The Westies are a predominantly Irish American organized crime association operating from the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side in New York City.[1] According to crime author TJ English, "Although never comprised of more than twelve to twenty members — depending on who was in or out of jail at any given time — the Westies became synonymous with the last generation of Irish in the birthplace of the Irish Mob...."[2] According to the NYPD Organized Crime Squad and the FBI, the Westies were responsible for 60-100 murders between 1968 and 1986.