Talk:Westies

message: In terms of revisions needed, there needs to be a disambiguation article identifying these three:  Westie criminal gang of New York; Westie criminal gang of Dublin, Ireland; Westie as synonym for dog breed West Highland White Terrier.
There also needs to be far more material on who the Westies were and what they did that made them notorious.  When I found the stub, it contained just a little about the end of the gang. I was able to clarify and expand that, and add a little of the history of the gang's origin.  However, I did not cover specifics of the gang's most horrific activities (gruesome murders, among other things) which ought to be here.  The fate of the incarcerated Westies should be covered in more detail also.
In terms of revisions made, I altered this stub to more accurately reflect the double-crosses between the leaders of the Westies that resulted in the gang's 1985 demise, based on the detailed history in "Paddy Whacked" by T.J. English.  I also pulled the unverifiable tangential reference to 1930's Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll as a "lone gangster" and an early Westie.  I could find nothing to indicate that he used the Westie name and I could find material indicating he worked with crew, not alone. -- Lisasmall 04:24, 19 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Also, this article needs to be distinguished from the slang term of Westies, as used in Australasia. - Cameron Dewe (talk) 07:00, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Revisions Made / Revisions Needed 

message: Who came up with this stuff? It has to get deleted.  Pretty much the whole page needs to be redone.  Radonjich has been seen and the part about his disappearance is completely untrue.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.112.134.125 (talk) 05:02, 12 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ryan Houser? 

message: Instead of the tedious, ongoing edit war, we could all decide to work together to improve this article.  Between the two English books, everything in this article could be sourced, if we made a little effort.  I suggest that we use this space to discuss what information we believe needs to be added, the proper place in the article for said information, and what sources can be used to reference that information. ---RepublicanJacobiteTheFortyFive 21:29, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: *Again, why does it have to be in the lead? Nobody is really contesting including the info in the article. What HAS been contested is putting it in the lead. Also, why do you keep reverting the infobox info? Niteshift36 (talk) 00:00, 5 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: You are clearly intent on being disruptive, which is why I am now reporting you to an admin., in the hope that you will receive a lengthy block.  Your decision to remove the reference I added 2 days ago was the final straw. ---RepublicanJacobiteTheFortyFive 00:03, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

text: *There is no reason to be redundant. Contract murder is still murder. The infobox is supposed to be a snapshot of activities, not an exhaustive list. Murder covers both contract and non-contract. Niteshift36 (talk) 22:21, 5 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Improving this article 

message: See a discussion elsewhere for why this article has been semiprotected. If you are unable to edit this article but think you have information to contribute, please make suggestions here on the talk page. Specific claims about this gang are more credible if you can supply page references. EdJohnston (talk) 04:11, 5 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Long-term warring by anonymous editor 

message: :I added referenced content that was reverted (Undid revision) with the edit summary "Inadequate ref.; inappropriate use of boldface".  
:Some serious issues arise when an article has an abundance of citation tags, simply because it has so much presented as original research, and someone adds referenced content that will also serve as a source for other edits, that is reverted (edited out) with what is considered a subversive (bogus at best) edit summary. 
:The reference I added ( (dated 1987), a NY Times article, has the heading THE LORD'S OF HELL'S KITCHEN (In bold) and the reference was in quotations. If that is not liked, then it simply could be changed (Ref. formatting) , but is not a reason (inappropriate use of boldface) to take any reference out, let alone one that provides sourcing to back up so much unsubstantiated content. The reference also gives source that the area known as Hell's Kitchen became "Clinton". I find it hard to imagine any sane editor would offer that a perceived "Inadequate ref.", apparently thought somehow lacking, is better than a page full of "Citation needed" tags. The reason for removal is highly questioned as "inappropriate". The content providing an alternate name: "referred to by the police as the Irish Mafia", is backed by the reference in the third paragraph, "Federal and state prosecutors had already been investigating the gang - also known to the police as the Irish Mafia...". The same source also provides sourcing for the boundary of the area known as Hell's Kitchen and that it is also now referred to as Clinton. The removed reference also supports content in the non-referenced Coonan and Featherstone section, a connection with Gambino family, "The Westies became, as Schlanger puts it, the Gambino family's Coonan crew". The same reference corroborates Featherstone "singing" to the cops. 
:The title of the article, thus the subject, is a gang referred to as the Westies being from the "West side". This gang replaced the "Arsenal gang" that ended in the 50's, known for stealing weapons from battleships, that replaced the "gophers" (ended 1910), known for hiding in basements. The gangs were considered the collective "cultural institution" of Hell's Kitchen. This article has a beginning of the "West side gang", and a resurfacing in 2012. In the middle, in 1992, in the "The Yugo era" section there is content: When Michael G. Cherkasky, chief of the Investigations Division of the District Attorney's Office, was asked how much still remained of the Westies, he said: "Too much," and that "it's not the end" of the gang.". The section: The alleged return of the Westies discusses the resurfacing meaning a reference to some ending is appropriate. A "History" section would certainly be in order.
:Aside from the fact that the article is plastered with tags, severely lacking references, it would seem a reliable source, that is added providing source  also sourcing for the boundary of the area known as Hell's Kitchen, would be welcome. In 1987 the Chief of detectives of the New York City Police Department, Robert Colangelo, proclaimed Let's put up a sign, Westies - R.I.P. Make it as big as you can!.
:The reference I added was not only "adequate" for the content provided it gave source and perspective to the rest of the article. This was removed. It would be interesting to actually know the agenda here. If it is a question of some ownership I have documentation provided by Wikipedia that states "no editor owns an article" as well as: "Should conflicts arise, discuss them calmly on the appropriate talk pages, follow dispute resolution procedures...", to help clarify any mistakes. It might be helpful to note that particular page also discusses things like neutral point of view, citing sources, verifiability, and identifying reliable sources. This means adding unverifiable content is bad, as well as deleting sourced material, or sources in particular, so I would ask, in order to prevent the taking of more drastic steps, that such actions be discussed in the future. I could go on with examples but trust that I have provided ample evidence that the deleted reference was not only adequate it is a more than adequate reference. Otr500 (talk) 05:05, 22 May 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Issues 

message: Wikipedia 101: It is common and expected, for more than one reason, to list the title name as well as any alternate names (also covered in the manual of style), in bold on first instance of use. This is usually done, of course with exceptions, early in the first paragraph, and either sourced or also listed in a section in the body with reference(s). I will be adding back content that contains such alternate names, and other referenced content, to help rid the article of some of the plastered citation tags. This will include the deleted reference discussed above and I trust there will be some cooperation. Otr500 (talk) 03:56, 23 May 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alternate names 

message: : In 2012, the New York Post reported that the Westies resurfaced under the leadership of John Bokun, who was caught, along with accomplices, smuggling marijuana into the US. The New York Times noted that, aside from being the nephew of former Westies, Bokun had no connection to any group using that name.
:In late November 2012, the FBI indicted Daniel Hanley, an alleged member of the gang, on charges of extortionate extension of credit, extortionate collection of credit, and conspiracy of the aforementioned crimes. Hanley was charged, along with James Ferrara, a member of the Gambino crime family, and Peter Kanakis, a member of the Demon Knights Motorcycle Club, a support club tied to the Hells Angels. The New York Times claimed this implication remains dubious as Daniel Hanley had neither in fact lived in Hell's Kitchen or had associations with those who had lived in Hell's Kitchen.
I put this removed content on the talk page. It has claims to the Westies. --Vic49  (talk)  16:29, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removed Content