“Waterfront Commission Hearings, Vol. 1–5” New York State Crime Commission. December 1952–March 1953.
Whelen, Edward P. “The Life and Hard Times of the Cleveland Mafia—How the Danny Greene Murder Exploded the Godfather Myth.” Cleveland Magazine. August 1978.
“The Wolf Hearings.” (Memorandum and Order) U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Judge Mark L. Wolf. September 15, 1999.
Institutions
Essential research material in the form of newspaper archives, historical quarterlies, photos, and, in some cases, police documents were culled from some of the collections of the following institutions: American Irish Historical Society; Museum of the City of New York; New York Public Library (Newspaper Division); New York Municipal Archive; Metropolitan Crime Commission of New Orleans; Louisiana Historical Society; New Orleans Public Library (Louisiana Division); Howard-Tilton Memorial Library (Louisiana Collection), Tulane University; Chicago Crime Commission; Chicago Historical Society; Kansas City Museum; Boston Public Library (Micro-text Room); and John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.
Government Files and Trial Transcripts
Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), U.S. Justice Department FBI files were obtained on the following individuals: Joseph P. Kennedy, Daniel J. Greene, and James J. “Whitey” Bulger.
Transcripts and other evidence from numerous criminal and civil trials were used in the research for this book, especially where it involved wiretap conversations that became the basis for reconstructing dialogue. The primary cases are:
The People of the State of New York v. Francis T. Featherstone aka “Mickey,” Supreme Court of the State of New York, Manhattan. 1986.
United States v. James J. Coonan et al., U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. 1987–88.
Unites States v. Kevin Kelly and Kenny Shannon, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. 1989.
United States v. John J. Connolly, Jr., U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. 2002.
acknowledgments
This book could not have come together were it not for the assistance of various friends, authors, archivists, cops, historians, college professors, newspaper people, ex-girlfriends, priests, taxi drivers, gangsters, and wizards of publishing that I have had the good fortune to know. On various research expeditions to the primary cities mentioned in this book, I was aided by archivists and librarians. In an attempt to find documents and interview living participants from the world of the Irish American gangster, I was aided by law enforcement personnel and people in the underworld—or people who knew people in the underworld. To make sense of it all, I often relied on friends and fellow professionals, especially those with expertise on the subject of Irish Americana.
For providing or leading me to key pieces of information, photos, or helping to facilitate interviews, I would like to thank the following people: Patrick Nee, Jimmy Martorano, Eddie MacKenzie, Mickey Featherstone, Sissy Featherstone, Ciaran Staunton, Tommy Lyons, Chip Fleischer, Rich Farrell, Ray Flynn, Tyler Anbinder, Edward McDonald, Rose Keefe, Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe, Bill Boyle of the New York Daily News, Bill Gallo of the Daily News, and Rick Porrello of americanmafia.com.
Having gotten my start as a journalist writing mostly for Irish American publications, I have accumulated friends and professional contacts who were indispensable as a sounding board on the subjects of Irish American history, culture, and/or American gangsterism in general. In this regard I would like to thank: Bob Callahan, Peter Quinn, Alderman Tom Kelly, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Vince Patrick, Patrick Farrelly, Kate O’Callaghan, Danny Cassidy, Ed Moloney, Pat Fenton, Sean O’Murchu, Niall O’Dowd, Trish Harty, Brian Rohan, and Kevin Mullen.
Various research institutions were essential sources of information. I was aided in my archival expeditions by the following professionals: In New York, Scott Kelly of the American Irish Historical Society. In New Orleans, Wayne Everard, head archivist at the New Orleans Public Library, Louisiana Division; Sally Reeves, archivist for the Louisiana Historical Society; and Anthony Radosti of the Metropolitan Crime Commission of New Orleans. In Chicago, Lee Lyons, research director for the Chicago Crime Commission. In Kansas City, archivist Denise Morrison of the Kansas City Museum. In Boston, archivist James Hill of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. In Cleveland, Lt. Wayne Drummond and Commander Edward Tomba of the Cleveland Police Department.
