to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM-Mickey Featherstone and Family UPDATE Featherstone was stunned to finally be convicted of a murder, and not just because he had dodged so many guilty verdicts in the past. 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. 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. Help us build our profile of Mickey Featherstone! 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. Joey and Friend David Rafeli Owner/CEO at Rafaeli's Cigars. Kevin Kelly - The Irish Mob This Featherstone is littlebit like leonetti - talks clearly, calmy, but what a psycho! Nebraska students toss water balloons for Guinness World Record. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. ''Mickey has always lied,'' Mr. Moresco said. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The ruthless reputation of the gang came to the notice of the Gambino family, and boss Paul Castellano, who summoned Coonan and Featherstone to a meeting in a Bay Ridge, Brooklyn restaurant in 1978. Put this image on your website to promote the show -, Report inappropriate content or request to remove this page. Morgenthau said that in November 1983 Julia Coonan visited her husband, who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator, in the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., and the two hatched the plot to kill the victim. In the latest indictment, Julia Coonan, 44, wife of imprisoned Westies leader James Coonan, was charged with scheming to murder the loanshark, he said. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Mickey Featherstone was second-in-command to Jimmy Coonan, leader of the Westies, an extremely violent Irish mob that operated in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, in the 1970s and 1980s. Mickey Featherstone : r/Mafia - Reddit Featherstone concluded that Coonan and other Westies members had set him up for Hollys murder. [2] After borrowing Coonan's gun, he shot dead Linwood Willis in a confrontation outside a bar in 1971, but was found not guilty due to insanity. Micky and His Wife Missy are very happy living in a 2.5 millon home in Southwestern section of America where it seldom rains and almost never snows. He has to be up there in age, 58 maybe, 60 maybe? The wife of a reputed West Side mobster and - UPI Archives Or, as was the case with Mickey Featherstone, you find you've been chosen as the fall guy for a power grab within the gang. Prior to the murder of Michael Holly, Featherstone had been charged with at least three other murders, but each time he had entered pleas of insanity and was acquitted. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob - amazon.com Outside the courtroom, Coonan's lawyer Lawrence Hochheiser said, 'She's a housewife her only crime is being his wife.' She said the Government explained the scope and value of his cooperation, along with the severity of his offense. Mickey knew he'd been framed, and was able to convince the police to let him prove it. Lol. Support The National Registry of Exonerations , The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022, Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, Witness Recantations: Preliminary Findings, May 2013, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 - 2012, Tell us about an Exoneration that we missed, Tell information about the Registry, Mistaken Witness ID, Perjury or False Accusation, Inadequate Legal Defense. Mr. Featherstone indeed served in Vietnam - as a stock clerk. 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. The evidence seemed overwhelming, and the next day Featherstone was booked. Jimmy Coonan (right) in a prison photo circa 1990. Morgethau said the gang began as gamblers and loansharks but have committed 28 murders, five of which have been solved. How feared was Mickey Featherstonereally? on our list, Other On March 25, 1977, Westie John Bokun was shot dead by police after an argument with another Hells Kitchen resident, Michael Holly. There were witnesses to the shooting, all of whom described the shooter as a man fitting Featherstones description. He disappeared without a trace in 1973 at the age of 29 and has not been seen in 49 years. [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. Stranded bear rescued from Nevada tree using tranquilizer, tarp. Witnesses described a man who looked a lot like Featherstone. Left to Right. Then in April 1985, he was shot and killed on a New York City street by a man using a silencer. Mickey Featherstone - Top podcast episodes - Listen Notes He was blond haired and baby-faced. 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. Feather stone was CONVICTED of murder in 86 so he was off the street minimum in 1985 in which Alite was 23 a steroid pimple faced wannabee in Queens and mixing with guys in Manhattans Hell's Kitchen? Updated: Nov. 17, 2021 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. After all, Featherstone had killed men in neighborhood bars in front of witnesses multiple times and beat the charges. gb1993 2 yr. ago For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. He also said he'd been ordered to carry out the murder in a wig, which he believed was meant to make him look like Mickey. S.C. woman wins $300,000 lottery prize -- her second jackpot in 3 years. Westies Part 2 Jimmy Coonan goes down - Gangland Wire Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. [2] His mother helped with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and his father was a United States Customs Service officer. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. The Westies reign of terror was largely built on the back of Featherstones ferocious reputation. The following day, Featherstone was arrested and eventually charged with Hollys murder one of the few murders he, ironically, didnt commit. Mickey Featherstone Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, Relationship, Net Mr. Featherstone and his family are now in the Government's witness protection program, which provides for relocating them under a new name. Tucker Carlson out at Fox News: What it took to topple Tucker. For more information, please see our But now, Coonan realized he could kill two birds with one stone. