Julia Coonan pleaded innocent to conspiracy charges in state Supreme Court in Manhattan and Judge Peter McQuillan set $50,000 bail. The shooter, Featherstone learned, was Billy Bokun. Francis Mickey Featherstone was born on West 43rd Street on Sept. 2, 1948. Admitted Westies Killer Who Informed Is Free, https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/01/nyregion/admitted-westies-killer-who-informed-is-free.html. Jimmy Coonan, the ruthless leader of the Westies in the 1970s. Featherstone was convicted in 1986, but his conviction was reversed later that year when the actual shooter was identified. 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. The website is updated daily, frequently with exonerations that occurred in the past. He was a model prisoner, seen daily picking fine lint off of his perfectly made bunk to pass inspection, and starting arguments with others for not polishing their door frame brass. April 28 (UPI) -- A South Carolina woman won a $300,000 prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket just three years after winning a $250,000 lottery jackpot. 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. As they were interviewing employees, Mickey Featherstone walked right into their midst - short, slight and light-haired. Federal officials said Friday that Mr. Featherstone was released from custody on Dec. 23, two days after he was given probation on a racketeering charge involving the Westies, a gang that terrorized an area of Manhattan west of Eighth Avenue between 42d and 57th Streets. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. He is famous for Irish American mobster and Vietnam Vet. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. He has since been living in anonymity in the federal witness protection program. 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. Joey and Friend David Rafeli Owner/CEO at Rafaeli's Cigars. 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. It was very difficult for police and prosecutors to convict men associated with this group because witnesses were terrified of the members and their willingness to quickly kill anyone who crossed them. 2 mo. ''Mickey has always lied,'' Mr. Moresco said. American military personnel of the Vietnam War. In April 1986, Featherstone was convicted of Hollys murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. I would say unlikely. New York law enforcement attributed at least thirty unsolved murders to the Westies in the 1970s and 1980s, and they were known as an extremely violent group, even by gang standards. He would act out frequently while in the hospitals, leading to him being restrained and injected with thorazine. Neil Patmore is a former police officer, and private investigator. DeSantis amid feud over self-governing privileges. 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. [5] He was freed in December 1988[5] and went into a witness protection program. 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. 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. 'Fog of bees' briefly interrupts PGA Tour's Mexico Open. He was circumcised. Back in Hells Kitchen, Featherstone soon found himself involved in more serious forms of criminal mischief. TwitterFrancis T. Mickey Featherstone was a member of the Irish mob until he was framed for a murder he didnt commit and turned informant. 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. 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 man the gang judged responsible for the murder, Michael Holly, skipped town to escape the heat, but returned a few years later. In neighborhood saloons, Featherstones paranoia and violence kept pace with his level of inebriation, but he largely managed to evade consequences for his violent escapades. 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. The institution kept Featherstone working on the ward, out of General Population, for his own safety. [1][5] His wife Sissy co-operated with the District Attorney's office to tape incriminating conversations with gang members, including Bokun. The Westies would also carry out some of the Gambino familys most gruesome dirty work. Nebraska students toss water balloons for Guinness World Record. 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. 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. ', Asked if she was a member of the Westies, he responded, 'She's hardly a member of anything at all.'. Thank you for helping to keep the podcast database up to date. With the new information provided by Featherstone in 1986, prosecutors were able to obtain indictments against eight members of the Westies, including leader Jimmy Coonan, and all but one were convicted. [1] He was shocked at receiving his sentence of 25 years in prison, and concluded that he had been framed by his own gang. Jimmy on the left & Larry Sessa, alleged Colombo Crime Family mobster. Featherstone returned with a rifle and shot one of the brothers John Riley in the arm, for which he was arrested and probationed. James Coonan is awaiting trial for an alleged revenge killing against a gang member. Other Westies had indeed cooked up the frame job to eliminate Mickey as a threat to their power in the organization. Kelly is a fugitive who has been indicted for the attempted murder of a carpenter's union official. However, Holly returned to New York City several years later. 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. Aussie tourist 'very sorry' for drunken, nude rampage in Indonesia. In this case, he was not only innocent of the crime, he also knew who had done it. /r/Mafia features stories, interviews, documentary and news articles about organized crime around the world. Many people mistakenly underestimated Featherstone, given his small stature, making him even more dangerous. Who is Mickey Featherstone dating? It didn't help his case that the shooter abandoned a car owned by Mickey's place of employment at the time. 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. This Featherstone is littlebit like leonetti - talks clearly, calmy, but what a psycho! Outside the courtroom, Coonan's lawyer Lawrence Hochheiser said, 'She's a housewife her only crime is being his wife. These convictions marked the demise of the reign of the Westies. The District Attorneys office agreed to work with Featherstones wife, Sissy Featherstone, to see if they could obtain evidence confirming Featherstones claims. [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. 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. Mickey knew he'd been framed, and was able to convince the police to let him prove it. Based on the car and the eyewitness identifications, Featherstone was convicted of Hollys murder in April 1986 and sentenced to spend 25 years to life in prison. It finally happened folks and it was a blast! The became hired killers in the 1970s, authorities said. They pulled over, either to do cocaine or because one of them asked him to. He disappeared without a trace in 1973 at the age of 29 and has not been seen in 49 years. Because of men like Featherstone, convictions of Westies members became increasingly difficult to secure because potential witnesses were terrified of them and their willingness to swiftly kill anyone who crossed them. Morgenthau said that in November 1983 Julia Coonan visited her husband, who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator, in the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., and the two hatched the plot to kill the victim. 229. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. Anonymous. [1] His testimony at Coonan's racketeering trial during 198788 helped to bring down Coonan's gang. 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. 