BOSTON Its a courtroom formality that usually goes off without a hitch: A prosecutor asks a key witness to identify a defendant in the courtroom, and the witness obliges with the point of a finger. . The only reason the McLaughlins got wiped out was because they wouldnt cooperate, they werent informants or collaborators and that was their undoing. A couple of weeks later. Ok, lets briefly talk about the early lives of the Bennett brothers, their activities and how the three men found themselves murder victims within a year of each other. Shea turned his back on organized crime. Robert was a small-time hoodlum who had been arrested in June 1969 after he and three accomplices from Canada, . He was convicted of involvement in 11 murders and sent to prison. Kelley is still on death row. Irene was given immunity when she testified in 1967 against Sweet who she claimed convinced her that if they murdered her husband they would share his fortune of $2 million. The worst stretch was from 1964 1967. Florida law won't let a person convicted of perjury testify at a criminal trial. Edward Wimpy Bennett (died 1967) Wimpy Bennett was the most powerful Irish mobster in Boston in the 1950s and early 1960s. Community See All. Yesterday, without a trace of doubt or hesitation, Bill Bennett Jr. identified one of those rancid G-Men as H. Paul Rico. Even the FBI does not reveal the names of informers., Hugh Shields and Billy Stuart were acquitted on April 30th. It was a sad year for the Bennett family and put a microscope on just how bad the war had gotten with some 60 men killed. That same day he was relieved of his duty as a cop. Back to the Bennetts and their murders. But we will probably never know the truth. He decided to go on the lam, and while in hiding committed a murder for Bulger in Oklahoma. Buddy McLean represented the Winter Hill Gang in Somerville and the McLaughlins were the top gangsters from Charlestown. and blamed him for having a role in at least 50 of the gangland murders of the 1960s saying that he manipulated people and instigated the hits in an effort to clear out the competition. And 41 years later theyve no faith left in law enforcement, either. Bennett Brothers Stone Co Inc. Masonry Contractor . They never caught up with Barboza and he went on to testify against Patriarca and the Office. A taxi driver who was passing found Billy, and the assailants couldnt retrieve the body. Were the Feds involved in the disposal of their bodies? Bodies were being found in the streets on a weekly basis at this time around Boston. Sweet was an associate of Walter Bennetts and a frequent visitor of Walters Lounge on Dudley St. near Uphams Corner in Dorchester. Oral history can also indicate lifestyle, dialect and terminology, and customs that may no longer be prominent. The body transported via car to a remote location. . He had ripped off some old partners and had many people looking for him. In September of 69, Frankie Salemme supposedly received an early morning phone call from Stevie Flemmi. The criminals werent the only ones in trouble. The beating is another possible reason why Stevie hated Larry and the LCN guys, but Frankies story of being teamed up with Larry still doesnt make sense. William Bennetts family would later sue the Feds alleging that Rico assisted and participated in the death of William Bennett in order to strengthen Flemmi's position in his criminal operations, thus assuring the continuing flow of information regarding the LCN to the FBI, by way of Flemmi's underworld connections.. Walter was just 17 at the time. I mean its only 190 miles long! He decided to team with up and coming Southie gangster Whitey Bulger. He has been sentenced to life in prison plus several years for his litany of crimes. Nicholson would be murdered three years later by George and Punchy McLaughlin, avenging their brothers death. He grew up in Southie and came up under Whitey Bulgers wing. Just like in the other trials of the 1950s and 1960s in Boston, the Feds relied on a single witness to make their case for them. The Bennett family has yet to receive any closure. On July 29, 1942 Wimpy married Frances Weresko in Michigan. We were always told to keep our mouths shut.. Their bodies were buried in the same remote Hopkinton, Massachusetts, area after being taken to Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, Flemmi said. along with three other local guys, found himself in a jail in Maine after fleeing from the scene of a robbery they committed at Steubens Restaurant in Boston. There were no fingerprints or