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. 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. In this case, he was found not guilty due to insanity. But that simply is not the whole story. The Irish Mob ~ Mickey Spillane to Jimmy Coonan ~ Hell's Kitchen 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. ", 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. 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. 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. Even former gang members testifying for the prosecution said the name Westies was created by the police and the news media to describe Irish- American hoodlums on Manhattans West Side. His younger brother is Richard Coonan. All Rights Reserved. For more information, please see our How the Irish Mob nearly wiped out the Italian Mafia in NYC 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. IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM-Unseen Pic of Jimmy Coonan 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. Westies currently in prison? - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM He would usually tell neighborhood youths about his criminal escapades from his violent past interjected with humor that left his audience laughing. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. 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. 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. Jimmy Coonan Leader Of The Westies Dismembers Loan Shark To Wipe Out A longtime gangster of the Manhattan's Westside ghetto known as Hell's Kitchen, Cummiskey served under Mickey Spillane following his release from prison. He was with the Colombo's in NY and went out to work in NYC I think. . Phillips is a storyteller, actor and writer living in rural West Wales. In 1989, hitman-turned-informant Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos told Playboy magazine that Hoffa was killed in Mount Clemens, Mich., by Irish mobster Jimmy Coonan. He volunteered for combat in Vietnam and would claim he spent time killing with the Special Forces. The story is that the Genovese crime family sent a team of heavily-armed hitmen to kill off Spillanes gang. Gangland Wire - Westies Part 2 Jimmy Coonan goes down - 37:46 He testified against Jimmy Coonan and other gang members. In addition to the Coonans, both of Hazlet, N.J. and Bokun, the others convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy were: James Jimmy Mack McElroy, 42; Richard Muggsy Ritter, 50; Thomas Collins, 53, and his wife Florence, 52, all of Manhattan. [10], He and his wife Edna (b.1942; Julia Edna Crotty) lived in Hazlet and Keansburg, New Jersey, before his incarceration. The Westies: Jimmy Coonan - GangsterBB.NET The racketeering charges alleged eight murders, four murder conspiracies and three attempted murders. Report abuse Permalink. The hit-squad killed 68 members of Spillanes gang with most of them killed by being gunned down. 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. James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. The following day, Coonan and Cummiskey went out for a drink with Billie Beattie at the Sunbrite Bar. Any resident of Hells Kitchen who who took Spillanes side were subject to beatings, kidnappings, store vandalism, and robberies. He opened up the gang to the lucrative drug dealing rackets as well as continuing extortion, numbers, loansharking and counterfeiting rackets in the area. Dont forget to listen to Aaron on the Big Dumb Fun Show, live on Monday nights. Out of all the things he did, cutting hands off and saving body parts etc. Eto entered the witness protection programme, relocated to Georgia where he lived a long, event free life. 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