Montreal's Irish Mafia: The True Story of the Infamous West End GangTheir names resonate with organized crime in Montreal: the Matticks, MacAllisters, Johnstons and Griffins, and Peter Dunie Ryan. They are the Irish equivalent of the infamous Rizzuto and Cotroni families, and the "Mom" Bouchers and Walter Stadnicks of the Hells Angels. Award-winning producer, journalist and author D’Arcy O’Connor narrates the genesis and rise to power of one of Montreal’s most powerful, violent and colorful criminal organizations. It is the West End Gang, whose members controlled the docks and fought the Hells Angels and Mafia for their share of the city’s prostitution, gambling, loan sharking and drug dealing. At times, they did not disdain forging alliances with rival gangs when huge profits were at stake, or when a killing needed to be carried out. The West End Gang—the Irish Mafia of Montreal—is a legendary beast. They sprang out of the impoverished southwest of the city, some looking for ways to earn enough just to survive, some wanting more than a job in an abattoir or on a construction site. In that sense, they were no different from other immigrants from Italy and other European countries. A shortcut to wealth was their common goal. And Montreal, with its burgeoning post-WWII population, was ripe for the picking. The Irish Mob made headlines with a spectacular Brinks robbery in 1976, using the money to broker a major heroin and cocaine trafficking ring. It took over the Port of Montreal, controlling the flow of drugs into the city, drugs which the Mafia funnelled to New York. The West End Gang had connections to the cocaine cartel in Colombia; hashish brokers in Morocco and France; and marijuana growers in Mexico. The gang imported drugs on an enormous scale. One bust that took place off the coast of Angola in 2006 involved 22.5 tonnes of hashish, destined for Montreal. The West End Gang is a ripping tale that unveils yet another chapter in Montreal’s colorful criminal underworld. |
Contents
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 1 The Irish Invasion | 1 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 2 Most of His Children Turned Out To Be Thieves | 11 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 3 Calabrians and Sicilians | 21 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 4 Montreals Jewish Mafia | 33 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 5 The Emergence of the West End Gang | 45 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 6 The Murderous Decades | 51 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 7 Bank Robbery Capital of North America | 65 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 8 Digging for Treasure | 77 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 15 The Emperor of Coke | 155 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 16 The MacAllister Family | 169 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 17 Gerald Matticks King of the Port | 185 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 18 The Bloody Biker War | 199 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 19 The RCMPs Largest Drug Seizure | 213 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 20 The Gelding of Montreals Italian Mafia | 223 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 21 Tobacco The Mobs Latest Addiction | 235 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 22 Montreals Modern Street Gangs | 241 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 9 The Crime of the Century | 87 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 10 The Rubber Duck Squad | 97 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 11 Follow the Money | 107 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 12 An Uncommon Thief | 123 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 13 The King of Coke | 133 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang 14 The Death of Dunie Ryan and Its Fallout | 143 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang Epilogue | 247 |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang Bibliography | 251 |
262 | |
The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang About the Authors | 274 |
Other editions - View all
Montreal's Irish Mafia: The True Story of the Infamous West End Gang D'Arcy O'Connor No preview available - 2011 |