weapons found at the scene, but a couple of months later Von Maxcys widow Irene came forward to say that her lover Johnny Sweet arranged for the murder of her husband. The informant stated that Flemmi and Salemme were really moving and are going to be big with the organization. Joseph Joe Mac McDonald (1917-1997) Joe Mac was the best friend and partner in crime of James Buddy McLean and a mentor to Howie Winter. He's completed nine other books,. They had come to get revenge for Tommy Sullivan murder 7 years before. Walters car was eventually found in a parking lot at Logan Airport. OToole was actually murdered by his own men. Bulger would soon take over the gang. Georges brother Bernie McLaughlin knew Somerville gangster Buddy McLean casually and reached out to him to get information on his brothers attackers. Like you said no shortage of people that loathed Wimpy. The following day Wimpy met with a friend at 10:00 am and was supposed to sign a company payroll after that, but never showed up. McLean teamed up with Barboza in 1964 for a double murder of McLaughlin associates Harold Hannon and Willie Delaney. Double Deal - True Stories of Criminals, Crimes and Lies. Walters Lounge on Dudley St. near Uphams Corner in Dorchester. McLeans top hitman Joe Barboza would kill both Hughes brothers the same year. 197 people like this. He was a former boxer turned street enforcer known for violent and unpredictable behavior. He had gotten his start in the mob as an associate of legendary gangster James Buddy McLean in the early 1960s. Now the biggest guns on the McLaughlin side were the Hughes brothers in Charlestown and the Bennett brothers in Dorchester. The criminals werent the only ones in trouble. Let Nina & Lara be your guides through the darkest streets of Boston. How we compiled the list. Richie was a thief, drug dealer, conman and storyteller like no other. So Sweet was freed. Richie was a government informant for 40 years. OMG Earl looked just like Boris Nayfeld! George survived but some close to him say he was never was the same after that night. Some octogenarian central figures have spent decades in jail or in the witness protection program. What started out as a personal conflict between Buddy McLean and the McLaughlin brothers turned into a citywide gang war that raged all throughout the 1960s. Episode 3 Episode 7 They havent seen each other since the 1990s, Flemmi said. ``The voice on the other end tells her not to say a word about anything, or she'd be killed along with her whole family.''. They weren't asking.''. Wimpy Bennett and his two brothers Walter and William were all murdered in 1967 during the middle of the McLean/McLaughlin War. CBS News Boston: Free 24/7 News MafiaHitters.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Billy Stuart was indicted in February of 1970 for being an accessory after the fact in Billy Bennetts murder. There doesnt seem to be anything so out of the ordinary about their childhood. South Boston aka Southie and its neighboring town Dorchester are the Irish mob hot spots in the city, going back at least a century. And it was quite elaborate right down to Earl Smith supposedly luring Punchy to the Beth Israel Hospital parking lot. He was shot three separate times within a year back in 1989-1990. Stevie and Frankie allegedly were to follow in a second car to pick up the body. Why would you shoot one of your criminal colleagues? veteran mob prosecutor Fred Wyshak asked on direct examination. He became the leader of Bostons Winter Hill Gang. As usual, he was congenial and cooperative. After he died, the job went to close associate Howie Winter, who was later succeeded by James Whitey Bulger. He told the agents that until Punchy was murdered he had been shaking down Sonny regularly not that he had something on him, but just putting fear into Sonny that something would happen to him., Walter continued on that Sonny was getting a lot of people in the middle with his stories of where his wealth came from such as gambling and borrowing from shylocks, and admitted to lending Sonny a couple of thousand dollars himself. This was essentially a rehash of the Jerome Sullivan article from 1965 that we mentioned in the Hit Parade of 1965. BOSTON, Massachusetts (The Boston Herald) -- Any illusions Bill Bennett Jr. had about life being fair evaporated in 1967. Forty one years later, the Bennett sisters still dont know what happened to their father. ``(Paul) Rico was pushing my Dad pretty hard for the books,'' Bill Bennett said, yesterday afternoon, when contacted by phone.