This windfall wasn't just a payday; it was seed money. Under the leadership of , the gang used the proceeds to pivot from robberies to international drug trafficking. Kings of Coke: The Global Empire
The West End Gang: Unmasking Montreal’s "Irish Mafia" While the headlines often buzz with the exploits of the Rizzuto family or the Hells Angels, Montreal hides another storied criminal legacy in its shadows: the . Often dubbed Montreal’s "Irish Mafia," this homegrown organization rose from the poverty-stricken streets of the southwest to become a global titan of drug trafficking. Roots in "The Point"
The gang’s story begins in the mid-20th century in neighborhoods like ("The Point"), Griffintown, and Goose Village. Emerging in the 1950s as a loose network of Irish-Canadian thieves, they were initially known simply as the "Irish Gang". Montreal's Irish Mafia: The True Story of the I...
The West End Gang never truly vanished. Police estimate they still maintain 125 to 150 members and associates. Recent figures like have kept the gang in the news, linked to massive weapons caches and the elusive "Wolfpack Alliance".
Their story is one of survival and cold-blooded ambition—a uniquely Montreal product that, as journalist Julian Sher puts it, could only have been born in the marginalized English-speaking enclaves of a French city. This windfall wasn't just a payday; it was seed money
By taking control of the , the West End Gang became a vital gateway for narcotics. They formed a "Consortium" with the Montreal Mafia and the Hells Angels to fix drug prices, establishing ties with the Cali Cartel in Colombia and brokers across Europe and Mexico. Key figures in this era included:
: The "King of Coke" who transformed the gang into a multi-billion dollar enterprise before his 1984 assassination in a seedy motel. The West End Gang never truly vanished
: A former union leader at the port who was treated as an equal by the city's most powerful mob bosses until his 2001 arrest. The Legacy Continues