Is this the same man I know? Those who chose Coonan were immune from these harsh activities because Spillanes gang was on the run and unable to retaliate. Roy DeMeo was a close friend of James Coonan and as a favor to Coonan he found Spillane and murdered him. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. After Coonan took over as boss of the Westies, he had Stein murdered to gain control of his gambling and loansharking customers. He held sway over the citys illegal gambling rackets for years, making millions and allowing him to gain political connections that solidified his position. Product Details. Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. 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 addition, the jury found Coonan participated in most of the racketeering acts charged against him, including seven murders. Pinterest. 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,. James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. 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. Only one defendant, John Halo, was acquitted on all charges. 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. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. Among other members of the Westies arrested were Jimmy McElroy, a top enforcer, who was sentenced to 60 years and Richard Ritter, a loan shark and drug dealer, who was sentenced to 40 years. 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. 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. In September 1986, Judge Alvin Schlesinger overturned Featherstones conviction in the murder of Michael Holly. Top 10 Movies About Italians That Dont Involve The Mafia. 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. DB Dec 15, 2006 #6 Is Jimmy Coonan still alive? The hit-squad killed 68 members of Spillanes gang with most of them killed by being gunned down. 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]. 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. Then, it was finally time to begin building the Jacob Javits Center in Hell's Kitchen, which would turn into a tremendous money maker. 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]. That was the one thing that stood out to me in the book. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. 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). Jimmy was ashamed that his father was treated like this and he swore revenge against Mickey Spillane. 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. Feb 9, 2019 - Rare pic of Club 596 / Jimmy Coonan (The Westies) headquarters. Defense lawyers had contended that there was no such organization as the Westies. 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. 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? He volunteered for combat in Vietnam and would claim he spent time killing with the Special Forces. His younger brother is Richard Coonan. Cummiskey is reputed to have shown Coonan how to dismember and dispose of murder victims by scattering their remains into the waters around the sewage treatment plant operated by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection at Randalls and Wards Islands, notably in the Hudson River. he is the son of the notorious gangster Jimmy Coonan of the Westies, the Irish Mob in New York. 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. Dont tell me to shush 3/8 John Bokun angrily told a marshal. 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? 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. 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. Ken Eto recovered and proceeded to testify, allowing for the state to get 15 mobsters in prison along with a clutch of corrupt cops. [5] Coonan wanted more, and several West Side neighborhood thugs gathered around him, including Francis "Mickey" Featherstone. Coonan forged a strong alliance with the Gambino crime family in the late 70s, and became their hit-squad and enforcement arm for the next 10 years. In 1977 when Mickey Spillane was killed outside his apartment, Featherstone was arrested but acquitted for his killing. 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. Islam Comes to Britain. Proud father of a son that went into military and served in Afghanistan/Iraq. We hope you enjoy the video!We also have new memberships! When he was . After four weeks of testimony Coonan was found guilty of racketeering and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. His numbers racket was very popular during the 1920s amongst the residents of Harlem and he was a pillar of African American societyhe paid for young black men to attend college, gave out food parcels to the needy and even financed dormitories in southern black universities. Coonan, looking for a more feared and respected gangster like Cummiskey on his side, decided to use Dugan to lure in Cummiskey. 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. Coonan decided to remove his gangs debt by murdering Stein. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Apr 01, 2003 #15. Mickey Spillane or someone in his gang kidnapped Mr. Coonan for ransom and someone pistol whipped Coonans father. 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 . Im a long time citizen of Hells Kitchen and Ive seen the Westies still do their thing!! A rat is a rat in any language. Its just a matter of the government, piling it all together. In 1969, Police arrested Coonan on kidnapping and murder beefs. The police and FBI suspected him of a series of mob contract killings. 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 . He left for England and acquired an English accent years ago. 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. 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. Since his marriage a year ago, in 1974, he'd moved out of the neighborhood to a modest, two-story house just across the river in Keansburg, New Jersey, a quiet, lily-white middle-class suburb. Curley was like a younger brother to Cummiskey, as both had started out as small-time Irish hoods in Hell's Kitchen. 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. 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. James Coonan was born December 21, 1946 in Manhattan, New York. Coonan reportedly killed a loan shark victim who could not pay his debt, dismembered him and cut off his hands. He was the brother of Margaret Kagabines, Elaine McCue, Joan Ferrick, Patricia Baeza, Bernard, Robert, Lawrence and Paul. A Westie named John Bokun went to Hollys bar and shot him. There is a story that he was uncircumcised and he got drunk with a bunch of medics. 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. I know John Thomas Coonan personally. Bad blood between Coonan and Featherstone, in part due to Featherstones distaste for Coonans Italian Mafia connections, eventually led to Featherstone being framed for the murder of Michael Holly, a construction worker and neighborhood bar owner who refused to give the Westies protection money. Part of the estate was reputedly used as a firing range by members of the Flying Dragons, honing their accuracy with machine guns. 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. He allegedly murdered Mike "The Yugo" Yelovich claiming he had to because Yelovich had accidentally shot Cummiskey in the shin bone with a rifle. Thats my son there.. Shondor Birns managed to survive the 'golden age' of gangster historythe 20s and 30sand succeeded in the equally violent 50s and 60s. Learn how your comment data is processed. Privacy Policy. Coonan and a number of the Westies gang owed money to a popular Jewish loan shark named Ruby Stein. [3] Author T.J. English has credited this event in several books as Coonan's motivating factor in the takeover of the Westies. Knapp scheduled sentencing for April 18. Humphreys is also rumoured to be the inspiration for Tom Hagen, the Corleone Familys consigliere played by Robert Duvall in the Godfather movies.[4]. Featherstones wife, Sissy, wore a wire and engaged other Westies in incriminating conversations to help her husband get out of jail. At the time of his death he was married to Shirley Forstmann and father of three- Tammy Ann, Clifford and Terrence." Feb 9, 2019 - Rare pic of Club 596 / Jimmy Coonan (The Westies) headquarters. 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. Featherstone, if still alive is in the Wit Sec. 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. 10 Fruits, Nuts, And Vegetables You Did Not Know, 10 People Who Were Completely Right But Were Ignored, 10 Worst Massacres Of African-Americans [DISTURBING IMAGES], 10 Things You May Not Have Known About The Land Of Pangaea, 10 Things You May Not Have Known About The Center Of, 10 Things You Might Not Know About The Incas, 10 Things You May Not Have Known About Guns, Top 10 Churches Where God Is Not Worshiped, 10 Historical Shoe Rituals and Superstitions You Might Not Know About, 10 Unusual and Incredible Reinterpretations of Classic Artworks, 10 Ancient Fertility Treatments You Wouldnt Want to Use Today, 10 Inventive Ways People Survived Winter Before Electricity, 10 Bleak Facts about Victorian Workhouses, 10 Amazing Archeological Discoveries Made by Dogs, Top 10 Terrible Facts About Ghislaine Maxwell.
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