This pic is of edna. After DeSantis pushed a last-minute repeal of the company's prized status through the legislature, he romped to . As a freelance writer, he spends his time writing about true crime. 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. [4], Featherstone was convicted in March 1986 for the April 1985 murder of Michael Holly, despite being innocent of this particular murder, which was a revenge attack probably carried out by another of the Westies, Billy Bokun. The Westies reign of terror was largely built on the back of Featherstones ferocious reputation. 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. 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. 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. 'That's the way they get the message out.'. The DEA ranks him as one of the top 10 drug traffickers in US history. 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. More than 150 beverages delivered to woman's home without explanation. ''Mickey has always lied,'' Mr. Moresco said. 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. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. 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. Jimmy on the left & Larry Sessa, alleged Colombo Crime Family mobster. Kevin Kelly (Westies), Anthony Senter (DeMeo crew), Carmine "The Snake" Persico (Boss of the Colombo Crime Family) Michael "Mickey Boy" Paradiso ( Gambino Crime Family Capo). Billy Bokuns attorney was Kenneth Aronson, the same attorney who had represented Featherstone in Hollys murder trial. [1][2], When a group from New Jersey, called the Riley brothers, entered Hell's Kitchen a fight started with the outsiders. The title should be changed to 'The True Crime Classic About Mickey Featherstone's Time As Part Of New York's Notorious Irish Mob'. Thanks to everyone who came out, we had a fantastic time. Feb 13, 2011 #28. 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. Re: (Video) Mickey Featherstone - 60 Minutes Interview [ Re: ronnie_little ] #681434. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. He was blond haired and baby-faced. Who's Online Now: 1 registered members (1 invisible), 74 guests, and 3 spiders. His sole wound occurred during a drunken orgy when his buddies, as a joke, circumcised him. The Westies grew out of a Hell's Kitchen bootlegging mob formed by former Cotton Club owner Owen Madden, authorities said. After his conviction was overturned, he struck a deal with the authorities to inform on his own organization. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. [2] Featherstone did time in the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield Missouri on the psychiatric ward in 1982. In late November, McElroy and Kelly also paid a visit to their leader, Morgenthau said. American military personnel of the Vietnam War. Jimmy Coonan (right) in a prison photo circa 1990. In the early 1980s, Featherstone spent periods of time in mental hospitals, before returning to the Westies. Initially the job was given to Mickey Featherstone but he refused, the job was then given to Jimmy McElroy and Kevin Kelly. 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. On March 25, 1977, Westie John Bokun was shot dead by police after an argument with another Hells Kitchen resident, Michael Holly. 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. He had a low boiling point to start with and if alcohol was involved, and it often was, Mickey had the potential to explode. For those of you who were too St. Paddy's Day wasted to make it, don't you worry, there will be more! He was born on the upper West Side and his mother worked with the VFW and his father was a U. S. Customs officer. [2] His conviction eventually came in February 1982, after using counterfeit currency at a massage parlor - he was traced because the girl remembered seeing his name tattooed on his forearm, and he was sentenced to six years. Joey and Friend David Rafeli Owner/CEO at Rafaeli's Cigars. He came back home and moved his way up in the Westies, making a name for himself as a killer. 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. The three, James McElroy, 36, William Bokun, 29, and Kevin Kelly, 31, allegedly killed Leone in Guttenberg, N.J., on Feb. 11, 1984. Featherstone had served in the Vietnam War, but was discharged in 1967 after hallucinations landed him in a mental hospital. Public DomainGambino boss Paul Castellano. His maniacal behavior also saw Featherstone spending parts of the early 1970s in various mental hospitals. Mickey Featherstone was a complete nut case. In the following decade, the Westies teamed up with the infamous Sicilian Mafia, becoming a militant arm of the Gambino family. That's when the 'Westies', a ruthless gang of Irish American extortionists, racketeers and contract killers, took in the violent young Featherstone and put him to work. Nine gang members, including two of the three indicted Wednesday, are awaiting trial or serving prison terms. 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. 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. He made it clear that he is not in it for the money but to let the public be aware of the TRUTH and most of all how he was framed by his lawyers, the westies, friends, and the NYPD for the Holly Killing. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. Coonan's former underling, Francis 'Mickey' Featherstone, has pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge and is cooperating with authorities, leading to the recent spate of arrests. 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. Scottish Island for sale with asking price of $188,000. April 28 (UPI) -- An isolated private island off the coast of Scotland is for sale with an asking price of about $188,000. [1][2] He began spending time in saloons like Club 596 and Sunbrite that were hangouts for the Westies.[2]. Inside The Murder Of Actress Lana Clarkson And Her Heartbreaking Final Hours, This Medieval Warrior Died During The Battle Of Visby And Scientists Just Recreated His Wound In All Its Gory Glory, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Who is Mickey Featherstone dating? For example, Featherstone got probation for shooting a man in the arm, and when he killed a man outside a bar in 1971, Featherstone beat the rap with an insanity plea. 