Stories
Notorious
Eddie McGrath & The Westside Mob Part 2
The West Side piers, or the North River waterfront as it is commonly known as, stretches along the Hudson River from West Greenwich (between Houston and 14th Street) to Chelsea (14th Street to 34th Street), to Hell’s Kitchen (34th Street to 42nd Street), and all the...
Eddie McGrath & The Westside Mob Part 1
Edward J. McGrath, or “The Big Guy,” as he came to be known around the docks, was born on January 31, 1906. His parents were two Irish immigrants who had settled on the Lower East Side of New York City in an area known as the Gashouse District. During his formative...
The End of The Westies
With the arrests of Jimmy Coonan and his wife Edna, Billy Bokun, Mugsy Ritter, Flo & Tommy Collins and Johnny Halo in November and December 1986, Jimmy "Jimmy Mac" McElroy went on the run but was soon arrested, Kevin Kelly & Kenny Shannon also went on the run...
The Five Points
The Five Points was a 19th-century neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York. The neighborhood was bound by Center Street to the west, the Bowery to the east, Canal Street to the north, and Park Row to the south. The Five Points stood on what is now Park, Worth &...
The Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties. The Prohibition Laws, the Eighteenth Amendment & Volstead Act, had just been passed banning the sale of alcohol across the United States but it was largely ignored in the cities, New York, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis etc.Before Prohibition...
“Jelly Roll” Hogan & The Hogan Gang – St. Louis
Edward "Jelly Roll" Hogan was the leader of the Hogan Gang and arch enemy of the Egan's Rats Gang in St. Louis, Hogan and his gang strong armed their way into the illegal alcohol business and had many running battles with members of Egans Rats along the way. And like...
Martin Cahill “The General” – Godfather of Crime
"The General" Martin Cahill was a criminal from Dublin, a burglar, armed robber & art thief, who was eventually assassinated in 1994 by the IRA. This story was the subject to a book by Paul Williams and a highly acclaimed 1998 movie starring Brendan Gleeson and...
Dandy Johnny Dolan – More Than a Comic Book Character
Dandy Johnny Dolan was the subject of a Simon & Kirby comic book in the 1940's, based on the life and crimes of the real John Dolan, who was born in 1849 in Lower Manhattan, he became the leader of one of the most notorious gangs in the mid to late 1800's, The...
Little Augie Orgen’s Fatal Mistake
It’s believed the partnership between Jack “Legs” Diamond and Jacob “Little Augie” Orgen started when Jack cut Little Augie into his narcotic and bootlegging business, for a slice of Little Augie’s Labor Union racket. This deal didn’t sit well with Little Augie’s top...