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. Mickey Featherstone girlfriend, wife list. NYC tour covers the violent history of Hell's Kitchen and - amNewYork April 28 (UPI) -- A British piercing enthusiast broke his own Guinness World Record when the number of flesh tunnels in his face increased to 17. DeSantis amid feud over self-governing privileges. Contract murders are a relatively new enterprise, they said. For those of you who were too St. Paddy's Day wasted to make it, don't you worry, there will be more! Featherstone and the other Westies became known as ruthless killers who enjoyed near complete impunity due to the fear they struck in potential witnesses. In 1988, because of Featherstones testimony, eight of the gangs members were ultimately convicted of racketeering and other offenses related to their participation in a RICO criminal enterprise with Coonan himself getting 75 years in prison. Mickey Featherstone 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. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Grow up. The institution kept Featherstone working on the ward, out of General Population, for his own safety. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Alligator removed from South Carolina resident's garage. In May 1977, Jimmy Coonan owed a substantial amount of money to loan shark Ruby Stein and decided to forgive his own debt by murdering Stein. McElroy and Bokun are in jail charged with other killings. The Westies : Inside New York's Irish Mob - Google Books Mickey Featherstone was a complete nut case. He was circumcised. In April 1986, Featherstone was convicted of Hollys murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Even among his murderous peers, he was known as a brutal killer. Authorities said Leone was a loanshark and a bookie who created no-show jobs and took kickbacks from dockworkers on the Hudson River piers that border the Irish gang's territory in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side. In the mid-1970s, Coonans Westies seized control of organized crime from predominant West Side gang leader, Mickey Spillane. After effectively destroying the Irish mob in Manhattan, 38-year-old Mickey Featherstone entered the witness protection program and has lived under the radar ever since. Chastising them for murdering two important Mafia loan sharks in Manhattan, Castellano told Coonan the Westies should pay the family 10 percent from all of their illegal proceeds and in turn, the Gambinos would finance the Westies loansharking operation. [1] In September 1986, Judge Alvin Schlesinger overturned Featherstone's conviction. ''And he's in a pickle now where he has to lie.'' Mr. Moresco's own life is deeply enmeshed in that of the Hell's Kitchen where he grew up in. IRISHORGANISEDCRIMEFORUM-Mickey Featherstone and Family UPDATE Thiscourtroom dramatells the story of ajury of 12 men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of an 18-year old defendanton the basis ofreasonable do, Joe Poletto continues his conversation with Billy Beattie, founding member of the notorious Westies and Art Ruffles, FBI special agent in charge of the organized crime unit. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Because of men like Featherstone, convictions of Westies members became increasingly difficult to secure because potential witnesses were terrified of them and their willingness to swiftly kill anyone who crossed them. 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. 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. ago. She was arrested Wednesday in her home in Hazlet, N.J. Three other members of the Irish gang were charged with carrying out the killing of Vincent Leone, 47, the recording secretary of Local 1909 of the International Longshoremen's Association. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Ron DeSantis and other officials . The website is updated daily, frequently with exonerations that occurred in the past. 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. [1][5] His wife Sissy co-operated with the District Attorney's office to tape incriminating conversations with gang members, including Bokun. Julia Coonan pleaded innocent to conspiracy charges in state Supreme Court in Manhattan and Judge Peter McQuillan set $50,000 bail. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. 'That's the way they get the message out.'. Led by Jimmy Coonan and, From an introduction made by his long time friend Tom Sheer, Joe Poletto was introduced to Art Ruffles, special agent in charge of the FBIs organized crime unit in charge of the Gambino, DeMeo and Westies cases. He has since been living in anonymity in the federal witness protection program. The District Attorneys office agreed to work with Featherstones wife, Sissy Featherstone, to see if they could obtain evidence confirming Featherstones claims. Rich and Shefsky, joined by show favorite Jeremiah Watkins, took over the Bel, 12 Angry Menis a 1957 Americancourtroom drama filmdirected bySidney Lumet, adapted from ateleplay of the same namebyReginald Rose. Dose anyone know what Micky looks like now? Mickey Featherstone, The Hitman Who Took Down The Westies He was born on the upper West Side and his mother worked with the VFW and his father was a U. S. Customs officer. ''At least for the time being,'' the judge said, ''the Westies have been broken as an organization, largely as a result of your cooperation.''. Alleged Westie's boss Jimmy Coonan, taken in 2015 in prison. DeSantis Gets Chilly Reception in DC From Frustrated Florida Democrats ''This sentence is an act of trust which you have earned,'' the judge told Mr. Featherstone. 