The
Irish American McLaughlin siblings from the
Charlestown neighborhood of
Boston originally consisted of five brothers, two of whom were killed in
World War II. The remaining brothers were
Edward "Punchy" McLaughlin, a prize fighter and enforcer;
Bernard "Bernie" McLaughlin, a gang leader and organizer; and George "Georgie" McLaughlin, a psychopathic and violent alcoholic. The McLaughlin brothers had a reputation as a treacherous, ruthless, and murderous gang. The brothers controlled gambling and loan sharking on the docks around the
Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown. The McLaughlin brothers forged ties with the
Mafia, carrying out contract killings for the
Patriarca crime family in Boston and the
Genovese crime family in
New York City. McLaughlin was subsequently beaten unconscious by Somerville gangsters and dumped outside Anna Jaques Hospital in
Newburyport. Bernie McLaughlin then visited Winter Hill Gang leader McLean at his headquarters, the Tap Royal Bar in the
Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, and demanded that he hand over the members of the gang who beat his brother, to which McLean refused. In the early hours of October 30, 1961, Bernie The following afternoon, McLean and two accomplices tracked down Bernie McLaughlin as he collected loan sharking debts and shot him dead in front of over a hundred witnesses outside the Morning Glory Café in Charlestown's
City Square. The McLaughlins accused Rico of having a homosexual threesome with his bosses,
J. Edgar Hoover and
Clyde Tolson, and referred to the FBI men as "fags". "Punchy" McLaughlin also threatened the brother of Dennis Condon, Rico's FBI partner. Rico began leaking information to the Winter Hill Gang which allowed them to track down members of the McLaughlin Gang. At a christening party in Boston's
Roxbury neighborhood on March 15, 1964, Georgie McLaughlin was involved in a drunken argument with another partygoer who had spoken fondly of McLean. The Winter Hill Gang made their first attempt on the life of "Punchy" McLaughlin on November 23, 1964, shotgunning him as he entered his car outside the Beaconsfield Hotel in
Brookline. Despite having half his jaw blown off, McLaughlin survived after he was rushed to Boston's
Beth Israel Hospital. The Roxbury gangster Earl Smith arranged a meeting with McLaughlin in a parking garage at the hospital. McLaughlin was then ambushed by two Winter Hill gunmen, Stephen Flemmi and
Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme, disguised as rabbis. He again survived his wounds. Wanted for the murder of Sheriden, Georgie McLaughlin was added to the
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was convicted of Sheriden's murder and sentenced to life in prison at
Bay State Correctional Center in
Norfolk. Although
Howard "Howie" Winter blew McLaughlin's right hand off using a scoped
Winchester rifle, McLaughlin escaped following a car chase along
Route 128. In November 1965, McLaughlin Gang associate John "Maxie" Shackleford survived a shooting in Charlestown. He subsequently fled the Boston area. John Locke, a minor member of the McLaughlin Gang and one of the few remaining Charlestown gangsters, was found shot to death after being thrown onto a snowbank in the parking lot of
Wonderland station in
Revere in March 1967. == Former members and associates ==