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Edward (Punchy) McLaughlin
| Edward “Punchy” McLaughlin, Charlestown hoodlum, brother of Bernie (murdered 1961), and George (still imprisoned for a 1964 Roxbury murder). Punchy survived repeated gangland assassination attempts – during one, Stevie Flemmi and Frank Salemme dressed as rabbis, and during another, in Brookline, Punchy’s hand was shot off. Punchy’s final error was being recorded on a “gypsy” (unauthorized) FBI wire, calling FBI agent H. Paul Rico a “fag.” Rico went nuts and gave Salemme the address in Canton where Punchy was hiding out. Soon thereafter, Salemme and Flemmi caught up with him as he boarded a bus to go to his brother’s murder trial. (Having only one hand, Punchy could no longer drive.) He had a revolver in a brown paper lunch bag, but before he could get it out, he had been shot to death. RIP, Punchy. |
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Edward (Punchy) McLaughlin's Getaway car, 1965. In later years Senator John Kerry, after he married enough cash, would move into this neighborhood.
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October 1965: Charlestown mobster Edward “Punchy” McLaughlin ran out of luck at a bus stop in West Roxbury. He died trying to get his revolver out of the brown paper bag he was carrying it in, but since his killers had already shot off one of his hands, he had a bit of a problem – a fatal problem. His bullet-riddled body was removed to a local hospital, and a woman showed up to inquire about his condition. After getting the bad news she departed in haste, with the coat over her head. |
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