I mean, how well known and terrifying was his name during the Westies' time? No I don't mean feared once he turned, I mean feared just by name by common people of NYC that he was a lunatic psycho killer roaming the streets.

Supposedly that's why Coonan brought him aboard. Because of his reputation as a killer. Featherstone had already had three murder charges before he was even connected to the Hell's Kitchen Mob.

I was gonna grab the book the westies. I was wondering if they talk about featherstone a lot in the book. I was pretty interested

You'll enjoy it Philly. Great book and they do talk a lot about Featherstone.

It seems he had already made his rep before he became a westie.Good book,I agree.In the book it says that Coonan would take his guys out with Demeo's crew and that one night in particular that Featherstone and one of Demeo's guys got in a fight.After that Coonan backed off a little.I guess it would have had to been one of the Gemeni twins or Borelli.And any of the three would have probally killed Featherstone on the spot.

anyone who was alive in NY back then reading?

Mickey Featherstone was.

Yeah, I was alive. Criminal intimidation and power are relative terms. They apply to your own domain. Featherstone was a maniac, and he was very much feared in Hell's Kitchen. But he wasn't a household name, and he held no real power outside his own neighborhood.

But to give credit where credit is due, I should point out that Featherstone is one of the few WITSEC success stories. By all accounts, he stayed clean. I think one of his kids is a doctor now.

And "The Westies" was one of the better books ever written about Irish organized crime in New York. I highly recommend it.

Featherstone was feared because he would kill someone without any type of reaction. He would kill someone and then forget he even did it

IIRC from the book, part of the Featherstone mythology stemmed from him murdering people on 2 different occasions and getting off for both because of bullshit reasons. Can't exactly remember how he got off. I think one was for being delusional/crazy and the other may have been for self defense. So in the eyes of people in the neighborhood this guy killed two people in front of others on purpose but got off for both. Couple this with an already tough reputation and I think this is where a large part of the fear came from.

I read the book "the westies and jimmy Coonan was as bad or worse than Featherstone, Coonan was a real maniac, who killed a mobster named mickey spillane to get the top spot in the westies, I compare Coonan to Anthony casso, he was that blood thirsty.

Binnie Coll,I would go even farther and say Coona was by far more ruthless than Featherstone.From what I have read,the docs I have seen,without Coonan he was a nobody.Or as Joe Coffey says,"Featherstone would have been cleaning toilets without Coonan".He was a killer no doubt.But when he went in with Coonan he was way over his head.Featherstone wasn't prepared to kill guys he grew up with like Coonan was and did.Or cutting up bodies.Featherstone was content making enough cash to snort coke,drink booze get a couple of whores and that is about it.Coonan was the true gangster who wanted to form alliances,kill whoever and continue to grow.Featherstone was nowhere near the gangster as Coonan.Ofcourse I have no firsthand knowledge just books

yes, you are correct. all the books about the westies say the same, Coonan went to the mens restroom in a club one time, a man in the restroom said something Coonan did not like and, Coonan killed him on the spot, a real unbalanced gangster.

jimmy coonan was a bad dude but he wasnt as crazy as featherstone since mickey actually had mental issues. The spillane killing was personal for jimmy since spillane had beat up his father years before

I see, thank you.

Jimmy was definitely the more ruthless gangster and Featherstone was pretty much legitimately insane and delusional at times. When he was in Nam he got drunk and his buddies had him circumcised and they said that made him lose it. PB is right, Coonan was the brains and real ruthlessness while Featherstone was the craziest guy in the neighborhood that people feared because he whacked a few guys in front of crowds. Mickey might have scared the shit out of HK, but don't think wiseguys from other parts of town were very intimidated by him.

Could swear I read or heard the Featherstone actually killed 4-5 people but anytime someone showed up dead in the neighborhood Coonan would say Micky did to build up his rep for his own purposes and to deflect heat from him

Not saying Micky wasn't lethal , but Coonan from what I can remember made the myth to some extent

he said to jimmy his brother was a junkie rat, he swindled him out of money, then he called his brother jackie a fag,

coonan was pretending to go to the toilet, instead whipped out a gun and shot him dead,everyone there was tripping over each other out the door

victim was called harold whitehead,

Yes,Harold "whitey" Whitehead was the one killed in the bathroom of the plaza hotel,i believe.I think only a few "westies" were true gangsters in the sense that they were loyal,moneymakers,etc.They all would kill.I think Eddie "the butcher" Cummiskey was a true gangster.There is a video on youtube I came across on an irish oc forum that shows Cummiskey's son in a street fight in NYC.The younger Cummiskey can be seen whipping a guy much bigger in what was really self defense.He has very good hands and I would say is trained.I will try to find the video and post.Most of the guys on this irish forum refused to say names,I guess most are from this neighborhood and know these guys personally

And Joe Coffey said on 60 minutes there was a 100% chance of Featherstone going back to crime and violence didn't he ??

I've never seen that, DiLorenzo. But it sure does sound like something Coffey would say. And I don't have any contempt for Coffey like some of the other guys on these boards. He had his job to do. End of story. But he clearly doesn't believe in redemption. I've never met a cop that does.

I like my coffee black, just like my Coffey.

I don't get it. But I'm on my fourth Bloody Mary, so I'm very happy for you, Moe .

Ive never met an irishmen that does either.

In that "Mobsters" episode about the Westies, they said when they went to a meeting with Castellano and the Gambino hierarchy, Featherstone took a grenade with him, and Coonan said to his men waiting outside that if they didn't return it time, they should go inside and whack every mafioso present. Do you think that's true or just something added by the show creators for the sake of a "narration full of suspense"?
Now THAT would have been an interesting development: the Gambino family beheaded by a group of maniacal street punks, the following retaliations, and the general Italian vs Irish war (well, of course gang wars aren't that good because a stray bullet can hit an innocent from time to time, I realize that).

And another question: did Mickey Spillane kill Eli Zeccardi, Tieri's underboss, or was Tieri himself responsible? Which theory sounds more plausible to you?

I'm glad you said it, Delly. Because you're half-Irish, right down to your freckles and Coppertone number 1000. I'd never get away with it. Moe would call the IRA on me .

I've heard from reliable sources that Zeccardi had problems in his own family and that Benny gave the nod on that one. It didn't have much to do with the Irish. But who really knows, especially with that family?

I'm glad you said it, Delly. Because you're half-Irish, right down to your freckles and Coppertone number 1000. I'd never get away with it. Moe would call the IRA on me .
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Haha aint that the truth, i could get sunburn in the middle of december...while standing inside.

Ive never met an irishmen that does either. [/quote]
I'm glad you said it, Delly. Because you're half-Irish, right down to your freckles and Coppertone number 1000. I'd never get away with it. Moe would call the IRA on me .
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Ah now. I have never condoned anything the IRA have ever done, PB. They have don't many supporters in Ireland. Certainly not me.

I know that, Moe. I was only joking, kid .

The Irish who stick up for the IRA are cut from the same cloth as Italians who look up to the mob. In other words, it's okay when they kill people, but not when others do it .