Jimmy Coonan brought the Westies into the 20th Century and presided over the most bloody and violent gang in New York City history
James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. He became known as “Jimmy C.” As we said last week, Jimmy C. took over the Hell’s Kitchen Irish mob after he made a deal with Gambino member Roy Demeo to kill the previous boss, Mickey Spillane, in 1977. During his time as boss of the Westies, they gained a reputation as a vicious crew of murderers. He opened up the gang to the lucrative drug dealing rackets as well as continuing extortion, numbers, loansharking and counterfeiting rackets in the area. Coonan forged a strong alliance with the Gambino crime family in the late 70s, and became their hit-squad and enforcement arm for the next 10 years.
Jimmy Coonan’s criminal career started in his teens. His father was an accountant and not involved in criminal activity. Mickey Spillane or someone in his gang kidnapped Mr. Coonan for ransom and someone pistol whipped Coonan’s father. Jimmy was ashamed that his father was treated like this and he swore revenge against Mickey Spillane. Jimmy C. purchased a machine gun and got on top of a Hells Kitchen tenement building waited for Micky Spillane. He took aim and fired a whole 30 round magazine in one long burst at Spillane and some men with him. Coonan failed to murder Spillane and his followers, not even wounding one man, but Spillane got the message.
In 1969, Police arrested Coonan on kidnapping and murder beefs. He got a sweet deal in a pea bargain and was released in late 1971 and continued his war on Mickey Spillane. Coonan joined with the Italians because Spillane had refused the Mafia’s efforts to control criminal activities in and around the Jacob Javit’s convention center. The Genovese crime family wanted to run all mob activity associated with the convention center. The story is that the Genovese crime family sent a team of heavily-armed hitmen to kill off Spillane’s gang. The hit-squad killed 68 members of Spillane’s gang with most of them killed by being gunned down. At least 30 of Spillane’s gang were killed by bombings. The Genovese crime family took over Spillane’s construction business, and all of his organized crime businesses, and from that point on the Genovese crime family also ruled all of Hell’s Kitchen with an iron fist.
During the early 1970s, Coonan recruited a gang of young Irish hoods and they began kidnapping, beating, and murdering any Spillane loyalists. One of these new recruits was 24-year-old Vietnam Vet by the name of Mickey Featherstone. Any resident of Hell’s Kitchen who who took Spillane’s side were subject to beatings, kidnappings, store vandalism, and robberies. Those who chose Coonan were immune from these harsh activities because Spillane’s gang was on the run and unable to retaliate.
Mickey Featherstone was a complete nut case. He was born on the upper West Side and his mother worked with the VFW and his father was a U. S. Customs officer. He was blond haired and baby-faced. He volunteered for combat in Vietnam and would claim he spent time killing with the Special Forces. There is a story that he was uncircumcised and he got drunk with a bunch of medics. He passed out and when he awoke, he found they had given him a circumcision. He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations.
Featherstone achieved neighborhood fame for single-handedly running a group of toughs from New Jersey out of a Hell’s Kitchen bar with a rifle. In another bar room fight in 1971, he shot and killed a guy named Linwood Willi. In this case, he was found not guilty due to insanity. He was released from the mental hospital 4 years later. During this incarceration Featherstone was injected with Thorazine.
Featherstone’s violence caught the eye of Coonan. In 1977 when Mickey Spillane was killed outside his apartment, Featherstone was arrested but acquitted for his killing.
James Coonan was a baby boomer born December 21, 1946. He became known as “Jimmy C.” As we said last week, Jimmy C. took over the Hell’s Kitchen Irish mob after he made a deal with Gambino member Roy Demeo to kill the previous boss, Mickey Spillane, in 1977. During his time as boss of the Westies, they gained a reputation as a vicious crew of murderers. He opened up the gang to the lucrative drug dealing rackets as well as continuing extortion, numbers, loansharking and counterfeiting rackets in the area. Coonan forged a strong alliance with the Gambino crime family in the late 70s, and became their hit-squad and enforcement arm for the next 10 years.
Jimmy Coonan’s criminal career started in his teens. His father was an accountant and not involved in criminal activity. Mickey Spillane or someone in his gang kidnapped Mr. Coonan for ransom and someone pistol whipped Coonan’s father. Jimmy was ashamed that his father was treated like this and he swore revenge against Mickey Spillane. Jimmy C. purchased a machine gun and got on top of a Hells Kitchen tenement building waited for Micky Spillane. He took aim and fired a whole 30 round magazine in one long burst at Spillane and some men with him. Coonan failed to murder Spillane and his followers, not even wounding one man, but Spillane got the message.
In 1969, Police arrested Coonan on kidnapping and murder beefs. He got a sweet deal in a pea bargain and was released in late 1971 and continued his war on Mickey Spillane. Coonan joined with the Italians because Spillane had refused the Mafia’s efforts to control criminal activities in and around the Jacob Javit’s convention center. The Genovese crime family wanted to run all mob activity associated with the convention center. The story is that the Genovese crime family sent a team of heavily-armed hitmen to kill off Spillane’s gang. The hit-squad killed 68 members of Spillane’s gang with most of them killed by being gunned down. At least 30 of Spillane’s gang were killed by bombings. The Genovese crime family took over Spillane’s construction business, and all of his organized crime businesses, and from that point on the Genovese crime family also ruled all of Hell’s Kitchen with an iron fist.
During the early 1970s, Coonan recruited a gang of young Irish hoods and they began kidnapping, beating, and murdering any Spillane loyalists. One of these new recruits was 24-year-old Vietnam Vet by the name of Mickey Featherstone. Any resident of Hell’s Kitchen who who took Spillane’s side were subject to beatings, kidnappings, store vandalism, and robberies. Those who chose Coonan were immune from these harsh activities because Spillane’s gang was on the run and unable to retaliate.
Mickey Featherstone was a complete nut case. He was born on the upper West Side and his mother worked with the VFW and his father was a U. S. Customs officer. He was blond haired and baby-faced. He volunteered for combat in Vietnam and would claim he spent time killing with the Special Forces. There is a story that he was uncircumcised and he got drunk with a bunch of medics. He passed out and when he awoke, he found they had given him a circumcision. He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations.
Featherstone achieved neighborhood fame for single-handedly running a group of toughs from New Jersey out of a Hell’s Kitchen bar with a rifle. In another bar room fight in 1971, he shot and killed a guy named Linwood Willi. In this case, he was found not guilty due to insanity. He was released from the mental hospital 4 years later. During this incarceration Featherstone was injected with Thorazine.
Featherstone’s violence caught the eye of Coonan. In 1977 when Mickey Spillane was killed outside his apartment, Featherstone was arrested but acquitted for his killing.
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