Westies
Irish-American organized crime gang / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Westies were a New York City-based Irish American organized crime gang, responsible for racketeering, drug trafficking, and contract killing. They were partnered with the Italian-American Mafia and operated out of the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.[3]
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Founded | Mid-1960s[1] |
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Founder | James Coonan[1] |
Founding location | Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States[1] |
Years active | Mid-1960s–1988 |
Territory | Manhattan and New Jersey[2] |
Ethnicity | Irish American[2] |
Membership (est.) | 15 members and 100 associates[2] |
Activities | Racketeering, assault, burglary, kidnapping, illegal gambling, fraud, extortion, drug trafficking, counterfeiting, robbery, murder[1] |
Allies | Gambino crime family[1] |
Rivals | Mickey Spillane's gang[1] |
Notable members | James Coonan Edward Cummiskey Mickey Featherstone James McElroy Boško Radonjić |
According to crime author T.J. English, "Although never more than twelve to twenty members—depending on who was in or out of jail at any given time— the Westies became synonymous with the last generation of Irish in the birthplace of the Irish Mob."[4] According to the NYPD Organized Crime Squad and the FBI, the Westies were responsible for 60–100 murders between 1968 and 1986.[citation needed]