The Westies reign of terror was largely built on the back of, The Westies, a gang long known to law enforcement officials, if not to the public, as one of the most savage organizations in the long history of New York gangs. In late November, McElroy and Kelly also paid a visit to their leader, Morgenthau said. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. At first, it appeared that he had won. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Featherstone excelled in training and joined the special forces, but was disappointed to serve as a stock clerk while other recruits saw combat. Law enforcement attributed at least 30 unsolved murders to the gang and the innocuous-looking Mickey Featherstone was recognized as one of their most vicious members. Then in 1985, Coonan, fearing a power grab by Featherstone, set him up to take a fall for murder. After deciding to cooperate with the authorities, Mr. Featherstone pleaded guilty to a Federal racketeering charge, admitting his participation in four murders, five murder conspiracies and additional acts of loan-sharking, drug dealing and other crimes. They pulled over, either to do cocaine or because one of them asked him to. In neighborhood saloons, Featherstones paranoia and violence kept pace with his level of inebriation, but he largely managed to evade consequences for his violent escapades. Meet Mickey Featherstone, The Deranged Hitman Who Turned Informant And Helped Bring Down The Westies. But the Westies eventual downfall would come thanks to Mickey Featherstone himself, after he was framed for the murder of Michael Holly by Coonan in 1985. Asked if she was a member of the Westies, he responded, 'She's hardly a member of anything at all.'. 501 1/2 43rd St. Mickey Featherstone, one of the most-feared Westies who had committed multiple murders before he even got into the gang, was raised in this building with nine brothers and sisters. [1] He spent time in a series of mental hospitals, being released in 1975. After providing the necessary information about the crimes of his fellow Westies, 38-year-old Francis Mickey Featherstone entered the federal witness protection program. Mickey Featherstone's legacy of crime is attributable to his circumcision as an asocial Sacrificed Returned. When someone laid eyes on him in person the reaction was usually disbelief, with his violent notoriety disproportionate to his small physical stature. ''These conditions are imposed to protect you from a psychiatric breakdown and any resulting harm to the community in which you will live. The shooter, Featherstone learned, was Billy Bokun. In the early 1980s, Featherstone spent periods of time in mental hospitals, before returning to the Westies. The Westies, now officially on record with the Italian American mob, were allowed to use the Gambino name and reputation, and construction profits would be shared, including those from the forthcoming Jacob Javits Convention Center. He was a house mom for his first couple of yrs in the WPP and he is now a day trader investing only personal funds. Increasingly drunk on a regular basis, Featherstone was disciplined by the armed forces for various acts of criminal mischief, and after only a year, claiming to suffer from hallucinations, was medically discharged in 1967. April 28 (UPI) -- The PGA Tour's Mexico Open was briefly interrupted when a swarm of bees sent a group of golfers ducking in the grass. Coonan held Holly responsible for Bokuns death, but his murder was repeatedly put off over the years. Is he still alive? Those who knew Featherstone in the neighborhood often crossed the street when they saw him coming their way. I would say unlikely. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Kevin Kelly effectively took over the day to day running of the Westies when Jimmy Coonan moved to New Jersey. Many people mistakenly underestimated Featherstone, given his small stature, making him even more dangerous. Featherstone contacted prosecutors from his trial and convinced them that the shooter may have been Billy Bokun, wearing a wig to look like Featherstone. Anonymous. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Aussie tourist 'very sorry' for drunken, nude rampage in Indonesia. It didn't help his case that the shooter abandoned a car owned by Mickey's place of employment at the time. [4] He pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge and received a suspended sentence of five years' probation from Judge Robert W. Sweet due to his cooperation with the authorities. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. There where a series of gruesome murders taking place in the neighborhood and Jimmy Coonan and, This week we are starting a multi-part series with Justin Rimmel of the Mysterious Circumstances Podcast to talk about one of the most violent, brutal crime organizations in New York City from the 60's-80's The Westies. Put this image on your website to promote the show -, Report inappropriate content or request to remove this page. All these years later, the legend of the wild, wild Westies -- the Gaelic gangsters of the '80s and '90s, led by the likes of Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone -- lives on. Despite a notably sweet and boyish face, Mickey Featherstone, a Vietnam veteran who had talked his way into the Green Berets at just seventeen years old, was known as one of the most vicious and ruthless members of the gang. