Francis X. Murray is a master storyteller. “‘Gaga’: The Real Whitey Bulger/Irish Mob Story” reveals new information on Whitey Bulger, Boston’s Irish War, Great Brinks Robbery, Plymouth Mail Robbery, Owney “The Killer” Madden, New England Mafia, Russian Mafia, Boston FBI corruption and more.
Gaga enjoys pulling in the reader with detail. Consider this Owney “The Killer” Madden excerpt: “Receding sandy hair. Five-five. A small guy. Owney wore regular pants. And short sleeve shirts. Almost always a white shirt. Kept glasses in the pocket. Outside he didn’t wear glasses. Inside the club. When reading something. He’d snap them on.…
Owney hated the guineas. He never forgot what Luciano did. When Luciano went down there. Owney kidnapped the cocksucker. The Arlington Hotel. Gave him nothing but the best. Zippo. Bango. Five New York guineas come in. Five alligator wallets went out.
There was an alligator farm. Drop anything you want inside. They’d snap it up. Eat it up. Once you got the alligator wallets. You know what happened to your guys....
Owney shook hands with everybody. He was the southern gentleman. He would smile. And laugh. ‘Hi. How you doing (perky voice)?’
After the handshake. You’re invited to breakfast. Owney paid for it. Just signed the tab (signs invisible tab). Eddy loved Owney’s breakfast. Right up his ass for breakfast. They called it the Breakfast Club. They all went to breakfast.
Guess who’s sitting there? Wearing cowboy boots. At breakfast. The sheriff. In the breakfast nook. With a liquid morphine vial. And a needle. A NEEDLE (loud voice). Bingo. He wore the sheriff’s shirt. The big muscles showing. In front of everybody (flaps arm down). Bang. ‘Qwirkk.’ ‘Slurrpp.’ Now he’s loaded. ‘Give me a napkin (groggy voice).’ Wipes the blood off. ‘Alright (pause). What do you want to do (aggravated voice)?’
Across from the Arlington Hotel. Owney ate breakfast there. In the casino. Cops coming in. And out. They’d laugh. And joke. About something that happened. Owney was the boss. Like Eddy in Charlestown. Like Whitey in Southie. Justice of the peace. Except Whitey screwed everybody.
Owney would get the complaints. ‘I think he switched the dice. He’s staying down the Margareta.’ They grab him by the throat. Beat the piss out of him. Throw him out of town.
Owney was nice. And quiet. If a heavy. In with the alligators. Owney put his finger out (points finger). Squabbles. Favors. ‘My kid got caught stealing. They want to send him away.’ ‘Okay.’ Owney makes a call. ‘Give the kid a break.’…
Owney bumped into Aggie. The postmaster’s daughter. Madly in love. They was together. Until the day he died. Thirty. Forty years. Right to the bed. That’s the toughness of this prick. He died with his boots on.
Owney had the postmaster general connection. For you to get racetrack results. You needed a telegraph service. The wire service. Number nine horse wins on the West Coast. That was telegraphed to Hot Springs. Working through Aggie’s father. The postmaster general. Owney ran the wire service. And Owney become a RICH MAN.
Everybody was making money. Forty grand stacks. It wasn’t fifty. It was forty. I don’t know why? Easy enough to add another ten. But it was forty grand stacks. Anything you want to do. You do. YOU DO (bangs table)!
Two days before something happened here. Owney fixed a room up. We drove all night. And all day. The fourth day. We’re in the room. We had the witnesses. That we was there. And couldn’t have been in Boston.
I called Owney. Aggie answered. ‘Hello. This Gaga Murray. From South Boston. I want to talk with your husband.’ ‘Wait a minute Mr. Boston.’ She always called me ‘Mr. Boston.’ I gave Owney a phone number. He called back on the good phone. I gave him the run down. ‘Ba. Ba. Baa.’ He said, ‘No problem. Go ahead. And do it.’ Owney put people in the room. That looked a little like us.”
Gaga enjoys pulling in the reader with detail. Consider this Owney “The Killer” Madden excerpt: “Receding sandy hair. Five-five. A small guy. Owney wore regular pants. And short sleeve shirts. Almost always a white shirt. Kept glasses in the pocket. Outside he didn’t wear glasses. Inside the club. When reading something. He’d snap them on.…
Owney hated the guineas. He never forgot what Luciano did. When Luciano went down there. Owney kidnapped the cocksucker. The Arlington Hotel. Gave him nothing but the best. Zippo. Bango. Five New York guineas come in. Five alligator wallets went out.
There was an alligator farm. Drop anything you want inside. They’d snap it up. Eat it up. Once you got the alligator wallets. You know what happened to your guys....
Owney shook hands with everybody. He was the southern gentleman. He would smile. And laugh. ‘Hi. How you doing (perky voice)?’
After the handshake. You’re invited to breakfast. Owney paid for it. Just signed the tab (signs invisible tab). Eddy loved Owney’s breakfast. Right up his ass for breakfast. They called it the Breakfast Club. They all went to breakfast.
Guess who’s sitting there? Wearing cowboy boots. At breakfast. The sheriff. In the breakfast nook. With a liquid morphine vial. And a needle. A NEEDLE (loud voice). Bingo. He wore the sheriff’s shirt. The big muscles showing. In front of everybody (flaps arm down). Bang. ‘Qwirkk.’ ‘Slurrpp.’ Now he’s loaded. ‘Give me a napkin (groggy voice).’ Wipes the blood off. ‘Alright (pause). What do you want to do (aggravated voice)?’
Across from the Arlington Hotel. Owney ate breakfast there. In the casino. Cops coming in. And out. They’d laugh. And joke. About something that happened. Owney was the boss. Like Eddy in Charlestown. Like Whitey in Southie. Justice of the peace. Except Whitey screwed everybody.
Owney would get the complaints. ‘I think he switched the dice. He’s staying down the Margareta.’ They grab him by the throat. Beat the piss out of him. Throw him out of town.
Owney was nice. And quiet. If a heavy. In with the alligators. Owney put his finger out (points finger). Squabbles. Favors. ‘My kid got caught stealing. They want to send him away.’ ‘Okay.’ Owney makes a call. ‘Give the kid a break.’…
Owney bumped into Aggie. The postmaster’s daughter. Madly in love. They was together. Until the day he died. Thirty. Forty years. Right to the bed. That’s the toughness of this prick. He died with his boots on.
Owney had the postmaster general connection. For you to get racetrack results. You needed a telegraph service. The wire service. Number nine horse wins on the West Coast. That was telegraphed to Hot Springs. Working through Aggie’s father. The postmaster general. Owney ran the wire service. And Owney become a RICH MAN.
Everybody was making money. Forty grand stacks. It wasn’t fifty. It was forty. I don’t know why? Easy enough to add another ten. But it was forty grand stacks. Anything you want to do. You do. YOU DO (bangs table)!
Two days before something happened here. Owney fixed a room up. We drove all night. And all day. The fourth day. We’re in the room. We had the witnesses. That we was there. And couldn’t have been in Boston.
I called Owney. Aggie answered. ‘Hello. This Gaga Murray. From South Boston. I want to talk with your husband.’ ‘Wait a minute Mr. Boston.’ She always called me ‘Mr. Boston.’ I gave Owney a phone number. He called back on the good phone. I gave him the run down. ‘Ba. Ba. Baa.’ He said, ‘No problem. Go ahead. And do it.’ Owney put people in the room. That looked a little like us.”
