Sit Down with Michael Franzese
Sit Down with Michael Franzese
Michael Franzese
Former Mob Boss Reviews ‘The Westies’ — I Knew Jimmy Coonan
34 minutes Posted Oct 29, 2026 at 6:00 pm.
The Westies Weren't Big. They Were Violent.
Welcome — You Asked Me to Review This One
I Knew the Westies. I Did Business With Them.
The Tape I've Sat On for 10 Years
The Show Is Great — Here's Why
The Man Who Ran Hell's Kitchen
Nobody Called Themselves "The Westies"
Mickey Spillane, Roy DeMeo & the Favor
They Did Contract Work for Us
The Javits Center — Where the Real Money Was
Why Every Developer Had to Deal With Us
Why There Was Never an Irish Commission
The Balancing Act — Keep the Italians Happy
Featherstone Flipped. Coonan Got 75 Years.
I Walked Away. Most of Them Didn't.
The Acting Is the Strongest Part
My Verdict — Worth Your Time
Want the Real Story? Read the Book.
If I Reveal What I Know — You'll Be Shocked
Look Where This Life Ends Up
"You Betrayed Your Oath" — My Answer
Text Me — What Did the Show Get Wrong?
God Bless — See You Next Time
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People, a lot of you asked me to review The Westies, the new MGM+ show about the Irish crew out of Hell’s Kitchen. So I watched the first episode — and before I tell you what I think of the show, let me tell you something straight. I knew the Westies. I did business with some of them. Jimmy Coonan did time with my father and I met him many times in the visiting room. He was a stand-up guy. Wild — but stand-up.
The show gets the atmosphere right. The violence is brutal, and it should be, because that’s how it was. The acting is the strongest part. But there’s a myth I want to kill: the Gambinos weren’t scared of the Westies. We could have wiped them out. The Westies worked for us. And I’ll tell you what I believe really happened to Mickey Spillane, how the Javits Center put real money on the table, and why there was never an Irish Commission — the same reason I gave you last week.
And one more thing. About ten years ago, a man who did time with Jimmy Coonan came to me before he died, with a message from Jimmy about a major case that’s never been solved. I put him on tape. I’ve sat on it for a decade. I might finally tell that story.
If you watched The Westies — did they get the Irish-Italian relationship right? What did they miss? Text me. And if there’s a show you want me to review next, tell me.
#TheWesties #IrishMob #Mafia #MichaelFranzese #Review
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