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. 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. 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. On this installment we will discuss what caused the rift between, This week we are getting even deeper into Hell's Kitchen. ''These conditions are imposed to protect you from a psychiatric breakdown and any resulting harm to the community in which you will live. Westie members murdered and dismembered him in the back of Coonans bar, then threw his remains in the Hudson River. The shooter, Featherstone learned, was Billy Bokun. Grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. 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. The district attorney said they were 'very brutal. Featherstone concluded that Coonan and other Westies members had set him up for Hollys murder. Mickey Featherstones Oldest Son Was in Kuwait before 9/11 and is now married to a School Teacher, His 2nd son Just received a Medal of Bravery from the armey his oldest daughter is married and has her own business and his youngest daughter is in college on a Athletic Schollarship. Mickey Featherstone, a short, slight 38-year-old with a blond mop and an almost-adolescent expression, had been charged with at least three other murders during the previous 17 years, but he was . Some of the loons that the boards attract never cease to amaze me. Mickey Featherstone girlfriend, wife list. Francis Mickey Featherstone was born on West 43rd Street on Sept. 2, 1948. Judge Sweet said at the sentencing of Mr. Featherstone that the sentence involved an effort to balance ''a violent past, a redemptive present and an uncertain future. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. When Steins torso washed up a few days later, a member of the gang was overheard saying we should have cut the lungs open according to the Associated Press. April 28 (UPI) -- A lost dog in Northern Ireland was found 26 days later after walking more than 40 miles to the home of his former owners. #7 Convicted ''One of your trademarks was the murder and dismemberment of your victims in order to terrorize and avoid detection,'' the judge said, adding that Mr. Featherstone had been ''hospitalized for alcoholic addiction and psychiatric problems.''. 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. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an . Mr. Featherstone and his family are now in the Government's witness protection program, which provides for relocating them under a new name. Outside the courtroom, Coonan's lawyer Lawrence Hochheiser said, 'She's a housewife her only crime is being his wife.' [5] He was freed in December 1988[5] and went into a witness protection program. Lol. Coonan held Holly responsible for Bokuns death, but his murder was repeatedly put off over the years. 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 institution kept Featherstone working on the ward, out of General Population, for his own safety. The website is updated daily, frequently with exonerations that occurred in the past. 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. In the criminal underworld, trust is a slippery commodity. But now, Coonan realized he could kill two birds with one stone. Featherstone was stunned to finally be convicted of a murder, and not just because he had dodged so many guilty verdicts in the past. Ron DeSantis for assailing Disney, which employees tens of thousands of their constituents, just to court MAGA voters. By the mid 1980s, Featherstone was convinced that Coonan, living in New Jersey, had sold the neighborhood out to the Mafia, and bad blood festered. 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. 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's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. As they were interviewing employees, Mickey Featherstone walked right into their midst - short, slight and light-haired. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an informant and brought down Coonan's gang. [2] His mother helped with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and his father was a United States Customs Service officer. '', ''During the 40 years of your life,'' Judge Sweet told Mr. Featherstone, ''you have experienced violence as a child, as a student in our city schools, as a soldier in Vietnam, as a criminal on the streets and as a killer and an enforcer of one of the most feared gangs in our city.'' Featherstone was born on West 43rd St.,[1] one of nine children. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Mr. Featherstone also provided information in other investigations, and testified in the continuing trial of several men accused of committing murders and other racketeering acts as part of the Gambino crime family. 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. In March 1986, Featherstone was found guilty, and faced a sentence of 25 years to life. The evidence seemed overwhelming, and the next day Featherstone was booked. Put this image on your website to promote the show -, Report inappropriate content or request to remove this page. Outside the courtroom, Coonan's lawyer Lawrence Hochheiser said, 'She's a housewife her only crime is being his wife. Ron DeSantis and other officials . He is famous for Irish American mobster and Vietnam Vet. Mickey looks like a piece of shit, as always. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. According to The National Registry of Exonerations, Francis "Mickey" Featherstone was a member of the violent Irish organized crime gang known as the Westies, who sought power in the underworld of New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood from the 1960s to the late '80s. [1] His testimony at Coonan's racketeering trial during 198788 helped to bring down Coonan's gang. We have no records of past relationships for Mickey Featherstone. Brisman Craigslist Murder Phillip Markoff was born 1986. Mickey Featherstone was second-in-command to Jimmy Coonan, leader of the Westies, an extremely violent Irish mob that operated in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan, in the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1970s, the Westies began collaborating with the Gambino family and its notorious Mafia, with the Westies functioning as an enforcer arm of the Gambino ring carrying out assigned executions and sharing in weekly profits. Nebraska students toss water balloons for Guinness World Record. 