List of American mobsters of Irish descent

Last updated July 17, 2024

This is a list of Irish-American mobsters which includes organized crime figures of predominantly Irish-American criminal organizations or individual mobsters from the early 1900s to the present. To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article and/or references showing the person is Irish American and a mobster.

List

Name	Portrait	Life	Years active	Notes	References
Edmund "Eddie" Boyle	No image available	1965–	1983–2003	Gambino crime family associate	^[1]^[2]^[3]
James J. "Whitey" Bulger		1929–2018	1952–1995	Legendary Boston mobster and former leader of the Winter Hill Gang
Elmer "Trigger" Burke	No image available	1919–1958	1941–1956	New York City mobster and freelance assassin	^[4]
Jimmy Burke		1931–1996	1949–1982	New York mobster and associate of the Lucchese crime family, popularly known as "Jimmy the Gent", who is credited for organizing the Lufthansa heist in 1978
Dan Carroll	No image available	1883–1946	1920–1933	Organized crime figure who controlled in bootlegging Boston with partner Charles "King" Solomon during Prohibition	^[4]^[5]
William "Dinty" Colbeck		1891–1943	1919–1943	St. Louis organized crime figure and one time leader of Egan's Rats
Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll		1908–1932	1924–1932	New York mobster and freelance enforcer during Prohibition
James Coonan		1947–	1962–1988	New York mobster and leader of the Westies during the 1970s and 80s
Timmy Connolly ¹	No image available	1958–	1976–1995	Member of the Winter Hill Gang
Eddie "The Butcher" Cummiskey	No image available	1934–1976	-1976	New York mobster and enforcer for mobster Mickey Spillane during the 1950s and 60s. Later served as a mentor for Jimmy Coonan and other members of the Westies.
Ronald Dermody	No image available	-1965	-1965	Boston mobster associated with Whitey Bulger. He was murdered after a failed assassination attempt on Buddy McLean.	^[4]
Tom Devaney	No image available	-1976	1960s–1970s	New York mobster and enforcer for mobster Mickey Spillane during the 1960s and 70s
Eddie Diamond	No image available	1899–1929	1921–1929	New York mobster and brother of Jack "Legs" Diamond	^[4]^[6]
Jack Diamond		1897–1931	1921–1931	Philadelphia/New York mobster involved in bootlegging during Prohibition
Arthur "Butchy" Doe, Jr.	No image available	1959–2018		Boston mobster and son of mobster Arthur Doe, Sr.
Justin M Donahue	No image available	1979–	1999 - Unknown	Hell's Kitchen, New York mobster and high-ranked member of the Westies	^[4]
John M. "Cockeye" Dunn	No image available	1910–1949		New York mobster and enforcer for labor racketeer Joe Ryan
William "Big Bill" Dwyer	No image available	1883–1946		New York mobster involved in bootlegging during Prohibition
William "Jellyroll" Egan	No image available	1884–1921		St. Louis mobster and co-founder of Egan's Rats
Maurice "Mossy" Enright	No image available	-1920	1911–1920	Chicago labor racketeer associated with the North Side Gang
Mickey Featherstone	No image available	1947–		New York mobster and member of the Westies
Richie Fitzpatrick	No image available	1880–1905		New York mobster and member of the Eastman Gang
Christopher Flynn	No image available	1973–	1992–2001	NYC mobster involved in drug dealing, numbers rackets, and illegal gambling.
Jimmy Flynn	No image available	1934–		Boston mobster and member of the Winter Hill Gang
Danny Greene		1933–1977		Cleveland mobster involved in union racketeering
Kevin Hanrahan	No image available	1956–1992		Providence mobster and associate of the Patriarca crime family
Vannie Higgins	No image available	1897–1932		New York mobster involved in bootlegging during Prohibition
Henry Hill ¹		1943–2012		New York mobster and associate of the Lucchese crime family
"Dapper" Danny Hogan	No image available	1880–1928		Organized crime figure involved in bootlegging in St. Paul during Prohibition
Cornelius Hughes	No image available	-1966		Boston mobster and hitman for the McLaughlin Brothers with his brother Stevie Hughes	^[4]^[7]
Stevie Hughes	No image available	-1966		Boston mobster and, with his brother Corneilius Hughes, a hitman for the McLaughlin Brothers	^[4]^[7]
George Hogan	No image available	1952–	2000–	Boston mobster believed to be the Winter Hill Gang's present boss
Joe Kelly	available	1901–1966	1920–1966	New York labor racketeer who, with his cousin Harold Bowers, was a major power on the New York waterfront though the ILA's notorious "Pistol Local" based in Hell's Kitchen	^[4]^[8]^[9] Jeffrey A. Hopkins Call 2003–2012
Martin Kilbane	No image available	1923–1972		Cleveland organized crime figure.
Owen Kilbane	No image available	1923–1972		Cleveland organized crime figure.
Donald Killeen	No image available	1923–1972		Boston mobster and head of criminal activities in South Boston
