CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Charlestown is an old Boston neighborhood that stands apart from the rest of the city. Situated on a peninsula surrounded by the Mystic River, Boston Harbor, and the Charles River, its only land neighbors are the cities of Cambridge and Somerville. Charlestown has long been known for its naval yard and the Bunker Hill monument, and as the longtime home of the H. P. Hood Milk Company, and Charlestown State Prison. In the early twentieth century Charlestown was a working-class neighborhood populated by many Irish and Canadian immigrants, and during the Great Depression it was the most affordable place to rent an apartment in Boston. It was here that George P. McLaughlin grew up in the shadows of the Bunker Hill monument, in a three-story brick rowhouse at 25 Monument Avenue.
McLaughlin was the son of Irish immigrants. His father, John McLaughlin, worked as a railroad clerk, and his mother, Annie, took care of the children. They had five sons and six daughters. Two of their boys died while serving in the military. The other three McLaughlin boys—Bernie, George, and Edward—gained notoriety for other reasons.
On October 31, 1961, Bernie McLaughlin was gunned down in broad daylight outside the Morning Glory Café in City Square. Buddy McLean was believed to have been the shooter. Charismatic and handsome, McLean was one of the earliest Winter Hill gang leaders. His friend Alexander “Bobo” Petricone was also implicated in the shooting. McLean and Petricone were friends who lived within walking distance of each other in the Winter Hill section of Somerville. Petricone worked as a bartender and lived at 2 Jaques Street. McLean was a truck driver who lived at 3 Snow Terrace. They were initially charged with Bernie’s murder, but they were never convicted of the crime. A Suffolk County grand jury found that evidence was lacking in the case, and the charges against them were dropped.
Buddy McLean ultimately met a violent end in his own neighborhood. On October 30, 1965, McLean went to a lounge at 318 Broadway in Somerville to have a drink with two of his friends—Americo Sacramone and Anthony “Tony Blue” D’Agostino. There was a policeman on detail at the bar that night. Before walking out of the bar, McLean went up to officer, shined his badge, and said, “That’s for luck.” As McLean and his pals crossed the street to get to their cars, they were ambushed. All three were shot. McLean died from his wounds. Sacramone and D’Agostino survived. The bar is long gone, and the area is now home to the Winter Hill bakery.
Alexander “Bobo” Petricone relocated to California and changed his name to Alex Rocco, and he enjoyed a successful acting career in Hollywood. In the 1972 film The Godfather, he played the role of Jewish mobster Moe Greene and had one of the best lines in the movie: “Do you know who I am? I’m Moe Greene! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders.”
On the evening of March 14, 1964, George P. McLaughlin was accused of shooting twenty-one-year-old William J. Sheridan in the head outside a party at
55 Yeoman Street in Roxbury. After the murder, George ended up on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List. On Wednesday, February 24, 1965, federal agents arrested him at this multi-family home at 24 Duke Street in Mattapan. McLaughlin was found in a third-floor bedroom along with his friend, James “Spike” O’Toole. The agents burst into the room and caught O’Toole and McLaughlin by surprise.
Meanwhile, George’s brother, Edward “Punchy” McLaughlin, was walking around with a huge target on his back. In August 1965, Punchy was shot in the hand as he was driving his Oldsmobile along Canton Street in Westwood. The injuries were so severe he had to have his hand amputated. He survived, but his days were numbered.
On October 20, 1965, Stephen Flemmi was at his store on Dudley Street getting ready to complete an assignment. His outfit was all picked out: three-quarter length coat, gloves, and eyeglasses. His girlfriend helped style his hair in a different way, and may have even applied a moustache and makeup to Flemmi’s face to improve his disguise. Flemmi then got a ride to West Roxbury, and was dropped off at Spring Street, near the intersection of Billings Street, where he knew Punchy would be waiting to board the bus into town to attend his brother George’s trial. Flemmi had a .38 caliber Webley revolver tucked in his pocket, which he covered with a folded newspaper. Flemmi strode toward Punchy as he was about to get on the bus, and fired six rounds into his chest. As Punchy lay bleeding on the ground, a gold Pontiac convertible was seen fleeing from the scene.
A week after Punchy was killed, George McLaughlin was convicted of murder and put on death row. As of this writing, he is in his nineties and serving a life sentence at MCI-Shirley, a medium-security state prison that’s approximately 40 miles northwest of Boston. McLaughlin believes he’s entitled to a new trial and is working to bring his case back to court.