``I know, because I heard him. Frankies description of the second Fed could only be Gerard Comen, dads handler and Ricos partner at that time. Rico was unsuccessful, but Stevie took over the Bennetts illegal enterprises anyway. None of the sisters has any faith in the so-called new and reformed FBI either. I think Whitey had a number going back to 1965 when he came home from Alcatraz. The indictments came down on September 11. . The men took Peter Poulos with them but according to Frankies version of events, he left them in California and went back east to New York City and wasnt present when Stevie murdered Peter Poulos in the Nevada desert. In 1967 all three Bennett brothers were murdered. Rico just simply looked the other way while his star informant disposed of the Bennett brothers and many others. One of the boys said his boss named Steve gave him permission to use the car. The Brinks heist would continue to haunt Wimpy Bennett for years. Murder indictments against Whitey Bulger underworld associate Stephen The Rifleman Flemmi claimed he killed the brothers in turf battle. It was the influence of the Flemmi brothers that helped Barboza to rationalize such a move. The 1950 Brinks heist, the 1962 Plymouth Mail robbery and the Gardner Museum heist in 1990. On April 10th, Walters wife, Barbara, reported him missing to the police. There were no fingerprints or weapons found at the scene, but a couple of months later Von Maxcys widow Irene came forward to say that her lover Johnny Sweet arranged for the murder of her husband. Wimpy was looking for Det. But his son didnt report him officially missing until March. A full two years before the Bennett brothers were wiped off the face of the earth, H. Paul Rico turned Stevie Flemmi into his No. He had been warned by his protege Bulger to lay low but OSullivan refused and as a result was gunned down right in front of his family home. He's already done readings in his hometown of Houston and Chicago. that while Walter Bennett had not been that helpful he was a valuable pipeline and further contact should be maintained to nurture this cooperation., In October of 1966, citrus Baron Charles Von Maxcy was attacked in the bedroom of his Florida home. He was often tipped off about the activities of his rivals and more than once was given a heads up about potential informants. The failed courtroom identification in the trial of ex-mob boss Salemme and co-defendant Paul Weadick is, in part, a sign of how the trial in DiSarros death catalogs a bygone era of mob crime in New England. Robert S. Bennett III (born 1939) is an American attorney and senior counsel to Bennett LoCicero & Liu LLP. Maybe he was in juvie, but theres no mention of him having a juvenile record on his rap sheet. No, but the Feds had a laundry list of names that included Jack and dad that they were looking at for just about every armed robbery in those days. George McLaughlin somehow survived the madness, even though his brothers Punchy and Bernie were both dead. $100.00. If you want to hear more about that case listen to episode 7. Oh and dont forget Vinnie Teresa claimed they were dumped in lye on a construction site somewhere along rte 93! In November of 2001, authorities were digging at a firing range in Hopkinton looking for the remains of Walter and Wimpy after Salemme told them the location claiming he helped bury the Bennett brothers hoping to shave time off of his sentence. vintage bennett brothers blue book of quality merchandise 1985. ``Maybe the only truth,'' the son said, ``is that you can always kill some people and get away with it. -- This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's Aug. 22 College Football Preview Issue. He eventually joined Joe Barboza and Vinnie Teresa in the newly created Witness Protection Program. The war had started when a drunken George McLaughlin had groped a girlfriend of one of Buddys friends. Annesburg Three Brothers Gold While hunting near Cotorra Springs in the north I ran into a stranger who asked me to rest by his fire. Early life and education. A fifth accomplice shot another cop and fled the scene. We'll be profiling criminals, informants, law enforcement officers, politicians and molls. Both have dealt with health issues. A huge crowd witnessed the murder but no one cooperated. It was a sad year for the Bennett family and put a microscope on just how bad the war had gotten with some 60 men killed. Somehow, Doe was able to survive all the attacks and eventually things died down as the gangster culture in Boston died out. Among his gangster