The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob

This chronicle documents the rise and violent collapse of the Irish-American gang that controlled Hell’s Kitchen from the 1960s through the late 1980s. T.J. English details the leadership of James Coonan and Mickey Featherstone, focusing on the gang’s reputation for extreme physical dismemberment and their eventual alliance with the Gambino crime family. The narrative relies on the firsthand testimony of Featherstone, who turned informant, leading to the federal racketeering trials that dismantled the organization.

Readers interested in the logistics of organized crime and urban history will find a precise account of how small-scale neighborhood rackets evolved into a sophisticated criminal enterprise. The book provides a technical look at the intersection of local street violence and high-level Mafia politics. A reader walks away with a clear understanding of the RICO statutes used by prosecutors and the specific social conditions of a gentrifying Manhattan that rendered this particular brand of ethnic gang obsolete.