Paul McGonagle
Encyclopedia
Paul McGonagle was an American mobster and leader of the Mullen Gang
, a South Boston street crew involved in burglary and armed robbery.
Paul McGonagle was the oldest of several brothers born to first generation Protestant immigrants from Ireland and raised in South Boston. While in South Boston he became acquainted with Catherine's sister Margaret and the two married, and moved into a home in the neighbourhood of Quincy where she lived during her marriage to the gang leader. During the gang war against neighborhood boss Donald Killeen
, McGonagle and Irish
immigrant Patrick Nee
successfully led the Mullens against the Killeen brothers organization, which finally ended with Donald Killeen's gunned down outside his suburban home in 1972. The leadership of the Killeen Gang was then devolved on James "Whitey" Bulger. He is the former brother-in-law to Catherine Elizabeth Grieg, the fugitive girlfriend of Winter Hill Gang
leader James J. Bulger
. Later, Catherine and Margaret's younger brother became close friends with Bulger. Former reporter Howie Carr stated, "Whitey isn't exclusively gay. But I've had it on good authority from the FBI sources that he is bisexual... Whitey was often seen in the company of (David). He liked to have him around". Paul's brother-in-law David was found mysteriously shot in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which was ruled a suicide. He was married to Catherine's identical twin sister Margaret (born April 3, 1951) in East Boston, Massachusetts
and brother-in-law to David Greig, the younger brother of Catherine. It is unknown when and how long were Paul McGonagle and Margaret Greig married. Following the murder and subsequent disappearance of her husband, Margaret divorced him on grounds of abandonment and remarried to a man named McClusk whom she was still married to as of 2008. Catherine is also the sister-in-law of Donald McGonagle, Paul's younger brother lived a law abiding life and did not follow his brother into a life of organized crime. Unfortunately, Donald who shared a fleeting physical resemblance with his brother was mistaken by Irish mob boss and wanted fugitive James J. Bulger to be that of Paul and was shot in the head, execution style in 1971, during the Killeen brothers and Mullen gang war. The FBI state on their wanted fugitive poster of Catherine Greig that one of the aliases she was known to have used in 1995 before she fled with Bulger was 'Catherine McGonagle', taking the last name of her slain brother-in-law as her own after going on the run with Bulger.
According to Kevin Weeks,
"One day while the gang war was still going on, Jimmy was driving down Seventh Street in South Boston when he saw Paulie driving toward him. Jimmy pulled up beside him, window to window, nose to nose, and called his name. As Paulie looked over, Jimmy shot him right between the eyes. Only at that moment, just as he pulled the trigger, Jimmy realized it wasn't Paulie. It was Donald, the most likable of the McGonagle brothers, the only one who wasn't involved in anything. Jimmy drove straight to Billy O'Sullivan's house on Savin Hill Avenue and told Billy O, who was at the stove cooking, 'I shot the wrong one. I shot Donald.' Billy looked up from the stove and said, 'Don't worry about it. He wasn't healthy anyway. He smoked. He would have gotten lung cancer. How do you want your pork chops?'"
According to former Mullen boss Patrick Nee, Paul McGonagle was enraged by the murder of his brother. Certain that Billy O'Sullivan was responsible, McGonagle ambushed and murdered Bulger's mentor. Rather than murdering Bulger as some Killeens desired, Patrick Nee arranged for their dispute with him to be mediated by Howie Winter
, the godfather of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang. After a sitdown in the South End, Boston, the two gangs joined forces with Winter as overall boss. Bulger, who proved a reliable moneymaker for Howie Winter, was soon in control of the South Boston rackets. It has since been revealed by investigators that Bulger was responsible for McGonagle's disappearance in November 1974. According to Patrick Nee, Paul McGonagle was enraged by the murder of his younger brother Donald, who, according to Kevin Weeks
, was shot in the head during the Killeen-Mullen War after Bulger mistook him for his brother Paul. It was likely for this reason that Bulger shot McGonagle in the head and buried him in a shallow grave on Boston's Tenean Beach. The murder was almost certainly sanctioned by Howie Winter. At the time of McGonagle's murder in 1974, his wife Margaret was left an unassuming widow at the age of twenty-three.
Mullen Gang
-Gang members:Paulie McGonagle was a Boston mobster and onetime leader of the Mullen Gang, a South Boston street gang involved in burglary, auto theft, and armed robbery. During the war against Donald Killeen and his brothers, McGonagle successfully led the Mullens in a string of shootings which...
, a South Boston street crew involved in burglary and armed robbery.
Paul McGonagle was the oldest of several brothers born to first generation Protestant immigrants from Ireland and raised in South Boston. While in South Boston he became acquainted with Catherine's sister Margaret and the two married, and moved into a home in the neighbourhood of Quincy where she lived during her marriage to the gang leader. During the gang war against neighborhood boss Donald Killeen
Donald Killeen
Donald Killeen was an Irish-American mob boss who controlled criminal activity, primarily bookmaking in South Boston, Massachusetts, during the 1960s and 1970s...
