Full Breakdown
“The Westies” — A New Crime Drama Revisits New York’s Violent Irish Gang
7/13/2026, 8:41:02 PM
Series Launch and Historical Focus
“The Westies” premiered on MGM+ on July 12, 2026. Co-creators Chris Brancato and Michael Panes set the eight-episode series in early-1980s Hell’s Kitchen, using the massive construction of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center as the narrative catalyst. The show follows a fictionalized Irish mob led by J.K. Simmons’s Eamon Sweeney as the gang battles the Italian Five Families, the FBI, and internal dissent.
Background & Context
The real Westies were an Irish-American crime family that dominated Hell’s Kitchen from the 1960s through the 1980s. Veteran “Gentleman Gangster” Mickey Spillane ran the organization until his 1977 murder—later attributed to Gambino hitman Roy DeMeo as a “present” to Jimmy Coonan. Coonan assumed control, aligning the Westies with the Gambino family and expanding into construction kickbacks, union racketeering, and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum’s ticket-sale skimming. The gang’s violent reputation grew through contract killings, extortion, and the notorious “butcher” Eddie Cummiskey, who allegedly dismembered victims. By 1986, news reports linked the roughly 20-member group to 30 unsolved murders. A task force led by then-prosecutor Rudy Giuliani secured Featherstone’s testimony, leading to Coonan’s 1988 conviction on racketeering, extortion, loan-sharking and murder charges and a 75-year sentence. The Javits Center’s construction (1979-1986) and the 1985 bankruptcy of the Intrepid Museum ultimately exposed the gang’s financial schemes.
Key Figures & Groups
- Jimmy Coonan – volatile boss, sentenced to 75 years.
- Mickey Featherstone – former Green Beret enforcer, later turned informant.
- Eddie “the Butcher” Cummiskey – prison-trained dismemberer.
- Rudy Giuliani – prosecutor who built the Westies task force.
- Gambino family – led by “Fat Tony” Salerno, allied with the Westies.
- T.J. English – author of *The Westies*; provides historical commentary.
- Chris Brancato & Michael Panes – series creators.
- Fictional leads – Eamon Sweeney (Simmons), Jimmy Roarke (Brittney), Officer Keenan (Welliver), Special Agent Birdie (Dukes).
Data & Statistics
- Membership estimates range from 20 to 60 individuals.
- Linked to 30 unsolved killings by 1986.
- Javits Center construction spanned 1979-1986, employing nearly every city union.
- Coonan’s 75-year sentence imposed in 1988; mandatory release scheduled for June 1, 2030.
Why It Matters
By dramatizing a relatively obscure Irish mob, the series illuminates how large-scale urban projects can become conduits for organized-crime profit and how aggressive prosecutorial tactics reshaped New York’s underworld. The show also revisits the interplay between Irish and Italian syndicates, offering a lens on the evolution of American organized crime.
Official Statements & Responses
- “The Westies felt like they owned the neighborhood where the Javits Center was.” — Chris Brancato, co-creator
- “Cops were on the pad [payroll] and the Westies felt a sense of freedom to do what they wanted, whether it was legal or not.” — Chris Brancato
- “For the first time in history, the Gambinos formed an alliance with the West Side Irish.” — T.J. English, author
- “The Javits Center was the ultimate criminal racket: A construction project that was going to use almost every union in the city.” — T.J. English
- The sentencing judge called Coonan “a man without any redeeming features” and guilty of “unspeakable cruelty.”
Criticism & Opposition
Tom’s Guide notes that while the series “avoids glorifying its violent history,” its visual style feels familiar, with a muted palette that echoes other modern crime dramas. The review praises the editing of fight scenes and the soundtrack but suggests the show offers few novel aesthetic elements.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on the Westies’ size—some cite “up to 20 members,” while others estimate “20 to 60.” The precise trigger of the gang’s collapse is also debated: one account emphasizes the Javits Center’s union-wide kickbacks, another points to the Intrepid Museum’s 1985 bankruptcy and subsequent financial investigations. Featherstone’s 1985 murder conviction was later overturned, yet the timeline of his cooperation with Giuliani remains unclear.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The Westies felt like they owned the neighborhood where the Javits Center was,” — Chris Brancato, Co-creator
- “The Italians were organized crime and the Westies were disorganized crime,” — Chris Brancato, Co-creator
- “By that, I mean they would kill someone and literally grind the body into dust. No body, no arrest. That was the theory.” — Chris Brancato, Co-creator
- “The Westies" is a brutal, character-driven crime drama that avoids glorifying its violent history.” — Tom’s Guide review
- “The museum’s bankruptcy filing had little to do with the Mob scheme, but its skimming was discovered during financial investigations connected to the bankruptcy proceedings.” — Mob Museum
What’s Next
New episodes air weekly on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET on MGM+. The season-one finale hints at a larger turf war, suggesting the series will continue exploring the Westies’ legacy and the broader New York crime landscape.
