DeSantis amid feud over self-governing privileges. They not only kill people they dismember them,' he said. He is famous for Irish American mobster and Vietnam Vet. After providing the necessary information about the crimes of his fellow Westies, 38-year-old Francis Mickey Featherstone entered the federal witness protection program. 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. Courtroom. Judge Sweet, noting that Mr. Featherstone had already served the equivalent of a five-year sentence on a murder charge that was later dismissed, said the probation on the racketeering charge included conditions that the defendant take part in counseling and rehabilitation programs. ', Asked if she was a member of the Westies, he responded, 'She's hardly a member of anything at all.'. Kelly is a fugitive who has been indicted for the attempted murder of a carpenter's union official. On April 25, 1985, 41-year-old Holly was walking down a New York street when a man stepped out of a car and shot him five times, using a gun with a silencer. As a freelance writer, he spends his time writing about true crime. Morgenthau said in their heyday there were 30 Westies, but that number has been reduced to 10 or 15 as many of them have been jailed or killed. Featherstone was born on West 43rd St.,[1] one of nine children. 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. [3][4] He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations. Featherstone had served in the Vietnam War, but was discharged in 1967 after hallucinations landed him in a mental hospital. 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. 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. In March 1986, Featherstone was found guilty, and faced a sentence of 25 years to life. According to our records, Mickey Featherstone is possibly single. 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 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. 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. On Dec. 21, he received a suspended sentence with five years of probation after Federal and state authorities sent letters commending his cooperation to Judge Robert W. Sweet, who sentenced him in Federal District Court in Manhattan. He never saw combat. Even among his murderous peers, he was known as a brutal killer. Scan this QR code to download the app now. [1] His testimony at Coonan's racketeering trial during 198788 helped to bring down Coonan's gang. Mickey's trouble started in 1977 with the murder of a member of the Westies named John Bokun. An unhinged man with a hot temper and a hair trigger, Mickey Featherstone was known to kill for little to no reason at all. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. 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. In part one we are covering the backstory of the main characters, Jimmy Coonan , CRiiiME LiiiVE! Seems like a quiet shy guy but in reality he's a stone cold killer. 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. 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. For those of you who were too St. Paddy's Day wasted to make it, don't you worry, there will be more! Featherstone contacted prosecutors from his trial and convinced them that the shooter may have been Billy Bokun, wearing a wig to look like Featherstone. His parents divorced and mother remarried. us about an exoneration that we may have missed, Correct an error or add information about an exoneration Meanwhile, the District Attorneys office agreed to work with Featherstones wife to obtain evidence confirming Featherstones claims. He was circumcised. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an . Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. 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. The evidence seemed overwhelming, and the next day Featherstone was booked. But the Westies now had an enemy in Featherstone. American military personnel of the Vietnam War. 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. 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. Mickey looks like a piece of shit, as always. 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. He disappeared without a trace in 1973 at the age of 29 and has not been seen in 49 years. ''These conditions are imposed to protect you from a psychiatric breakdown and any resulting harm to the community in which you will live. He had a low boiling point to start with and if alcohol was involved, and it often was, Mickey had the potential to explode. 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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. For more information, please see our 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. Westie members murdered and dismembered him in the back of Coonans bar, then threw his remains in the Hudson River. Florida Democrats skewered Gov. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an informant and brought down Coonan's gang. 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. Contract murders are a relatively new enterprise, they said. 44. r/Mafia. gb1993 2 yr. ago 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. The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court against Florida Gov. 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. 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. In April 1986, Featherstone was convicted of Hollys murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. 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. Who's Online Now: 1 registered members (1 invisible), 74 guests, and 3 spiders. Who is he dating right now? Dose anyone know what Micky looks like now? 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. Tools 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. Mickey Featherstone: The Dangerous Hitman Currently Free In Witness Protection. He had been informed by Westies member Kevin Kelly the night before Hollys murder that Holly was going to be killed. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. on our list, Other Public DomainGambino boss Paul Castellano. Nebraska students toss water balloons for Guinness World Record. In the early 1980s, Featherstone spent periods of time in mental hospitals, before returning to the Westies. 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. Yet to those closest to him, Mickey was kind, devoted and generous to a fault. Cookie Notice As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. But now, Coonan realized he could kill two birds with one stone. 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. There where a series of gruesome murders taking place in the neighborhood and Jimmy Coonan and, This week we are starting a multi-part series with Justin Rimmel of the Mysterious Circumstances Podcast to talk about one of the most violent, brutal crime organizations in New York City from the 60's-80's The Westies. However, Holly returned to New York City several years later. As they were interviewing employees, Mickey Featherstone walked right into their midst - short, slight and light-haired. The three, James McElroy, 36, William Bokun, 29, and Kevin Kelly, 31, allegedly killed Leone in Guttenberg, N.J., on Feb. 11, 1984. Those who knew Featherstone in the neighborhood often crossed the street when they saw him coming their way. Morgenthau said the gang thought Leone 'manipulated the reporting of sports bets and deprived the Westies and the Gambinos of their share in the proceeds.'. Witnesses described a man who looked a lot like Featherstone. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. Mickey Featherstone is an American Criminal. Morgenthau said they were among the top hitmen in the gang. [1] Rather than serving his sentence he instead told prosecutors that Bokun had committed the murder, and he became an informant. [1][2], When a group from New Jersey, called the Riley brothers, entered Hell's Kitchen a fight started with the outsiders. Through his work in the Westies, Art secured Billy Beattie and another Westies member . In 1977, a Westies member named John Bokun was shot and killed, and the Westies attributed this killing to Michael Holly, who moved out of town immediately after Bokuns death. 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. Thanks to everyone who came out, we had a fantastic time. He came back home and moved his way up in the Westies, making a name for himself as a killer. He could have been sentenced to a maximum of 20 years for racketeering. Featherstone excelled in training and joined the special forces, but was disappointed to serve as a stock clerk while other recruits saw combat. The following day, Featherstone was arrested and eventually charged with Hollys murder one of the few murders he, ironically, didnt commit. For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. Featherstone and Coonan had a falling out over the latter's alliance with the Gambino crime family, which Featherstone saw as a betrayal of all the Irish-Americans in Hell's Kitchen. He had his wife Sissy record some conversations with Westie Billy Bokun, brother of John, in which he admitted to killing Holly. 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. 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. In the following decade, the Westies teamed up with the infamous Sicilian Mafia, becoming a militant arm of the Gambino family. Wrongfully convicted of murder, Featherstone sought to clear his name by becoming a government witness. April 29 (UPI) -- An Australian tourist facing possible flogging after being accused of going on a drunken nude rampage in the Indonesian province of Ache says he felt "almost possessed" at the time. 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. Anonymous. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. A Federal prosecutor, Mary Lee Warren, said Friday that the Government had fulfilled its obligation to bring Mr. Featherstone's cooperation to the judge's attention but made no recommendation about the sentence. Outside the courtroom, Coonan's lawyer Lawrence Hochheiser said, 'She's a housewife her only crime is being his wife.' This Featherstone is littlebit like leonetti - talks clearly, calmy, but what a psycho! Some of the loons that the boards attract never cease to amaze me. It didn't help his case that the shooter abandoned a car owned by Mickey's place of employment at the time.
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