, McGonagle and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
immigrant Patrick Nee
Patrick Nee
Patrick Nee is an Irish-American immigrant, former member of the Mullen Gang, Vietnam vet, and the bestselling author of the memoir A Criminal and an Irishman; The Inside Story of the Boston Mob-IRA Connection.-Early life:Nee was born in Ros Muc, an Irish language speaking village in the...
successfully led the Mullens against the Killeen brothers organization, which finally ended with Donald Killeen's gunned down outside his suburban home in 1972. The leadership of the Killeen Gang was then devolved on James "Whitey" Bulger. He is the former brother-in-law to Catherine Elizabeth Grieg, the fugitive girlfriend of Winter Hill Gang
Winter Hill Gang
The Winter Hill Gang is a structured confederation of Boston, Massachusetts-area organized crime figures, predominantly Irish-American with a small Italian-American faction. It derives its name from the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts north of Boston. Its members have...
leader James J. Bulger
James J. Bulger
James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. is a former organized crime figure from Boston, Massachusetts.Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood-style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents. Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection racket targeting drug kingpins...
. Later, Catherine and Margaret's younger brother became close friends with Bulger. Former reporter Howie Carr stated, "Whitey isn't exclusively gay. But I've had it on good authority from the FBI sources that he is bisexual... Whitey was often seen in the company of (David). He liked to have him around". Paul's brother-in-law David was found mysteriously shot in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which was ruled a suicide. He was married to Catherine's identical twin sister Margaret (born April 3, 1951) in East Boston, Massachusetts
East Boston, Massachusetts
East Boston is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, with approximately 40,000 residents. The community was created by connecting several islands using landfill and was annexed by Boston in 1836. East Boston is separated from the rest of the city by Boston Harbor and bordered by Winthrop,...
and brother-in-law to David Greig, the younger brother of Catherine. It is unknown when and how long were Paul McGonagle and Margaret Greig married. Following the murder and subsequent disappearance of her husband, Margaret divorced him on grounds of abandonment and remarried to a man named McClusk whom she was still married to as of 2008. Catherine is also the sister-in-law of Donald McGonagle, Paul's younger brother lived a law abiding life and did not follow his brother into a life of organized crime. Unfortunately, Donald who shared a fleeting physical resemblance with his brother was mistaken by Irish mob boss and wanted fugitive James J. Bulger to be that of Paul and was shot in the head, execution style in 1971, during the Killeen brothers and Mullen gang war. The FBI state on their wanted fugitive poster of Catherine Greig that one of the aliases she was known to have used in 1995 before she fled with Bulger was 'Catherine McGonagle', taking the last name of her slain brother-in-law as her own after going on the run with Bulger.
According to Kevin Weeks,
"One day while the gang war was still going on, Jimmy was driving down Seventh Street in South Boston when he saw Paulie driving toward him. Jimmy pulled up beside him, window to window, nose to nose, and called his name. As Paulie looked over, Jimmy shot him right between the eyes. Only at that moment, just as he pulled the trigger, Jimmy realized it wasn't Paulie. It was Donald, the most likable of the McGonagle brothers, the only one who wasn't involved in anything. Jimmy drove straight to Billy O'Sullivan's house on Savin Hill Avenue and told Billy O, who was at the stove cooking, 'I shot the wrong one. I shot Donald.' Billy looked up from the stove and said, 'Don't worry about it. He wasn't healthy anyway. He smoked. He would have gotten lung cancer. How do you want your pork chops?'"
According to former Mullen boss Patrick Nee, Paul McGonagle was enraged by the murder of his brother. Certain that Billy O'Sullivan was responsible, McGonagle ambushed and murdered Bulger's mentor. Rather than murdering Bulger as some Killeens desired, Patrick Nee arranged for their dispute with him to be mediated by Howie Winter
Howie Winter
Howard Thomas "Howie" Winter is an American mobster. He was the second leader of the infamous Winter Hill Gang.-Early life:...
, the godfather of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang. After a sitdown in the South End, Boston, the two gangs joined forces with Winter as overall boss. Bulger, who proved a reliable moneymaker for Howie Winter, was soon in control of the South Boston rackets. It has since been revealed by investigators that Bulger was responsible for McGonagle's disappearance in November 1974. According to Patrick Nee, Paul McGonagle was enraged by the murder of his younger brother Donald, who, according to Kevin Weeks
Kevin Weeks
Kevin Weeks is a former mobster of Irish-American descent and a longtime friend and confidant to James J. Bulger, the infamous boss of the Winter Hill Gang, a crime family based out of the Winter Hill neighborhood in Somerville, Massachusetts.After his arrest and imprisonment in 1999, he became a...
, was shot in the head during the Killeen-Mullen War after Bulger mistook him for his brother Paul. It was likely for this reason that Bulger shot McGonagle in the head and buried him in a shallow grave on Boston's Tenean Beach. The murder was almost certainly sanctioned by Howie Winter. At the time of McGonagle's murder in 1974, his wife Margaret was left an unassuming widow at the age of twenty-three.
Further reading
- English, T.J. Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0-06-059002-5
- Lehr, Dick and Gerard O'Neill. Black Mass: The Irish Mob, the Boston FBI and a Devil's Deal. New York: Public Affairs, 2000. ISBN 1-891620-40-1
- Nee, Patrick. A Criminal and an Irishman, 2006.
- Weeks, Kevin, Brutal; The Untold Story of my Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish MobIrish MobThe Irish Mob is one of the oldest organized crime groups in the United States, in existence since the early 19th century. Originating in Irish American street gangs of the 19th century — depicted in Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs of New York — the Irish Mob has appeared in most...