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. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. April 28 (UPI) -- A bear stuck in a Nevada tree was rescued by wildlife officials and firefighters who tranquilized the bruin and then caught the large animal in a tarp. His parents divorced and mother remarried. Connect any celebrity with Mickey Featherstone to see how closely they are linked romantically! Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. So she cant better her life due to her family history? Relationship history. 44. r/Mafia. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. [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. He disappeared without a trace in 1973 at the age of 29 and has not been seen in 49 years. Back in Hells Kitchen, Featherstone soon found himself involved in more serious forms of criminal mischief. 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. 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. In the mid-1970s, Coonans Westies seized control of organized crime from predominant West Side gang leader, Mickey Spillane. Author T.J.. 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. [5], "Books of The Times; The Rise and Fall of a Thoroughly Vicious Gang", "New York Stories: Hell's Kitchen Killers", "Admitted Westies Killer Who Informed Is Free", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mickey_Featherstone&oldid=1082198232, This page was last edited on 11 April 2022, at 21:33. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. This is legendary NYC drug kingpin Frank Mathews. 'They shared in the proceeds of gambling and loansharking on the West Side and they also have been used as hired guns for the Gambino family,' he said. When Mickey returned to the notoriously violent, Irish dominated Hell's Kitchen area of New York, his violent tendencies continued. At first, it appeared that he had won. Yeah, Featherstone is a strange character. 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. ago. /r/Mafia features stories, interviews, documentary and news articles about organized crime around the world. From a New York Times-bestselling author: A true story of Irish gangsters in Manhattan--"A harrowing account of big city crime" (Library Journal). 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. us about an exoneration that we may have missed, Correct an error or add information about an exoneration Relationships. 11/2=60yr old scumbag, This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our, http://www.visitmonmouth.com/sheriff/up 007web.jpg. He had his wife Sissy record some conversations with Westie Billy Bokun, brother of John, in which he admitted to killing Holly. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an informant and brought down Coonan's gang. Alleged Westie's boss Jimmy Coonan, taken in 2015 in prison. Grow up. His biological father is Jewish and mother Catholic. With this evidence, Featherstones conviction was overturned in September 1986 according to The National Registry Of Exonerations, and Featherstone agreed to become an informant. This dichotomy was Mickey in essence. ''This sentence is an act of trust which you have earned,'' the judge told Mr. Featherstone. Yet to those closest to him, Mickey was kind, devoted and generous to a fault. An unhinged man with a hot temper and a hair trigger, Mickey Featherstone was known to kill for little to no reason at all. But the Westies now had an enemy in Featherstone. J.Coonan little girl.. not sure of the date this was posted. Francis (Mickey) Featherstone, an admitted killer who turned informer, has won his freedom, largely in return for testifying against his former associates in a violent gang called the Westies. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod. They pulled over, either to do cocaine or because one of them asked him to. [1] He served in heavy combat and then as a stock clerk. 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. 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. And now, in April 2023, Carlson is gone too, even more abruptly than his predecessor, though perhaps under a similar cloud.Once again, the ouster is being crowed about by liberals who really . . Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Left to Right. [2] He had blond hair and was often said to be baby-faced. In the latest indictment, Julia Coonan, 44, wife of imprisoned Westies leader James Coonan, was charged with scheming to murder the loanshark, he said. I would say unlikely. McElroy and Bokun are in jail charged with other killings. 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. He has to be up there in age, 58 maybe, 60 maybe? With this evidence in hand showing that Featherstones fellow gang members had turned on him and set him up, his conviction was overturned in September 1986, and Featherstone agreed to become an informant. Sissy Featherstone had regular interactions with Billy Bokun, and she was able to record Bokun describing the shooting of Michael Holly while wearing a wig, as well as expressing his belief that Kevin Kelly had asked him to wear the wig in order to eliminate Featherstone as a competitor for power within the Westies. [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. on our list, Other It finally happened folks and it was a blast! 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. 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. Who is he dating right now? The Westies would also carry out some of the Gambino familys most gruesome dirty work. Anonymous. Seems like a quiet shy guy but in reality he's a stone cold killer. Nevertheless, his temper was infamous and if alcohol was involved, he was especially prone to violence. When someone laid eyes on him in person the reaction was usually disbelief, with his violent notoriety disproportionate to his small physical stature. Privacy Policy. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. [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. 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. 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.