Editing Westies (section)

==History==
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit traced the group's formation to the mid-1960s, when Coonan and his associates challenged Mickey Spillane for control of criminal activity in Hell's Kitchen. Coonan's faction prevailed and became the neighborhood's dominant organized-crime group during the 1970s and early 1980s. Featherstone had become Coonan's principal lieutenant by the middle of the 1970s.<ref name="Coonan" />

The group's income came chiefly from loansharking, narcotics distribution, extortion of labor unions and control of rackets on the West Side piers. In the late 1970s it formed an alliance with the [[Gambino crime family]]. According to the appellate court, the Gambinos financed Westies loansharking and allowed the group to trade on the family's reputation; the Westies paid a share of proceeds from several rackets in return.<ref name="Coonan" />

The court record attributed repeated violence to the organization, including murders committed to collect debts, discipline associates and protect waterfront income. The gang also distributed cocaine during the 1980s and extorted payments connected to the International Longshoremen's Association and theatrical Teamsters locals.<ref name="Coonan" />