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. April 28 (UPI) -- A Nebraska high school said it broke a Guinness World Record when more than 1,000 students participated in a water balloon toss event. On April 25, 1985, Billy Bokun (John Bokuns brother), wearing a wig to look like Featherstone, approached Holly on a crowded street and killed him, firing five bullets into his back. Based on the car and the eyewitness identifications, Featherstone was convicted of Hollys murder in April 1986 and sentenced to spend 25 years to life in prison. This pic is of edna. He is also working with Movie Director Sheridan on a movie about the Westies called Emerald City that will be out in 2008 He expects to make some fierce funds from this. Congrats to him for being the first multi-million dollar illiterate trader. From a New York Times-bestselling author: A true story of Irish gangsters in Manhattan"A harrowing account of big city crime" (Library Journal). He was charged with three murders over the years, but was always able to get acquitted after pleading insanity. Other Westies had indeed cooked up the frame job to eliminate Mickey as a threat to their power in the organization. That isnt her daughter, its her neice. 229. Kevin Kelly effectively took over the day to day running of the Westies when Jimmy Coonan moved to New Jersey. 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 responsible for 28 murders. He had a low boiling point to start with and if alcohol was involved, and it often was, Mickey had the potential to explode. Mickey Featherstone - Wikiwand One day you're a made man, the next, you're sleeping with the fishes. Jimmy on the left & Larry Sessa, alleged Colombo Crime Family mobster. [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. Dog missing for 26 days walked 40 miles to his former home. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989. Francis Mickey Featherstone, a leader of New York Citys Irish organized crime gang known as the Westies, was set up by other members of the gang to take the fall for the 1985 murder of Michael Holly. Register Log In Home Forums Organized Crime - Real Life How feared was Mickey Featherstone . Who is he dating right now? Morgenthau said they were among the top hitmen in the gang. 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. The man the gang judged responsible for the murder, Michael Holly, skipped town to escape the heat, but returned a few years later. With this evidence, Featherstones conviction was overturned in September 1986 according to The National Registry Of Exonerations, and Featherstone agreed to become an informant. New York law enforcement attributed at least thirty unsolved murders to the Westies in the 1970s and 1980s, and they were known as an extremely violent group, even by gang standards. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Until his release last week, Mr. Featherstone had been held in custody on his racketeering charge and for a parole violation involving his earlier conviction in a counterfeiting case. Nicky Scarfo the former head of the Philadelphia crime family pictured in the late 80s, One of the most blood thirsty and paranoid bosses of his time. 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. Author T.J.. Wrongfully convicted of murder, Featherstone sought to clear his name by becoming a government witness. Mickey Featherstone is an American Criminal. [5] He was freed in December 1988[5] and went into a witness protection program. But the Westies now had an enemy in Featherstone. He would act out frequently while in the hospitals, leading to him being restrained and injected with thorazine. James Coonan is awaiting trial for an alleged revenge killing against a gang member. In the following decade, the Westies teamed up with the infamous Sicilian Mafia, becoming a militant arm of the Gambino family. Billy Bokuns attorney was Kenneth Aronson, the same attorney who had represented Featherstone in Hollys murder trial. In the early 1980s, Featherstone spent periods of time in mental hospitals, before returning to the Westies. #opensource #serverless. Coonan held Holly responsible for Bokuns death, but his murder was repeatedly put off over the years. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. Francis Mickey Featherstone was born on West 43rd Street on Sept. 2, 1948. April 28 (UPI) -- An isolated private island off the coast of Scotland is for sale with an asking price of about $188,000. Irish mobster Danny Greene took on the Cleveland Mafia. Privacy Policy. Featherstone returned with a rifle and shot one of the brothers John Riley in the arm, for which he was arrested and probationed. Mickey Featherstone: The Dangerous Hitman Currently Free In Witness Protection. At first, it appeared that he had won. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Featherstone was given 25 years to life for Holly's murder. Francis "Mickey" Featherstone, a leader of New York City's Irish organized crime gang known as the Westies, was set up by other members of the gang to take the fall for the 1985 murder of Michael Holly. Scottish Island for sale with asking price of $188,000. An unhinged man with a hot temper and a hair trigger, Mickey Featherstone was known to kill for little to no reason at all. He came back home and moved his way up in the Westies, making a name for himself as a killer. THE LORD'S OF HELL'S KITCHEN - The New York Times Yeah, Featherstone is a strange character. 1 killed in shooting at Massachusetts house party, Heavy shelling in Kherson, Kharkiv destroys residences, Cuba postpones International Workers' Day parade over fuel shortages, Democrats, Republicans remain split on debt ceiling plan, SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches following aborted mission, delays. After his conviction was overturned, he struck a deal with the authorities to inform on his own organization. Connect any celebrity with Mickey Featherstone to see how closely they are linked romantically! /r/Mafia features stories, interviews, documentary and news articles about organized crime around the world. Defense lawyers have complained in Federal District Court that Mr. Featherstone and other informers received highly beneficial deals from the Government to obtain their testimony in the Gambino trial and that the jury was not told that the informers were being freed.