Mickey Featherstone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francis "Mickey" Featherstone (born c. 1947) was an Irish American mobster and member of the Westies, an organized crime gang from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan in New York City. Following his arrest for murder in 1986, he became an informant.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
He served in the Vietnam War, during which he was tormented because of his size. He was upset because he was stationed with Green Berets, but he had none of their training and was forced to run errands. After a night of drinking with some of the medics with whom he was stationed, Featherstone passed out, and the medics tried to circumcise him. The attempt was botched, leaving Featherstone scarred for life. Shortly after his return to the U.S. in 1968, he joined the Westies and became close friends with fellow mobster James Coonan. Featherstone was arrested for murder in the early 1970s, but he was found not guilty by reason of insanity, because of his experiences in the Vietnam War.[citation needed]
Featherstone had been a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.[1]
[edit] Featherstone and the Westies
Coonan became the boss of the Westies in 1978 after driving his predecessor, Mickey Spillane, out of the neighborhood. Spillane was later murdered in Woodside, Queens, by soldiers of Gambino captain Roy Demeo, who wished to build an alliance with Coonan. Featherstone was Coonan's right-hand man, and, under their reign, the trigger-happy Westies committed many murders in addition to engaging in loan-sharking, drug trafficking and protection rackets. They also forged an alliance with the Gambino Family. Coonan is believed to have murdered loanshark Ruby Stein to clear various debts members of the Westies had with Stein. The murder of Stein, who had been the Gambino family's man in Hell's Kitchen, led Paul Castellano to reign in the Westies by transforming Coonan and Featherstone into close associates of the family.
[edit] Downfall
Featherstone and Coonan were tried for murder in 1979, but they were acquitted. Featherstone was later imprisoned on counterfeiting charges stemming from his dealings with a crew of Greek-American gangsters from southern New Jersey. After being released from prison, Featherstone had a falling out with Coonan, who had refused to lend Featherstone money and insisted on only relaying orders through his wife, Edna. Featherstone was further enraged by Coonan's practice of deferring to the Mafia, whom Featherstone scornfully referred to as "Al Colognes." He built a crew of his own to murder Coonan and take over the neighborhood rackets.
Featherstone was arrested and charged with a murder committed by Coonan's crew in 1986. He initially tried to use his claim of suffering from post traumatic stress related to his experiences in Vietnam as a defense. However, when the prosecution revealed that he only had a noncombat role during the war, Featherstone was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
[edit] Cooperation
Believing that Coonan had deliberately framed him, Featherstone became an informant and testified against fellow Westies, including Coonan, and during the later trial of John Gotti. His testimony led to the Westies' downfall. The defense lawyers in the respective trials unsuccessfully tried to have Featherstone's testimony invalidated because he had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
[edit] Current status
Featherstone is currently in the Witness Protection Program with his wife, Sissy, and their four children. Unlike more prominent Federal witnesses such as Sammy Gravano, Vincent Teresa, and Henry Hill, he has not had any conflicts with the law, a fact which he credits to his removal from Hell's Kitchen. In 2001, he was returned to New York to testify at the trial of Bosko Radonjich, the Serbian immigrant who had taken over the remnants of The Westies.
[edit] References
- ^ Leith, Rod. "GANG'S EX-LEADER TESTIFYING BEFORE U.S. GRAND JURY", The Record (Bergen County), July 20, 1986. Accessed August 13, 2007. "Featherstone, 37, formerly of Teaneck, reputedly led the Westies, a gang specializing in Mafia contract-killings."
[edit] See also
Other notable informants during the 1970s and 80s include:
[edit] Further reading
- Davis, John H. Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
[edit] References
- English, T.J. The Westies. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1991. ISBN 0-312-92429-1
- English, T.J. Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-06-059003-3