John Patrick Looney	No image available	1865–1947	1909–1925	bootlegger and organized crime figure in northern Illinois during Prohibition
Edward "Eddie Mac" MacKenzie, Jr.¹	No image available	1958–	1983–1990	Drug dealer and enforcer for James "Whitey" Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang	^[10]^[11]^[12]
Owney Madden		1891–1965		New York organized crime figure involved in bootlegging and former leader of the Gopher Gang
James Martorano ¹	No image available	1941–	1960's-1995	Younger brother of Johnny Martorano; Winter Hill Gang associate and member of the Patriarca crime family
Johnny Martorano ¹	No image available	1940–	1964–1995	Hitman for the Winter Hill Gang and older brother of James Martorano
Joseph McDonald	No image available	1917–1997		One of the charter members of the Winter Hill Gang
Michael Cassius McDonald		1839–1907		One of the earliest organized crime figures in Chicago	^[4]^[13]^[14]^[15]
Frank McErlane	No image available	1894–1932		Chicago mobster and partner of bootlegger Joseph "Polack Joe" Saltis
Thomas "Blackjack" McGinty	available	1892–1970		A Cleveland organized crime figure. McGinty was a member of the Cleveland Syndicate with Jewish gangsters Moe Dalitz, Louis Rothkopf and members of the Italian Mayfield Road Mob.^[16] The Syndicate operated casinos in Youngstown, Florida, and Northern Kentucky. McGinty and other members of the Syndicate were founders of the Desert Inn.^[17]
Eddie McGrath	No image available	1906–	1936–1959	New York organized crime figure who controlled the waterfront area and oversaw criminal activity in Hell's Kitchen during the 1940s
Bernard "Bernie" McLaughlin	No image available	-1961		Boston mobster and founder of the Mullen Gang
Edward "Punchy" McLaughlin	No image available	-1965		Boston mobster and member of the Mullen Gang
George McLaughlin	No image available	1927–		Boston mobster and member of the Mullen Gang	^[4]^[7]^[18]
James "Buddy" McLean	No image available	1929–1965		Boston mobster and former head of the Winter Hill Gang
Hughie Mulligan	No image available	-1973		New York mobster and organized crime figure in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen during the 1950s
Joseph Vincent "Newsboy" Moriarty		1910–1979	1923–1972	New Jersey mobster involved in the numbers racket
Patrick Nee	No image available	1943–	1966–1984	Boston mobster and associate of Whitey Bulger
Russell Nicholson	No image available	1931–1964	1961–1964	Boston police officer and associate of the Winter Hill Gang	^[4]^[18]
Myles O'Donnell	No image available	1904–1932		Chicago mobster and founder of the O'Donnell Mob
Dean O'Banion		1892–1924		Chicago mobster and founder of the North Side Mob
Carleton O'Brien	No image available	1913–1952
Gordon O'Brien	No image available	1947–2008		Providence mobster and associate of the Patriarca crime family
"Big" Jim O'Leary	No image available	1860–1926		Chicago organized crime figure involved in illegal gambling
James "Spike" O'Toole	No image available	1929–1973		Boston mobster and associate of the Winter Hill Gang
James M. Ragen	No image available	1881–1946	-1946	Chicago organized crime figure involved in bootlegging and illegal gambling
Ciarán "Irish" Redmond	No image available	1968 –	1985–2009	Irish-American Mobster Currently Serving a 40-year Sentence in solitary confinement Florence ADX Supermax for several bank heists and an alleged "hit".
Joseph Ryan	No image available	1884–1963	1927–1953	New York labor racketeer and organized crime figure
Frank "Cadillac Frank" Salemme ¹		1933–	1957–1995	Boston mobster and one time leader of the Patriarca crime family
John "Red" Shea	No image available	1965–	1980–1997	Boston mobster and member of the Winter Hill Gang
Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran	No image available	1920–2003	1955–1982	Associate and freelance assassin for the Bufalino crime family
Andrew "Squint" Sheridan	No image available	1902–1949	-1947	New York mobster and enforcer for labor racketeer Joe Ryan	^[4]^[8]^[9]
Mickey Spillane	No image available	1934–1977	1959–1977	New York mobster and head of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen during the 1950s and 60s
Joseph "Mad Dog" Sullivan	No image available	1939–2017	1955–1983	New York mobster and freelance assassin for the Genovese crime family	^[4]^[8]^[19]^[20]
Roger Touhy		1898–1959	1920–1933	Chicago mobster and bootlegger during Prohibition
Frank Wallace	No image available	1904–1931	-1931	Boston mobster and leader of the Gustin Gang during Prohibition
Danny Walsh	No image available	1893–1933	1920–1933	Providence bootlegger and major organized crime figure in southern New England during Prohibition
Kevin Weeks ¹	No image available	1965–	1978–1999	Boston mobster affiliated with the Winter Hill Gang and a later government witness
Howard T. "Howie" Winter ¹		1929–2020	1959–2012	Boston mobster, second head of the Winter Hill Gang	^[21]