peers, Buddy was revered for his extreme toughness and loyalty. Bennett was roughly the right age and height, had a raspy voice, and had a history of committing violent crimes, including two shootings. Bill Jr. was a 17-year-old student at Dorchester High, old enough to remember how desperately his father, a bartender, wanted to avenge what had happened to his uncles. Bodies were being found in the streets on a weekly basis at this time around Boston. He drove them back to the murder scene and helped them move the car to Brookline with Grassos body in it. When he found out his brother George had been beaten senseless by some friends of Buddy McLean, he set out for revenge. Both Walter and Wimpy enlisted in the Army at the beginning of WWII. They copped to crimes that werent theirs either to build their street cred or cut themselves a better deal. That same day he was relieved of his duty as a cop. The force of impact caused the car door to open, and Billys dead body fell out of the car and into the middle of the street in Dorchester. Stevie Flemmi and Frankie were in a second car in order to retrieve Billys dead body, but the passing cabbie put an end to that plan. vintage bennett brothers jewelry new catalog importers and distributors 1992. But no sign of Wimpy. Two California brothers who beat a groom to death just hours after he said "I do" have been convicted in his brutal baseball bat killing. On the other side was the three McLaughlin brothers and the Hughes brothers. George was the one who got drunk and disrespectful and took the beating that caused the whole war to start. . He would find out later that two of his gang members, Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi had been informing on him. It grew too many formations to ever say that the war has officially ended. He was the FBIs #2 most wanted man until Osama Bin Laden was killed, and then he was #1. The second agent stood to the side and wasnt involved in the conversation the other three men were having. His crumpled body was found in a snowbank on Harvard St. near Blue Hill Ave. with a bullet through his brain. On. Today Nina and I are going to be discussing the Bennett brothers: Walter, William and Edward who was best known as Wimpy. In 1949, Wimpy along with three other local guys, found himself in a jail in Maine after fleeing from the scene of a robbery they committed at Steubens Restaurant in Boston. Suddenly dozens of bullets were being sprayed into Hughes car. Prosecutors say Salemme was concerned that DiSarro would cooperate with the government about his hidden interest in The Channel, DiSarros South Boston night club. The inspiration for this podcast was Lara's late father and his stories. It was their former underling Stephen The Rifleman Flemmi who betrayed the brothers and participated in all of their murders. Never has there been a more violent stretch in Boston like there was in the 1960s during the McLean/McLaughlin gang war. Winter Hill was a Fed project going back to Buddy McLean. Included in that document was the following statement: It is worth noting that law enforcement did not pressure Daddeico to testify against Flemmi, and it appears that it was acceptable to law enforcement to allow the witness to testify against one defendant and refrain from testifying against another defendant based on personal friendship. In DiSarros case, prosecutors say Salemme was afraid DiSarro would cooperate with authorities, and had him killed and buried behind a mill in Providence. bennett brothers blue book All Auction Buy It Now 207 Results Publication Year Topic Language Features Condition Price Buying Format All Filters VINTAGE BENNETT BROTHERS BLUE BOOK OF QUALITY MERCHANDISE 1960 $35.00 $4.16 shipping or Best Offer Bennett Brothers Vintage 1962 Blue Book of Quality Merchandise, New York Chicago $65.00 0 bids Or was someone else responsible for their demise? With all those supposedly involved, you would expect someone to know where the bodies of Walter and Wimpy are buried. $90.00. Some 60 men died in the next couple years as the two sides hunted each other. vintage bennett brothers blue book of quality merchandise 1976 $80.00. MALDEN (CBS) - Two young brothers from Malden are in the spotlight Thursday after being named "heroes" by a national organization that recognizes young people doing great things. In 1954, Walter Bennett was accused of funding one such operation along with Anthony Pino and Vincent Costa of Brinks Heist fame. Just like in the other trials of the 1950s and 1960s in Boston, the Feds relied on a single