I know John Thomas Coonan personally. 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. In 1977 when Mickey Spillane was killed outside his apartment, Featherstone was arrested but acquitted for his killing. He was with the Colombo's in NY and went out to work in NYC I think. Coonan and Featherstone dragged a guy out of a bar and forced him into a van and masturbated on him as a form of intimidation. The Westies: Jimmy Coonan - GangsterBB.NET Roy DeMeo, his Gambino contact, was murdered and Coonans Gambino family connection became Daniel Marino, a capo from Brooklyn. 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. When he was . Nobody hustles like the Hump Capone said. THE LORD'S OF HELL'S KITCHEN - The New York Times In addition, the jury found Coonan participated in most of the racketeering acts charged against him, including seven murders. John Moe is dying and will never get out, he was a bouncer/sometimes collections guy. Coonan established ties to the Gambino family when he took control of Hells Kitchen. In the 1970s Coonan worked as an enforcer and bodyguard for loanshark named Ruby Stein. Coonan wanted to restore his fathers pride so he went to a tenement ran by Hells Kitchen and purchased a fully automatic machine gun before firing an entire clip at Spillane and his crew. Gmail. At least 30 of Spillanes gang were killed by bombings. 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. 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. 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? 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'. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. Very few mobsters live a long, stress-free life and die of old age. 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. At thirty-nine years old, he had already been convicted of assault and robbery and had been sent to Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York and at 37 was witness to the Attica Prison riot September 9, 1971 during his incarceration. About The Author: C.J. Humphries had fallen in with a small-time hood named Fred Evans who wanted to grow his bootlegging operation but was confounded by the size and ease with violence displayed by members of Capones gang. Jimmy Coonans criminal career started in his teens. Upon his return, Coonan and Cummiskey instructed him to leave the bar and get rid of the contents of the carton. His son, Pavle (pictured), followed in his fathers criminal and journalistic footsteps, spending 16 years in jail over two stints and now covering criminal stories for publications such as The Washington Post and online work with The Daily Beast.[7]. If the authorities catch you, your habits will blow up in your face. Coonan reportedly killed a loan shark victim who could not pay his debt, dismembered him and cut off his hands. Today. Cummiskey was murdered by hitman Joseph Sullivan on August 20, 1976, in a bar. All defendants face up to 20 years apiece on both racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Jimmie Grayson Coan Obituary - The Desert Sun (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 Maybe Amato. When Mickey returned to the notoriously violent, Irish dominated Hells Kitchen area of New York, his violent tendencies continued. Privacy Policy. Home Crime Library Organized Crime James Coonan James Coonan was born December 21, 1946 in Manhattan, New York. Coonan and Cummiskey soon became known associates, as Cummiskey taught Coonan the "tricks of the trade". How the Irish Mob nearly wiped out the Italian Mafia in NYC The Irishman: Who Really Killed Jimmy Hoffa? | Den of Geek Investigators assume the killing had Gambino approval. 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. Here is one of the recent photos of Westie's boss Jimmy Coonan, taken in 2015 in prison. Spillane went to Coonan's father, slapped him around and told him to get his son under control. Explore. The younger Bokun, 30, of Manhattan, who was convicted of drug dealing as well as racketeering, tried to comfort his weeping, cursing father. Jimmy on the left & Larry Sessa, a Colombo Crime Family mobster. Members of The Outfit identified Humphries as the gunman and brought him to Al Capone. Mickey Featherstone, The Hitman Who Took Down The Westies Although Coonan failed to hit anyone he shot upon he was now well known amongst the Hells Kitchen crew. Coonan eventually interacted directly with John Gotti, who took over the Gambino crime family after the murder of Castellano in December 1985. T.J. English described Cummiskey as, "curly black hair, piercing blue eyes, and the cockiness of a bantam rooster, Cummiskey looked and sounded like a gangster from the 1920s". The hit-squad killed 68 members of Spillanes gang with most of them killed by being gunned down. Jimmy Coonan? - IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM They do things for the Elders who all mostly live in Jersey! 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. On August 25, 1975, Curley jokingly pulled a gun on Dugan while the two were drinking in a local pub. Curley was like a younger brother to Cummiskey, as both had started out as small-time Irish hoods in Hell's Kitchen. Tony the Greek claims he told the FBI in 1986 that Hoffa was killed by alleged Irish mob boss Jimmy Coonan in a house near the Detroit suburb of Mount Clemens. Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. Dont worry pop, Im all right, Bokun shouted across the courtroom before being led back to jail. Organised Crime is a dangerous game. 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 . 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. Required fields are marked *. 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. Two, he made his money via illegal gambling. One, he was black. Coonan authorized the hit of Michael Holly while Billy Bokun was dressed as Mickey Featherstone. He held sway over the citys illegal gambling rackets for years, making millions and allowing him to gain political connections that solidified his position. There is a documentary somewhere on YouTube from the early 90s where Mickey is in disguise but talks about his days in the Westies. One of these new recruits was 24-year-old Vietnam Vet by the name of Mickey Featherstone. He was discharged on medical grounds in 1967, claiming to be experiencing hallucinations. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. Coonan was incarcerated and began serving a 75-year prison term in 1988. Dont forget to listen to Aaron on the Big Dumb Fun Show, live on Monday nights. New York's Westies gang heads to bigscreen - Variety In retaliation and to set Mickey Featherstone up to take the fall, Billy Bokun, Johns brother got a car identical to Mickey Featherstones and put on a long haired wig and fake mustache to look like Featherstone. James Coonan - Wikipedia They are also the actions of a dirty, low-down career criminal like Vojislav Stanimirovic. Murray Humphries somehow managed to impress Capone enough to get himself recruited into the organization he had just robbed blind. 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. A longtime gangster of the Manhattan's Westside ghetto known as Hell's Kitchen, Cummiskey served under Mickey Spillane following his release from prison. Top 10 Movies About Italians That Dont Involve The Mafia. After refusing to acquiesce to Nicodemo Scarfos order to pay up a street tax to the family in order to keep operating, a move that would essentially absorb Phillys Greek mob into the Scarfo crime empire, Bouras was gunned down at the citys Meletis Greek Restaurant in 1981, where he was dining with his acquaintance Jeanette Curro, Raymond Martorano and radio host Jerry Blavat. 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. Featherstones wife, Sissy, wore a wire and engaged other Westies in incriminating conversations to help her husband get out of jail. Wall could not win his second mob warin 1955, Wall was killed by getting beaten to a bloody pulp with a baseball bat and having his throat slit at his home. Mickey Featherstone - Wikipedia Any resident of Hells Kitchen who who took Spillanes side were subject to beatings, kidnappings, store vandalism, and robberies. "The Irish Mob" Mickey Spillane: The Gentleman Gangster/Jimmy Coonan Coonan learned how to dismember murder victims from Edward Cummiskey, a fellow Westies member, prison-trained as a butcher.. During the late 1970s, Coonan and his Westies allied themselves with the Gambino family and his main contact was Roy DeMeo. The story is that the Genovese crime family sent a team of heavily-armed hitmen to kill off Spillanes gang. NYC tour covers the violent history of Hell's Kitchen and its notorious 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.