In many ways researching and writing this book was for me the continuation of a lifelong journey as a writer, an exploration that has been supported and sustained by friends and family. Just for being there, I would like to thank: Tom Caldarola, Barbara Henderson, Dino Malcolm, Gha’il Rhodes-Benjamin, Joan Barker, Joel Millman, Joel Popson, Frankie “the Tailor” Shattuck, Ryan Schafer, Nora Wertz, Rocky Sullivan’s Bar, and, most especially, the one and only Sandra Maria Rocha English. I would also like to thank my immediate family: Joan, Terry, Ed, Maureen, Marian, Suzanne, John, Margi, Mike, and mother Suzanne.
Finally there are the people who helped launch this project into the marketplace and shape its final form. I am indebted to master agent Nat Sobel, who compelled me to expand and go deeper, to publisher Judith Regan, who knows an Irish gangster when she sees one, to editor Cal Morgan for championing the cause, and to editor Anna Bliss, who helped get the project rolling when she was under the employ of Sobel Weber Associates and ushered it across the finish line after she switched to ReganBooks.
searchable terms
Acuna, “Chile,”
Adonis Social Club
African American gangsters
alderman, defined
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
American Mob, roots
Anger, Kenneth
Angiulo, Gennaro “Jerry,”
anti-Catholic bigotry
J.F.K. presidency overcoming
Know-Nothing movement
Mike McDonald and
in New Orleans
shaping Irish American identity
Whitey/Billy Bulger and
Anti-Saloon League
Apalachin (NY) conference
Association for Improving the Conditions of the Poor (AICP)
Atlantic City conference
“baby massacre”. See Coll, Vincent “the Mad Mick”
Back o’ the Yards gambling fortress
Barboza, Joe
Bathhouse John. See Coughlin, John “Bathhouse John”
Beattie, Billy
Belmont, August
Benjamin, Frank
Big Bankroll. See Rothstein, Arnold
Bill the Butcher. See Poole, William
Billingsley, Sherman
Birns, Shonder
Black Sox Scandal
Board of Fifteen
Bokun, Billy
Bonanno, Joseph
boodling
bookmaking rise
Boone, Levi
bootlegging
Big Tim Sullivan and
ethnic diversity
home brewing and
impetus for
protection
rampant bloodshed
whiskey baron. See Kennedy, Joseph P.
See also Combine, the; specific bootleggers
Borelli, Carmine
Boston
absent central power base
Brinks Job
busing crisis
freelance underworld
interethnic gang fraternization
James Michael Curly and
J.F.K. election irony
1960s neighborhoods
See also gangs (Boston); specific gangsters
Bowery Boys
Boylan, Tom
Boylan Protective Police
Brando, Marlon
Brinks Job
Brod, Mario
Bufalino, Russell
Bulger, Billy
Bulger, James “Whitey”
birth, formative years
&nb
sp; Brian Halloran and
brother Billy protecting
busing crisis
DEA close call
Dennis Condon and
Donald Killeen murder and
early criminal activity
embodying Irish Mob history
ending gang wars
fall of
FBI aiding/abetting
FBI going after
FBI Top Echelon informant
Bulger, James “Whitey” (continued)
headquarters
international forays
Jimmy Coonan and
John Callahan and
John Connolly and. See Connolly, John
Kenny Killeen and
Killeen Gang
on the lam
LSD guinea pig
neighborhood protector
overview
Pat Nee and
Paul Rico and
power base
prison time
race-fixing pass
reputation/demeanor
seeds of destruction
Steve Flemmi connection
Tom King killing
Winter Hill boss ascension
without Connolly
Bulger, Joe
Big Jim Colosimo and
childhood
as Giuseppe Imburgio
Bulger, Sen. William
Bulger Mystique
bunco, term origin
Bunty Kate
Burke, Elmer Francis “Trigger,”
Burke, Fred “Killer,”
Burke, James “Jimmy,”
Butler, Richard “Big Dick,”
Cagney, James
Callahan, John
Camp, Thomas. See Burke, Fred “Killer”