Footnotes

¹ Is of mixed ethnicity.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Capeci, Jerry (21 December 2009). "NY Feds Tickled Pink About Eddie Boyle's Brooklyn Case". Huffington Post . Retrieved 13 February 2012.
↑ Capeci, Jerry (18 January 2010). "Feds Stack the Deck Against a Junior Gambino Hoodlum". Huffington Post . Retrieved 13 February 2012.
↑ United States Department of Justice (20 November 2010). "Boyle, Edmund Sentencing" (PDF). Justice.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 English, T.J. Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0-06-059002-5
↑ Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X
↑ Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
1 2 3 Atkinson, Jay. Legends of Winter Hill: Cops, Con Men, and Joe McCain, the Last Real Detective. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006. ISBN 1-4000-5076-6
1 2 3 English, T.J. The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob. New York: Macmillan, 2006. ISBN 0-312-36284-6
1 2 Ward, Nathan. Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront. New York: Macmillan, 2010. ISBN 0-374-28622-1
↑ Street Soldier; My Life as an Enforcer for "Whitey" Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob by Edward MacKenzie and Phyllis Karas, Steerforth, 256 pp., ISBN 1-58642-076-3
↑ Wright, Chris (17 July 2003). "Divorced from the mob". The Phoenix . Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
↑ "Gods & Mobsters". Boston . BostonMagazine.com. September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
↑ Lindberg, Richard. The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine. 3rd ed. Carbondale, Illinois: SIU Press, 2009. ISBN 0-8093-2893-3
↑ Schatzberg, Rufus, Robert J.Kelly and Ko-lin Chin, ed. Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0-313-28366-4
↑ Johnson, Curt and R. Craig Sautter. The Wicked City: Chicago from Kenna to Capone. New York: Da Capo Press, 1998. ISBN 0-306-80821-8
↑ Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool (2009) The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky. The University Press Of Kentucky. P. 200. ISBN 978-0813125657
↑ Jim Dubelko (27 August 2011). "The Mounds Club". Cleveland State University . Retrieved 27 May 2020.
1 2 Ford, Beverly and Stephanie Schorow. The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-60949-420-9
↑ Gold, Ed (30 August – 5 September 2006). "On the trail of 'Mad Dog' Sullivan, Mafia hit man". The Villager . 76 (15). Community Media, LLC. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
↑ Gangster Report – ‘MAD DOG’ SULLIVAN DIES BEHIND BARS AT 77, LEAVES LEGACY OF A MEAN, LEAN MURDER MACHINE by Scott Burnstein, Retrieved Jun. 15, 2017.
↑ "Howie Winter, 83 and ex-head of Winter Hill Gang, arrested for alleged organized criminal activity - Metro Desk - Boston.com". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.

