NYPD Mugshot of Michael 'Mickey' Spillane.

Michael Spillane much better known as Mickey Spillane ( July 13th 1934-May 13th 1977) was an Irish-American mobster from Hell's Kitchen, New York. Spillane, who was called the "last of the gentleman gangsters", was a marked contrast to the violent Westies gang members who succeeded him in Hell's Kitchen. Frank Morrison Spillane (March 9, 1918 – July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels. ... July 13th is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Distribution of Irish Americans according to the 2000 Census Irish Americans are residents of the United States who acknowledge Irish ancestry and self-identify with the term. ... Ninth Avenue looking north toward Time Warner Center and Hearst Tower Hells Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan that includes roughly the area between 34th Street and 57th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River. ... NY redirects here. ... The Westies are a predominantly Irish American organized crime association operating from the Hells Kitchen area of Manhattans West Side in New York City. ...

Early life

As a young boy in Hell's Kitchen, Spillane started as a numbers runner for various organized crime figures in his neighborhood. In 1960, Mickey took over the rackets left to him by his predecessor Eddie McGrath, the waterfront racketeer and longshormen's union leader. He married Maureen McManus, the daughter of the Democratic district leader Eugene McManus. Eddie McGrath (born January 31, 1906) was an Irish-American gangster from New York City, who controlled the Hells Kitchen Irish Mob and the lucrative waterfront throughout the 1940s. ...

Spillane, at age 17, lies on the sidewalk after being shot by police following the failed robbery of a Times Square movie theater.

Though Italian mobsters dominated organized crime in the city, Irish street gangs had long operated in Hell's Kitchen. The Italians allowed Spillane to operate on the West Side as long as they got their cut. As retribution for their hostile takeover, Spillane would kidnap members of the Italian Mafia and hold them for ransom. Although he ran the rackets such as gambling, policy, and loansharking, he was against the sale of drugs in his neighborhood and wouldn't allow it. Times Square Times Square is the name given to a principal intersection at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. ... Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ... The term gambling has had many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. ... Usury (from the Latin usus meaning used) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ...

Spillane-Coonan rivalry & the Gambino crime family

In 1966 a young upstart named Jimmy Coonan attempted to take the neighborhood from Mickey, muscling in on his territory and murdering a Spillane underling. Ultimately, Coonan was sent to prison in 1967. When Coonan was released from prison, he sought to align himself with the Gambino crime family through an up and coming capo from Brooklyn named Roy DeMeo. James Coonan (born c1947) is an Irish American mobster from New York City who lead the Westies gang during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... John Gotti, The Dapper Don The Gambino Crime Family is one of the Five Families that controls organized crime activities based in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or La Cosa Nostra). ... Brooklyn (named for the Dutch city Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. ... Roy Albert DeMeo (September 7, 1942[1] – January 10, 1983) was a ranking member of the Gambino crime family, formerly one of the largest and most feared crime families in New York. ...

The 1970s saw an increased threat from the Genovese crime family, as Fat Tony Salerno sought control over the soon to be built Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Since the Convention Center was located on the West Side, Spillane stood his ground against the takeover by the Italians. Salerno responded by hiring an Irish-American hitman named Joseph "Mad Dog" Sullivan to assassinate Tom Devaney, Eddie "the Butcher" Cummiskey and Tom "the Greek" Kapatos, three of Spillane's chief lieutenants. With the loss of some of his best men he was significantly weakened, and by the mid 1970s had moved his family out of Hell's Kitchen to Woodside, Queens for fear for their safety. The Genovese Crime Family is one of the Five Families that controls organized crime activities in New York City, USA, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). ... Anthony Fat Tony Salerno (1911-1992) was a boss of the Genovese family after Frank Tieri death in 1981, until 1987 when he was convicted on RICO Act charges in the Mafia Commission trial recieveing a 100 year sentence. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Joseph Mad Dog Sullivan (born c. ... Tom Devaney (d. ... Eddie The Butcher Cummiskey (d. ... Woodside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. ...

On May 13, 1977, Mickey Spillane was killed outside his apartment in Woodside, Queens. It has long been rumored that Roy DeMeo murdered Spillane as a favor to Jimmy Coonan, who subsequently took over as the boss of the Hell's Kitchen Irish Mob. Woodside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. ... Roy Albert DeMeo (September 7, 1942[1] – January 10, 1983) was a ranking member of the Gambino crime family, formerly one of the largest and most feared crime families in New York. ... James Coonan (born c1947) is an Irish American mobster from New York City who lead the Westies gang during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ...

Spillane was of no relation to the author Mickey Spillane or the wrestler Michael Spillane. Frank Morrison Spillane (March 9, 1918 – July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels. ... This article is about the American professional wrestler, for the Irish football (soccer) player, see Michael Spillane (football). ...

References

• English, T.J. The Westies. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1991. ISBN 0-312-92429-1
• English, T.J. Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0-06-059002-5