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. Judge Sweet stressed that Mr. Featherstone testified as a major witness in a trial that ended early this year in the conviction of seven members of the Westies, including James Coonan, the gang's leader, who received a sentence of 75 years in prison. Relationship history. Morgethau said the gang began as gamblers and loansharks but have committed 28 murders, five of which have been solved. Featherstone, despite standing 57 with wide blue eyes, shaggy blonde hair, and a boyish face, soon developed a killers reputation that might not have been apparent from his appearance alone. Jimmy on the left & Larry Sessa, alleged Colombo Crime Family mobster. When Mickey returned to the notoriously violent, Irish dominated Hell's Kitchen area of New York, his violent tendencies continued. Featherstone was convicted in 1986, but his conviction was reversed later that year when the actual shooter was identified. NEW YORK -- The wife of a reputed West Side mobster and three members of his Irish gang were indicted Wednesday in the killing of a loanshark, and the Manhattan prosecutor said the gang was. District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said the gang was linked with the Gambino crime family, New York's strongest Mafia group, and served as 'hired guns' for the Gambinos, whose reputed leader, John Gotti, is standing trial in Brooklyn. Outside the courtroom, Coonan's lawyer Lawrence Hochheiser said, 'She's a housewife her only crime is being his wife.' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Featherstone, This week we finish up our series with Justin Rimmel from Mysterious Circumstances talking about the downfall of one of the most violent gangs in the history of NYC. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. [4] Mickey Spillane, the mob leader in Hell's Kitchen at the time, was shot five times outside his apartment in August 1977, and Featherstone was arrested but acquitted for his killing. The Westies grew out of a Hell's Kitchen bootlegging mob formed by former Cotton Club owner Owen Madden, authorities said. /r/Mafia features stories, interviews, documentary and news articles about organized crime around the world. Mickey knew he'd been framed, and was able to convince the police to let him prove it. The Westies would also carry out some of the Gambino familys most gruesome dirty work. Featherstone was given 25 years to life for Holly's murder. Francis T. "Mickey" Featherstone (born September 2, 1948) is a former Irish American mobster and member of the Westies, an organized crime syndicate from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan in New York City, led by James Coonan. In 1977, a Westies member named John Bokun was shot and killed, and the Westies attributed this killing to Michael Holly, who moved out of town immediately after Bokuns death. . Released to the streets of Hells Kitchen in 1975, Featherstone formed an association with another feared gangster, Jimmy Coonan, a stone-cold killer with a fierce reputation. [2] The police suspected him of a series of mob contract killings. After his conviction, Featherstone quickly concluded that Westies members and Kenneth Aronson had colluded to set him up to take the fall for Hollys murder. [3][4] He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. Francis T. "Mickey" Featherstone (born September 2, 1948) is a former Irish American mobster and member of the Westies, an organized crime syndicate from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan in New York City, led by James Coonan. We have no records of past relationships for Mickey Featherstone. The man the gang judged responsible for the murder, Michael Holly, skipped town to escape the heat, but returned a few years later. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Featherstone was linked by two eyewitnesses, as well as circumstantial evidence, as the car driven by the shooter was traced to the trucking company where Featherstone was employed. He had been informed by Westies member Kevin Kelly the night before Hollys murder that Holly was going to be killed. He could have been sentenced to a maximum of 20 years for racketeering. Mickey Featherstone girlfriend, wife list. Francis Mickey Featherstone was born on West 43rd Street on Sept. 2, 1948. For those of you who were too St. Paddy's Day wasted to make it, don't you worry, there will be more! #opensource #serverless. The title should be changed to 'The True Crime Classic About Mickey Featherstone's Time As Part Of New York's Notorious Irish Mob'. Grow up. ''At least for the time being,'' the judge said, ''the Westies have been broken as an organization, largely as a result of your cooperation.''. After weaseling out of three murder charges, and most likely being responsible for countless others, an internal dispute within the Westies would result in Featherstone finally and ironically going to prison for a murder he didn't really commit.
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