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[1] Capeci, Jerry (21 December 2009). "NY Feds Tickled Pink About Eddie Boyle's Brooklyn Case". Huffington Post . Retrieved 13 February 2012.

[2] Capeci, Jerry (18 January 2010). "Feds Stack the Deck Against a Junior Gambino Hoodlum". Huffington Post . Retrieved 13 February 2012.

[3] United States Department of Justice (20 November 2010). "Boyle, Edmund Sentencing" (PDF). Justice.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2012.

[English-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 English, T.J. Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0-06-059002-5

[5] Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X

[Sifakis-6] Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3

[Atkinson-7] 1 2 3 Atkinson, Jay. Legends of Winter Hill: Cops, Con Men, and Joe McCain, the Last Real Detective. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006. ISBN 1-4000-5076-6

[English2-8] 1 2 3 English, T.J. The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob. New York: Macmillan, 2006. ISBN 0-312-36284-6

[Ward-9] 1 2 Ward, Nathan. Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront. New York: Macmillan, 2010. ISBN 0-374-28622-1

[10] Street Soldier; My Life as an Enforcer for "Whitey" Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob by Edward MacKenzie and Phyllis Karas, Steerforth, 256 pp., ISBN 1-58642-076-3

[11] Wright, Chris (17 July 2003). "Divorced from the mob". The Phoenix . Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.

[12] "Gods & Mobsters". Boston . BostonMagazine.com. September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2012.

[13] Lindberg, Richard. The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine. 3rd ed. Carbondale, Illinois: SIU Press, 2009. ISBN 0-8093-2893-3

[Schatzberg-14] Schatzberg, Rufus, Robert J.Kelly and Ko-lin Chin, ed. Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0-313-28366-4

[Johnson-15] Johnson, Curt and R. Craig Sautter. The Wicked City: Chicago from Kenna to Capone. New York: Da Capo Press, 1998. ISBN 0-306-80821-8

[16] Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool (2009) The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky. The University Press Of Kentucky. P. 200. ISBN 978-0813125657

[17] Jim Dubelko (27 August 2011). "The Mounds Club". Cleveland State University . Retrieved 27 May 2020.

[Ford-18] 1 2 Ford, Beverly and Stephanie Schorow. The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-60949-420-9

[19] Gold, Ed (30 August – 5 September 2006). "On the trail of 'Mad Dog' Sullivan, Mafia hit man". The Villager . 76 (15). Community Media, LLC. Retrieved 31 January 2012.

[GR-20] Gangster Report – ‘MAD DOG’ SULLIVAN DIES BEHIND BARS AT 77, LEAVES LEGACY OF A MEAN, LEAN MURDER MACHINE by Scott Burnstein, Retrieved Jun. 15, 2017.

[21] "Howie Winter, 83 and ex-head of Winter Hill Gang, arrested for alleged organized criminal activity - Metro Desk - Boston.com". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.

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List of American mobsters of Irish descent

Contents

List

Footnotes

Related Research Articles

References