witness to make their case for them. Killeen operated out of his own bar in Southie called the Transit Cafe. Walter was just 17 at the time. He ran Walters Lounge on Dudley Street and a TV repair shop, too. For the. He had a good reason though, he had just found out that his bosses Whitey Bulger and Stephen The Rifleman Flemmi were both informants. Joe went on to testify and put Patriarca behind bars, although much of his testimony is proven false. While in prison, stories about Bulger being an informant came out. That was one of dads lines, but hed say 4th grade. It was one of the most horrific double murder scenes in Boston history. Wimpy was the most infamous of the trio. Thanks for listening! He eventually joined Joe Barboza and Vinnie Teresa in the newly created Witness Protection Program. I know people like to say Whitey wasnt technically an informant because he never testified against anyone in court, and that he wasnt aware that the Feds assigned him a number. He did concede however that the Bennetts had all been his informants. After the cop shot at their car three times, they abandoned the car and took off on foot. At least three sets of brothers perished in this war that has left a scar on the families and neighborhoods affected by it. Once at a South Boston wedding two men in long coats came up to her and said, Are you a Bennett? Said Judy, My heart started beating. Theyve long believed corrupt FBI agent H. Paul Rico, now dead, protected Flemmi. Yesterday three daughters of Walter Bennett, who was 55 when they last saw him, said that for years they believed hed come home one day to Dorchester and his 13 children. The rivalry got so heated that other Boston gangsters were forced to take sides. Welcome to Double Deal! In 1974, Stevie Flemmi returned to Boston and the Bennett murder charge (among others) was dropped, just as the same charge against Frankie Salemme had earlier been dropped. Decades later in the 1980s, Larry Baione claimed that Walter Bennett had hired Frankie to take out Larry. In 1953 he escaped with two other boys from Shirley. They dont know if their father was shot or strangled, dumped in the ocean or buried near a Hopkinton gun club, where authorities dug for bodies for weeks. One of our listeners who is a grand nephew of the Bennetts sent us a pic of a postcard from Walter from 1943. Was there some weight to Raymond Patriarcas accusation against Jack Kelley? What started from one guy getting beat up ended up with 60 young men being murdered and hundreds more victims of the violence. Buccelli was killed on June 19, 1958. Nobody else seemed interested in solving their fathers murder. But since Stevie Flemmi was involved, the whole thing went terribly wrong. He couldnt! Weeks was released in 2005 and retired from mob activity. Absolutely not, said Judy Bennett Ewell. In June of 2018, Stevie Flemmi took the stand to testify against Frankie Salemme. . The informant stated that Flemmi and Salemme were really moving and are going to be big with the organization. . Robert was given a Confidential Informant number and made a Top Echelon informant in August. But they knew better. . Forgot account? In an interview with the press, he lambasted the prosecution and alleged that the investigation into Billy Bennetts murder had been sloppy because Daddieco had turned prosecution witness so quickly after the indictments. They stole a car and made their way to Albany, NY where they led the State Police in a high speed chase. The year 1967 was not a good one for the Bennett family. Robert claimed that Dickie Grasso was Billy Bennetts bodyguard and therefore was the only man who could get close to him. At the trial of Hugh Shields in April 1970, Daddieco testified that there were six men involved in the plot to kill Billy Bennett. The point is these men were and are liars. Also, according to BPD Sargent Walshs testimony the bullets that killed William Bennett matched those that killed Peter Poulos. He was caught in 2011 in California. There also exists a pre-conceived notion that oral history is less reliable than written records. BOSTON, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kira Andreucci, 17, of Fitchburgand Harrison (Harry) Bennett, 12, of Malden today were named Massachusetts' top two youth volunteers of 2018 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. A portion of the money we raise goes into a fund that Dana-Farber set up for our friend's oncologist, Dr. Amy Billett. They visited him in jail warning him of the contract on his life and even suggesting that he