instead of a cross, she hid an inverted pentagram in a flower engraved into the stone. 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. 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. By 1976, Coonan and Featherstone were engaged in taking over Spillane's territory, culminating in the 1977 shooting of Spillane, for which Featherstone was arrested and acquitted, and the death of Stein.

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