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. ''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. [2] The police suspected him of a series of mob contract killings. We have no records of past relationships for Mickey Featherstone. Alligator removed from South Carolina resident's garage. This pic is of edna. [1] Rather than serving his sentence he instead told prosecutors that Bokun had committed the murder, and he became an informant. [1] In September 1986, Judge Alvin Schlesinger overturned Featherstone's conviction. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989. 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. He went on trial with Coonan for the killing of a barman, but they were acquitted in December 1979 after one witness killed himself and another refused to testify. ''This sentence is an act of trust which you have earned,'' the judge told Mr. Featherstone. In the criminal underworld, trust is a slippery commodity. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Mickey Featherstone news, gossip, photos of Mickey Featherstone, biography, Mickey Featherstone girlfriend list 2022. He has to be up there in age, 58 maybe, 60 maybe? Westie members murdered and dismembered him in the back of Coonans bar, then threw his remains in the Hudson River. 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. Witnesses described a man who looked a lot like Featherstone. Francis T. "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. An unhinged man with a hot temper and a hair trigger, Mickey Featherstone was known to kill for little to no reason at all. Public DomainJimmy Coonan (right) in a prison photo circa 1990. April 28 (UPI) -- An isolated private island off the coast of Scotland is for sale with an asking price of about $188,000. Is he still alive? Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an informant and brought down Coonan's gang. [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. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an informant and brought down Coonan's gang. Feb 13, 2011 #28. 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. But the Westies now had an enemy in Featherstone. 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. Ron DeSantis for assailing Disney, which employees tens of thousands of their constituents, just to court MAGA voters. Featherstone was born on West 43rd St.,[1] one of nine children. 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. Privacy Policy. Facing almost 25 years in jail, he became an . [1][2] He began spending time in saloons like Club 596 and Sunbrite that were hangouts for the Westies.[2]. Morgethau said the gang began as gamblers and loansharks but have committed 28 murders, five of which have been solved. But now, Coonan realized he could kill two birds with one stone. Asked if she was a member of the Westies, he responded, 'She's hardly a member of anything at all.'. So she cant better her life due to her family history? According to our records, Mickey Featherstone is possibly single. He was blond haired and baby-faced. Mickey Featherstone is a member of the following lists: People from Manhattan, 1947 births and American military personnel of the Vietnam War. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. 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. More than 150 beverages delivered to woman's home without explanation. Yeah, Featherstone is a strange character. [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. 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. Meanwhile, the District Attorneys office agreed to work with Featherstones wife to obtain evidence confirming Featherstones claims. Rich and Shefsky, joined by show favorite Jeremiah Watkins, took over the Bel, 12 Angry Menis a 1957 Americancourtroom drama filmdirected bySidney Lumet, adapted from ateleplay of the same namebyReginald Rose. 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. In May 1977, Jimmy Coonan owed a substantial amount of money to loan shark Ruby Stein and decided to forgive his own debt by murdering Stein. Featherstone contacted prosecutors from his trial and convinced them that the shooter may have been Billy Bokun, wearing a wig to look like Featherstone. Billy Bokuns attorney was Kenneth Aronson, the same attorney who had represented Featherstone in Hollys murder trial. Francis T. Mickey Featherstone was a member of the Irish mob until he was framed for a murder he didnt commit and turned informant. 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. Who is he dating right now? His parents divorced and mother remarried. She was able to record Bokun describing the shooting of Michael Holly while wearing a wig as Featherstone. [1][2], When a group from New Jersey, called the Riley brothers, entered Hell's Kitchen a fight started with the outsiders. It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. She said the Government explained the scope and value of his cooperation, along with the severity of his offense. He volunteered for combat in Vietnam and would claim he spent time killing with the Special Forces. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. 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. 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. Authorities said Leone was a loanshark and a bookie who created no-show jobs and took kickbacks from dockworkers on the Hudson River piers that border the Irish gang's territory in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side. 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. The Westies reign of terror was largely built on the back of Featherstones ferocious reputation. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Morgenthau said they were among the top hitmen in the gang. Left to Right. On this installment we will discuss what caused the rift between, This week we are getting even deeper into Hell's Kitchen. Francis "Mickey" Featherstone, a leader of New York City's 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. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. Jimmy Coonan (right) in a prison photo circa 1990. Congrats to him for being the first multi-million dollar illiterate trader. Then in April 1985, he was shot and killed on a New York City street by a man using a silencer. 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. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Author T.J.. He was charged with three murders over the years, but was always able to get acquitted after pleading insanity. Featherstone was convicted in 1986, but his conviction was reversed later that year when the actual shooter was identified. April 28 (UPI) -- A British piercing enthusiast broke his own Guinness World Record when the number of flesh tunnels in his face increased to 17. This dichotomy was Mickey in essence. Outside the courtroom, Coonan's lawyer Lawrence Hochheiser said, 'She's a housewife her only crime is being his wife.' Help us build our profile of Mickey Featherstone! He had a low boiling point to start with and if alcohol was involved, and it often was, Mickey had the potential to explode. 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. Mickey Featherstone: The Dangerous Hitman Currently Free In Witness Protection. Can you list the top facts and stats about Mickey Featherstone? Updated: Nov. 17, 2021 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. Brisman Craigslist Murder Phillip Markoff was born 1986. ''At least for the time being,'' the judge said, ''the Westies have been broken as an organization, largely as a result of your cooperation.''. Featherstone committed several mob killings before he was convicted in 1986 of a murder he had not committed. 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. ago. At first, it appeared that he had won. He came back home and moved his way up in the Westies, making a name for himself as a killer.

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