There were so many but who was the most powerful?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_mobsters_of_Irish_descent

Whitey Bulger. He was more powerful then the Mob and from 1979 to 1995 run the winter hill gang with no fear of the Mob or the Fbi.

Owney Madden and William O'Donnell hands down. (Im not sure if Willie is on the list)

Thomas "Blackjack" McGinty was up there.

McGinty was a member of the Cleveland Syndicate, which included Jewish gangsters Moe Dalitz, Maurice Kleinman, Louis Rothkopf, Sam Tucker and Charles Polizzi, the adopted brother of Alfred Polizzi, head of the Italian Mayfield Road Mob.[4] The Syndicate's gaming operations were located in Youngstown, Ohio, Covington, Kentucky, Newport, Kentucky and as far away as Florida.[5] McGinty and other members of the Syndicate were stockholders of the Las Vegas casino Desert Inn during the 1950s [1]. He was also involved in Meyer Lansky's Hotel Nacional in Havana, Cuba [2].

McGinty held an interest in numerous race tracks, including Maple Heights, Fair Grounds Race Course, Thistledown Racecourse, Fairmount Park Racetrack, Aurora Downs, and the Agua Caliente Racetrack.[6] McGinty testified before the Kefauver Committee about the Cleveland Syndicate and organized crime.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/orig-5x7-blackjack-mcginty-mafia-el-118558522

The Westies

Mickey Spillane for years, then the lunatic Jimmy Coonan

And, of course, Joe Kennedy.....

Eddie McGrath and Owney Madden ran the show

Joe Kelly had a good a run years active 1920-1966.

New York labor racketeer who, with his cousin Harold Bowers, was a major power on the New York waterfront though the ILA's notorious "Pistol Local" based in Hell's Kitchen.

Its really fascinating when you learn about how much power he had. He was not afraid of anyone and was as tough as they come.

Its pretty pathetic knowing that they finally attacked him when he was vulnerable restricted to a wheel chair. If they would have tried to kill him during his prime it would have been a death sentence for them both.

Ragen's Colts were mostly Irish TD? For a street gang they had a lot of political power I believe some went later to the Outfit.

Prime or not, there was no getting out of that situation. And he deserved what he got. One of the most notorious rats in history got it, YouTube rats pay attention.

The FBI wanted La Cosa Nostra so bad, for headlines and career advancements, that they allowed Whitey Bulger to literally get away with anything he wanted. But look what happened when they totally decimated the Mafia, they turned on Whitey. I'm willing to bet that they could've caught him sooner but were scared of the corruption he could've exposed.

Lets make this clear...........

He didn't rat on his own crew or family but he indeed ratted on his competition.

I have no problem with that at all. Those guys were against him and he was the most powerful because of how much more intelligent he was at surviving and being successful than they were. These guys would have whacked him in a second if it meant them staying in business so its an eye for an eye. Survival of the fittest there are no rules on the streets when it comes to who you are up against. Your job is to be in business not in prison and Whitey knew how to do that.

You do take a risk though of being killed over that, and thats what happened to him in the end.

John “The Executioner” Martorano – a star witness at Bulger’s racketeering and murder trial – told the jury that it “sort of broke my heart” when he learned his pal was an FBI informant.

He said Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi had been his “partners in crime,” his best friends and godfather to his children, the Associated Press reported.

But the news that Bulger and Flemmi were working with the feds “broke all the trust that we had, all loyalty,” Martorano said, according to the Boston Globe.

So he hit them where it hurt: He decided to become a government snitch, too.

As a result of his cooperation agreement, Martorano served just a dozen years in prison even though he admitted to 20 murders, some of which he matter-of-factly recounted in his first hours on the stand.

Did Bulger ever rat on his crew? Not that I am aware of.

BTW, Flemmi and Martorano are both Irish from their mother's side.

Did he ever rat on his own crew? Not really sure what the problem is if he didn't. He helped them out by feeding information to the FEDS on New England.

I believe Martorano had to know being so close to the two men for decades. So I guess they didn't rat on Winter Hill.

So what is the problem? There is none.

He fuckin helped his crew out by having the FEDS focus their time on the Italians. He didn't Rat to fuck his own guys over like most guys do.

On the streets like I said none of those guys give a fuck about you, so why should you care what happens to them? Its part of the business.

The only guys you never rat on are your own family and crew.

Rush, ya kiddin' with this one, right? Whitey Fucking Bulger? LOL. LOL. He was a complete, unequivocal fucking rat! A slug! A degenerate of the worst category! And that's putting it mildly...AND A WELL-WORN FACT!

He not only gave up the Italians (which is bad enough. Unforgivable, in fact.) But he would, and often "did," give us everybody and anybody else (including his own friends) over the course of many decades to save his own ass.

He killed innocent women, including (if memory serves me) a young girl who he was also either bedding (who was the daughter of a girlfriend or a personal friend of his,) He set friends up to murder them and take their assets. Or set them up for arrest, etc, etc, etc.

You REALLY should research and learn your underworld history, before making such outlandish, silly statements.

Among a bunch of very bad guys, he was the lowest of the low!...Next level degeneracy!

I guess I was not aware of him being a rat in that sense. I only thought he worked against the Italians in Boston.

I apologize.

Rush, There is absolutely no need to apologize to me, or to anyone else on this board for that matter. But if I may, I would suggest that you try and educate yourself before you start such silly threads in the future.

lol I didn't start this thread.

I do realize that. I also realize that it was Furio who made a statement that, IMO, amounts to a very silly comment about Bulger. But, truth be told, you did double down (ten fold) with what you said. So it is what it is.

Do you think Whitey ever abused narcotics such as cocaine?

I can't believe nobody here mentioned Danny Green.

I agree he was a big figure in History.

A police investigation revealed that Greene's murder had been a criminal conspiracy between the Mafia families of Cleveland, New York City and Southern California. The investigation also resulted in the defections of Ray Ferritto and Los Angeles boss Jimmy Fratianno, followed by the exposure and arrest of a mole inside the Cleveland FBI. The investigation also laid the groundwork for many Federal prosecutions of the Mafia.

"Long John" Raymond Martorano (not Irish, obviously) AND the Irish K&A gang revolutionized the meth trade in the United States.

I can’t Believe this Topic about a Irish American Mobsters is even Relevant there are more Better Topics to talk about then Unorganized Irishman where Irish Mobsters were just RATS and had no Structure they were just Hoodlums look at Boston Irish Mob The Westies in New York or even the Northside Gang in Chicago

Butchie we have to talk about other groups too. The Italian Mafia - be it the groups in Italy or American LCN - will always remain my favorite. But other groups factor into the underworld as well. For one, if we don't discuss other criminal gangs, then you get the whole "well, why don't you talk about other mobs? Why does it always have to be the Italians? What are you trying to say?" And while the so-called "Irish Mob" have never met the criteria to be considered a true "Mafia," like the Triads or Yakuza, for instance, there's nevertheless many many fascinating and colorful gangsters of Irish descent throughout gangland history.