cooperate against Raymond. The year 1967 was not a good one for the Bennett family. Russell Nicholson (1931-1964) Russell Nicholson was a police officer, but also a close associate and actual member of the Winter Hill Gang. Wimpy Bennett and his two brothers Walter and William were all murdered in 1967 during the middle of the McLean/McLaughlin War. The Bennett brothers newspaper scrap is from the New Hanover Gazette, August 12 1896 and reads "Brothers Slain in Bloody Murder Triangle." It continues: "Three brothers from the town of. In January of `67, Edward ``Wimpy'' Bennett disappeared. Type of material Trade catalogs Trade literature Date 1900s Variant company name Chicago, IL Company Name Bennett Brothers Inc. Place New York, New York, United States Notes content Bennett Blue Books: 1939, 1941, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1960, 1968, 1972, 1974. . Buddy McLean at this time was on an absolute tear and winning the war. Flemmi testified for about an hour and a half Wednesday. Ed Punchy McLaughlin (died 1965) Ed McLaughlin was known as Punchy. Sifting the truth from the lies. You remember Boris. The Winter Hill Gang still operates today and McLean was their first boss. Forced to take the stand in front of the Massachusetts Crime Commission, Walter refused to state his present occupation but admitted that hed been running what he called a little dice game in Attleboro in 1949. Even the FBI does not reveal the names of informers.. I cant see him, said Flemmi, the first witness expected to testify that he was there when nightclub owner Steven DiSarro, originally from Providence, was strangled to death. Actually I do. The brothers owned several businesses in Dorchester. While Hannon was tortured for hours, McLean decided to go easier on Willie Delaney, who just happened to be with Hannon. The Irish mob has a stronger presence in Boston than any other city in America. His father Arthur Sr. was involved in the McLean-McLaughlin War of the 1960s. Was Steve supposed to be Stevie Flemmi? He decided the best way to do that was to kill their biggest enemy. Billy was shot four times in the chest. Rico had reason to be concerned about embarrassment to the FBI. And lets not forget that Larry Baione and Phil Waggenheim supposedly also beat up Stevie! Hed been with the BPD for 19 years. Before the end of his time in the service, Wimpy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. So their cooperation came naturally to them. Raymond was pissed but Jack didnt bat an eyelash. Just a few days after Billy Bennett was murdered, Rico went to his home looking for documents pertaining to the activities of Wimpy and Walter, but not for the FBI, but rather to assist Stevie. Nicholson was with Buddy McLean the day that Bernie McLaughlin was killed outside of the Morning Glory Cafe in Charlestown. The Brinks heist would continue to haunt Wimpy Bennett for years. Still, I don't think the government wants to see the whole mess come out. On December 23rd, William Bennett was murdered. We've spent the past 2 years scouring through FBI 302s, newspaper articles, hearing transcripts and books. He was involved in the famous Brinks robbery in 1951. Billy Stuart on the 18th of January 1967, but Stuart didnt have time to meet him. In 1953, he escaped with two other boys from Shirley. August 3, 2016, 8:30 AM. 201 people follow this. Jun 2016 - Present6 years 9 months. After the shooting, word got around to McLean about his real intentions, which made Dermody a marked man. There's no doubt whatsoever in my mind that Paul Rico gave my Dad up to Stevie Flemmi . Before the end of his time in the service Wimpy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Bennett Brothers Balm. After the cop shot at their car three times, they abandoned the car and took off on foot. I swear theyre still using the same list since some of the men well be looking at are current potential Gardner Museum Heist suspects: James Marks, Richard Megna and a few others. Frankie picked up Stevie and they drove to Revere Beach to meet Rico who had another FBI agent with him. Punchy was an ex pro boxer who drank hard and got in many bar fights. Robert was a small-time hoodlum who had been arrested in June 1969 after he and three accomplices from Canada tried to rob a bank in Somerville. While his brother, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, sat during the national anthem during Friday's preseason game for the second straight week in solidarity with those fighting for.
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