Howie Winter

Howie Winter
Winter's September 3, 1957 mugshot
Born
Howard Thomas Winter

(1929-03-17)March 17, 1929
West Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 12, 2020(2020-11-12) (aged 91)
Millbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation(s)Mobster, trucker
Years active1965–1979
Known forBoss of the Winter Hill Gang
PredecessorJames McLean
SuccessorWhitey Bulger
SpouseEllen Brogna
AllegianceWinter Hill Gang
Criminal chargeExtortion

Howard Thomas Winter (March 17, 1929 – November 12, 2020) was an American mobster who was a boss of the Winter Hill Gang in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Early life

Winter was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 17, 1929. He was of German and Irish descent.

Irish Mob

Winter was the right-hand man to the originator of the gang, James "Buddy" McLean and took over the rackets, along with Joe McDonald, when McLean was killed during the Irish Mob Wars in 1965. In 1979 Winter, McDonald and other members of the Winter Hill Gang were arrested and indicted on federal "horse race fixing" charges. James "Whitey" Bulger then replaced Winter as boss of the gang.

Winter was released from prison in 1987 and relocated to St. Louis, where he was in contact with gang associate James "Gentleman Jim" Mulvey, who was a close friend of Raymond L. S. Patriarca. In 1993, he was caught dealing cocaine. When the FBI informed him that Bulger had been an informant all those years and offered Winter a deal if he would inform on Bulger, Winter refused the deal telling the FBI that Mulvey has already informed him of that and he was no "rat", despite facing another decade behind bars, which he would serve, being released from prison in July 2002.[1]

Later life and death

Following his release from prison, Winter worked out of his home in Millbury as a property manager. In 2012, Winter was arrested on charges of extorting money from two people. He pled guilty and was placed on probation.[2]

Winter died in 2020, aged 91.[3]

Further reading

  • Bloom, Robert M. Ratting: The Use and Abuse of Informants in the American Justice System. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0-275-96818-9
  • Martini, Bobby and Keratsis, Elayne. Citizen Somerville: Growing Up With The Winter Hill Gang Boston, Massachusetts: Powderhouse Press, 2010. ISBN 9780982991503
  • Matera, Dary. FBI's Ten Most Wanted. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. ISBN 0-06-052435-9
  • Willis, Clint (ed.) Wise Guys: Stories of Mobsters from Jersey to Vegas. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003. ISBN 1-56025-498-X

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Locate a Federal Inmate: Howard Winter". Federal Bureau of Prisons. 2011. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  2. ^ "Former Winter Hill Gang leader Howie Winter has died". Boston.com. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "Ex-Winter Hill mob boss dies; helped in Gardner art heist probe". Boston Herald. November 13, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2023.