He was in the westies but went into witness protection in the 80s or 90s. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an informant and brought down Coonan's gang. 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. 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. [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. British man breaks world record with 17 flesh tunnels on his face. 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. 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. 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. Witnesses described a man who looked a lot like Featherstone. [2] His mother helped with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and his father was a United States Customs Service officer. Is he still alive? ', Asked if she was a member of the Westies, he responded, 'She's hardly a member of anything at all.'. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Free Podcast Hosting with custom domain. The car driven by the shooter had been abandoned on the street, and it was traced to the trucking company where Featherstone was employed at that time. '', ''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.'' Scan this QR code to download the app now. #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.''. Those who knew Featherstone in the neighborhood often crossed the street when they saw him coming their way. [3][4] He received a medical discharge in 1967 after just a year, claiming to have hallucinations. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. This pic is of edna. The district attorney said they were 'very brutal. Help us build our profile of Mickey Featherstone! The three, James McElroy, 36, William Bokun, 29, and Kevin Kelly, 31, allegedly killed Leone in Guttenberg, N.J., on Feb. 11, 1984. She said the Government explained the scope and value of his cooperation, along with the severity of his offense. He had been discharged from the army in 1967, suffering from hallucinations, and spent years in and out of a mental hospital. 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. After his conviction was overturned, he struck a deal with the authorities to inform on his own organization. James Coonan is awaiting trial for an alleged revenge killing against a gang member. In 1984 Vincent Leone, Jimmy McElroy and Kevin Kelly were travelling in Leone's car in New Jersey. 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. District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said the gang was linked with the Gambino crime family, New York's strongest Mafia group, and served as 'hired guns' for the Gambinos, whose reputed leader, John Gotti, is standing trial in Brooklyn. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. 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. [2] The police suspected him of a series of mob contract killings. Dog missing for 26 days walked 40 miles to his former home. Some of the loons that the boards attract never cease to amaze me. The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court against Florida Gov. 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. 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. Kelly is a fugitive who has been indicted for the attempted murder of a carpenter's union official. The shooter, Featherstone learned, was Billy Bokun. We start getting into the deep water on talking about the Westies and their activities in the late 1970's early 1980's. April 28 (UPI) -- Animal services officers in South Carolina responded to a home where a resident was shocked to find an alligator in his garage. Featherstone returned with a rifle and shot one of the brothers John Riley in the arm, for which he was arrested and probationed. Thank you for helping to keep the podcast database up to date. Mickey Featherstone girlfriend, wife list. Featherstone was stunned to finally be convicted of a murder, and not just because he had dodged so many guilty verdicts in the past. This is legendary NYC drug kingpin Frank Mathews. The man the gang judged responsible for the murder, Michael Holly, skipped town to escape the heat, but returned a few years later. [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. Nine gang members, including two of the three indicted Wednesday, are awaiting trial or serving prison terms. ''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. Grow up. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod. [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. 2 mo. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Mickey Featherstone is an American Criminal. [1] His testimony at Coonan's racketeering trial during 198788 helped to bring down Coonan's gang. Admitted Westies Killer Who Informed Is Free, https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/01/nyregion/admitted-westies-killer-who-informed-is-free.html. 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. 44. r/Mafia. In the criminal underworld, trust is a slippery commodity. 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. '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. Even among his murderous peers, he was known as a brutal killer. 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). Public DomainJimmy Coonan, the ruthless leader of the Westies in the 1970s. Francis Mickey Featherstone was born on West 43rd Street on Sept. 2, 1948. 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. Can you list the top facts and stats about Mickey Featherstone? We welcome new information from any source about exonerations already on our list and about cases not in the Registry that might be exonerations. 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. His maniacal behavior also saw Featherstone spending parts of the early 1970s in various mental hospitals. Mickey Featherstone's legacy of crime is attributable to his circumcision as an asocial Sacrificed Returned. After DeSantis pushed a last-minute repeal of the company's prized status through the legislature, he romped to . 'That's the way they get the message out.'. 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 had a low boiling point to start with and if alcohol was involved, and it often was, Mickey had the potential to explode. Register Log In Home Forums Organized Crime - Real Life How feared was Mickey Featherstone . Nebraska students toss water balloons for Guinness World Record. Coonan liked what he had seen from Featherstone, and recruited him as second in command, all while the Westies upped the violence, leaving behind a string of often dismembered corpses. For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. [1] He served in the Vietnam War as member of the Green Berets aged just 17 after lying about his age. 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 nolonger has bad nightmares and is FULLY RECOVERED and states his past is a blur. Relationship history. Featherstone was given 25 years to life for Holly's murder. 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. For more information, please see our 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. Featherstone concluded that Coonan and other Westies members had set him up for Hollys murder. 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. Featherstone was born on West 43rd St.,[1] one of nine children. In the following decade, the Westies teamed up with the infamous Sicilian Mafia, becoming a militant arm of the Gambino family. He would act out frequently while in the hospitals, leading to him being restrained and injected with thorazine. He came back home and moved his way up in the Westies, making a name for himself as a killer. He was circumcised. Feb 13, 2011 #28. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Anyone can read what you share. Mickey Featherstone: The Dangerous Hitman Currently Free In Witness Protection. 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. From a New York Times-bestselling author: A true story of Irish gangsters in Manhattan"A harrowing account of big city crime" (Library Journal).