James Coonan

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James Coonan
Born December 21, 1946 (1946-12-21) (age 61)
New York City
Charge(s) Racketeering
Penalty Imprisonment until 2036
Status incarcerated
Occupation gangster
Spouse Edna

James "Jimmy C" Coonan (b. December 21, 1946) is an Irish-American mobster and racketeer from Manhattan, New York who is currently serving a 75 year prison term.

[edit] Biography

James Coonan was born and grew up with several siblings in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, the son of an accountant. When Coonan was a young man, Mickey Spillane, a well-known mobster, kidnapped his father.[citation needed] He frequently did this to merchants in the area, and would ransom them back to family. His father was pistol-whipped and severely beaten. After, Coonan nursed a powerful grudge against Spillane. Coonan formed a more powerful crew and took the neighborhood over from Spillane. Spillane eventually went into in hiding and was killed by the Gambino crime family as a favor to Coonan. Mickey Featherstone was Coonan's right-hand man.

Coonan was arrested in the mid 1980's on numerous charges, many dismissed, including counterfeiting. He later arrested and acquitted for the murder of Harold Whitehead. He was convicted and sentenced to four years in federal prison on weapons charges. He was paroled in 1984 but was eventually tried and convicted in 1988, for 75 years under RICO when Featherstone became a informant.

He lived with his wife, Edna, in Hazlet, New Jersey before his conviction. He is currently serving 75 years for racketeering and has been denied parole.[citation needed]

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

  • [1] Federal Bureau of Prisons website]
  • [2] The Record (Bergen County), July 20, 1986]. Accessed August 13, 2007.
  • [3] James and Edna Coonan's 1989 appeal brief
  • [4] American Organized Crime - The Westies - James "Jimmy C" Coonan
  • [5] American Organized Crime - Famous Cases - Operation West Side Story
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