Campbell, Judith
Capone, Alphonse “Scarface”
Atlantic City conference
attempted New York hit on
Bill McSwiggin hit
Bugs Moran and
Dean O’Banion and
eliminating Irish mobsters
empire vision
Frank McErlane and
Genna brothers and
inheriting Johnny Torrio domain
Irish better half
Joe Kennedy and
Johnny Roselli and
Johnny Torrio and
on O’Connors Gunners
personality, style
prominence/self-promotion
prostitution
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and
T. J. Pendergast and
tax evasion conviction
Touhy gang and
West Side O’Donnells and
Wild Bill Lovett and
Capone, Mae Coughlin
Capone, Sonny
Capshaw, Hulon
Carnera, Primo
Castellano, Paul “Big Paulie”
murder
Westies and
Castiglia, Francesco; See also Costello, Frank
Castro, Fidel
Charlestown gang
Chesterfield Club
Chicago
antiforeigner movement
gambling wars
Great Fire of 1871
Levee district
mayoral election violence
Prohibition gang crackdown
Prohibition violence
as underworld central
Chicago Crime Commission
Chicago Merchandise Mart
Chicago World’s Fair (1893)
C.I.. See confidential informant (C.I.) program
Clements, Michelino
Cleveland bombings
Coast Guard
Coll, Peter
Coll, Vincent “the Mad Mick”
arrest
Atlantic City conference and
“baby massacre,”
bounty on
child murder trial/acquittal
downfall
Dutch Schultz and
formative years
gang members murdered
Jack “Legs” Diamond and
Joey Rao and
on the lam
Lottie Kriesberger and
Luciano hit contract
marriage
murder
murder trial
Owney Madden and
reputation
taking on Dutch Schultz
underworld after
Collins, Florence
Collins, Morgan
Collins, Tommy
Colosimo, Jim
Combine, the
alliances
creation
Diamond, Jack “Legs” hijacking trucks
ethnic diversity
government-authority ruse
Joe Kennedy and
Larry Fay and
Mafia and
nightclub outlets
Phoenix Cereal Beverage Company
producing Madden’s No. 1
protection
squeezing out independents
See also specific Combine member names
Compton, Betty
Condon, Dennis
confidential informant (C.I.) program; See also Bulger, James “Whitey”; Connolly, John
Connolly, John
aiding Bulger
approaching Whitey Bulger
arresting Cadillac Frank Salemme
background/credentials
defending Bulger/Flemmi
gangster/cop relationship and
initial Bulger connection
Jerry Angiulo demise
payback time
prison sentence
retirement
supervisors aiding
Tulsa murder and
Connolly, Slops
Cook County Democracy
Coonan, Edna
Coonan, Jackie
Coonan, James Michael “Jimmy”
absorbing Spillane enterprise
assassination plot
Billy Beattie and
birth, formative years
coronation
dismemberment practice
Featherstone uniting with
Gambino family and
Genovese family and
gun possession conviction
ILA office extortion
Jacob Javits Convention Center and
Jimmy McElroy and
John Gotti and
kidnapping charge
loyalty ritual
Marine Construction
Mickey Spillane war
motivation
Mugsy Ritter and
murder arrest/acquittal
murder conviction/prison
Paul Castellano and
Plaka Bar murder
prison time
return after four years
Richie Ryan and
Rickey Tassiello and
Ruby Stein and
sewage treatment haven
Tommy Collins and
Whitey Bulger and
See also Westies
Cooney, Dennis “Duke,”
Cooney, Joe
Coppola, Francis
Corcoran, Googy
Corkonions
Corridan, Father John
Corridan’s Law
Costa, Vincent
Costello, Frank
Atlantic City conference
Combine involvement
Jimmy Hines and
Joe Kennedy and
Kefauver Hearings
Mayor Bill O’Dwyer and
Paul Costello and
payoffs
protection payments
real name
Costello, Paul
Cotton Club
Coughlin, John “Bathhouse John,”
Big Jim Colosimo and
Big Tim Sullivan and
Carter Harrison, Jr. and
committee participation
election violence and
First Ward Ball and
Hinky Dink alliance