From T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of The
Corporation: An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld, The
Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob is the true account of the vicious
gang that ruled Hell's Kitchen from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Even among the Mob, the Westies were feared. Starting with a partnership
between two sadistic thugs, Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone, the
gang rose out of the inferno of Hell's Kitchen, a decaying tenderloin
slice of New York City's West Side. They became the most notorious gang
in the history of organized crime, excelling in extortion, numbers
running, loan sharking, and drug peddling. Upping the ante on depravity,
their specialty was execution by dismemberment. Though never numbering
more than a dozen members, their reign lasted for almost twenty
years--until their own violent natures got the best of them,
precipitating a downfall that would become as infamous as their
ascension into the annals of crime.
This revised and updated chronicle of the Westies served as the basis of
the crime film State of Grace, starring Sean Penn, Ed Harris, and Gary
Oldman.