James Coonan
Encyclopedia
James "Jimmy C" Coonan (born December 21, 1946) is an Irish-American mobster and racketeer from Manhattan
, New York
who is currently serving a 75-year prison term.
area of New York City
. When Coonan was a young man, Mickey Spillane, a well-known mobster, kidnapped his father John, a local accountant.
Spillane frequently did this to merchants in the area, and would ransom them back to their families. 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 hiding and was killed by the Gambino crime family
(rumored to have been at the hands of Roy DeMeo
) as a favor to Coonan.
In 1979, Coonan was tried and acquitted for the murder of Harold Whitehead but convicted on weapons charges and sentenced to four years in federal prison. After his release he resumed power, but in 1988 was convicted of racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
(RICO) and sentenced to 75 years in prison without any possibility for parole.
He lived with his wife, Edna, in Hazlet, New Jersey
before his incarceration.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
who is currently serving a 75-year prison term.
Biography
James Coonan was born in 1946 in the Hell's Kitchen, ManhattanHell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
area of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. When Coonan was a young man, Mickey Spillane, a well-known mobster, kidnapped his father John, a local accountant.
Spillane frequently did this to merchants in the area, and would ransom them back to their families. His father was pistol-whipped and severely beaten. After, Coonan nursed a powerful grudge against Spillane. Coonan formed a more powerful crew
Westies
The Westies are a predominantly Irish American organized crime association operating from the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side in New York City. According to crime author T. J...
and took the neighborhood over from Spillane. Spillane eventually went into hiding and was killed by the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
(rumored to have been at the hands of Roy DeMeo
Roy DeMeo
Roy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
) as a favor to Coonan.
In 1979, Coonan was tried and acquitted for the murder of Harold Whitehead but convicted on weapons charges and sentenced to four years in federal prison. After his release he resumed power, but in 1988 was convicted of racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO) and sentenced to 75 years in prison without any possibility for parole.
He lived with his wife, Edna, in Hazlet, New Jersey
Hazlet, New Jersey
Hazlet Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,334....
before his incarceration.
External links
- http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=coonan&Middle=&FirstName=james&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 Federal Bureau of Prisons website]
- http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB51148022CF2F3&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=G5CS57HOMTE4NTg0NzQ0OS4yODY4NjU6MTo3OnJhLTE4ODg The Record (Bergen County)The Record (Bergen County)The Record is a newspaper in northern New Jersey. It has the second largest circulation of New Jersey's daily newspapers, behind The Star-Ledger. Owned by the Borg family since 1930, it is the flagship publication of the North Jersey Media Group. Stephen Borg is the publisher of The Record...
, July 20, 1986]. Accessed August 13, 2007. - http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1989/sg890417.txt James and Edna Coonan's 1989 appeal brief