Local Irish mobster Johnny McGuire was a portrait of confounding contradictions, a prince and a bum, a generous benefactor and a shylock, a hard-fisted boxer and a tranny club owner.
McGuire was born in the area around St. Antoine and Guy in 1929 to a family that included brothers Gerald, Paddy and Richard, sister Carole among others.
He was too young to serve in WWII but his father, who was overaged, made a point of enlisting and serving for six years as a matter or pride.
Johnny was a scrapper and at age 19 won the Golden Gloves in the 160 pound division but he would later put on about 60 pounds.
He grew up in Rosemont on 25th Ave. and would have constant run-ins with the Bouchard family, who lived on block over and were on the other side of the law, as several of them turned out to be cops, including Andre Bouchard, long a bigwig of the homicide squad.
Andre, as a young beat cop once famously pulled a gun on Paddy McGuire, who was attempting to flee down an alley from the scene of some misdeed.
Johnny McGuire was involved in at least one high-profile heist, the theft at a Coca-Cola factory in Montreal along with Gilles and Johnny Asselin of the Point. (They were possibly best-known for having a father-in-law named Fred who found a big stash of cash in his basement on Greene)
Johnny lived in a hotel downtown and would spend his days at a bar on Belanger and Lacordaire, an establishment owned by his friend Dominic.
He and his brothers never had real jobs and it's believed that they were involved in some money-lending as a principle source of income.
One of the McGuires once rigged a chainsaw so it wouldn't start. He then used it to threaten a debtor in the back of a van at the race track. He kept pulling the cord knowing it wouldn't start. The guy gave him the money,
Johnny owned - or partially owned - a number of bars, including Chez Mado on Pie IX and more famously, PJ's tranny club on Peel and Ste. Catherine (back in the era where the transvestites would allow their male members to sway freely as they lip synched their tunes in stage).
He owned it with Peter Skylar, hence the name P and J.
That led some to question whether he might perhaps be gay but Johnny also married into Harry Ship's Mafia family, which some later described as a sort of royal wedding of the underworld.
He suffered a major downturn when his Palladium went up in flames and did a bit of petty cocaine trafficking to make ends meet.
He consumed ample cocaine.
Feuded with mainstream WEG, and McNally McDonald and a man named White shot up his West End Bar in an attempt to kill him, that would have been prior to 1968.
In a similar, separate incident, the Asselin brothers shot up McGuire's house after he demanded a cut of the proceeds from their Coca Cola factory payroll heist that they pulled off with Peter McManus at 7295 Upper Lachine Rd.
McGuire never socialized with Dunie Ryan or his crew and some had a burning hatred for him, including John Slawvey.
McGuire - who sported a Compass Rose tattoo on the back of his hand - remained a big supporter of boxing and was close to Joe Mell, who was respected in boxing circles and also ran a halfway house in the Point - he's still alive.
McGuire only made it to age 55, dying of lung cancer in 1984. He was treated to an effusive tribute by Tim Burke, an enthusiast of local Irish thugs. Burke notes that the 6'2' McGuire learned to fight as a child by battling others in line for stale bread as he feared the wrath of his war veteran father if he returned with inferior quality bread.
McGuire also took part in a famous fistfight with Alouette football player Chuck Anderson at Peel and St. Catherine in 1952. The fight led Anderson to be sent out of town for good, Burke notes. (In fact Anderson returned as part of the wrestling circuit after one more year of CFL football.) McGuire added that McGuire was a generous soul who would give money out freely to needy families in the Point.
Shortly after his death an important crime American crime report named him as a labour racketeering kingpin but that notion was shot down as insiders noted that he never had any in with unions and one of his major claims to fame was having a relationship with West End Gang leader Dunie Ryan. The article unkindly described McGuire as a "moocher."
*An earlier version of this story reported that McGuire once slapped restaurant owner Bernard Dankoff, but in fact it was a different John who did this deed. McGuire was friendly with Dankoff.
McGuire was born in the area around St. Antoine and Guy in 1929 to a family that included brothers Gerald, Paddy and Richard, sister Carole among others.
He was too young to serve in WWII but his father, who was overaged, made a point of enlisting and serving for six years as a matter or pride.
Johnny was a scrapper and at age 19 won the Golden Gloves in the 160 pound division but he would later put on about 60 pounds.
He grew up in Rosemont on 25th Ave. and would have constant run-ins with the Bouchard family, who lived on block over and were on the other side of the law, as several of them turned out to be cops, including Andre Bouchard, long a bigwig of the homicide squad.Andre, as a young beat cop once famously pulled a gun on Paddy McGuire, who was attempting to flee down an alley from the scene of some misdeed.
Johnny McGuire was involved in at least one high-profile heist, the theft at a Coca-Cola factory in Montreal along with Gilles and Johnny Asselin of the Point. (They were possibly best-known for having a father-in-law named Fred who found a big stash of cash in his basement on Greene)
Johnny lived in a hotel downtown and would spend his days at a bar on Belanger and Lacordaire, an establishment owned by his friend Dominic.
He and his brothers never had real jobs and it's believed that they were involved in some money-lending as a principle source of income.
One of the McGuires once rigged a chainsaw so it wouldn't start. He then used it to threaten a debtor in the back of a van at the race track. He kept pulling the cord knowing it wouldn't start. The guy gave him the money,
Johnny owned - or partially owned - a number of bars, including Chez Mado on Pie IX and more famously, PJ's tranny club on Peel and Ste. Catherine (back in the era where the transvestites would allow their male members to sway freely as they lip synched their tunes in stage).
He owned it with Peter Skylar, hence the name P and J.
That led some to question whether he might perhaps be gay but Johnny also married into Harry Ship's Mafia family, which some later described as a sort of royal wedding of the underworld.
He suffered a major downturn when his Palladium went up in flames and did a bit of petty cocaine trafficking to make ends meet.
He consumed ample cocaine.
Feuded with mainstream WEG, and McNally McDonald and a man named White shot up his West End Bar in an attempt to kill him, that would have been prior to 1968.
In a similar, separate incident, the Asselin brothers shot up McGuire's house after he demanded a cut of the proceeds from their Coca Cola factory payroll heist that they pulled off with Peter McManus at 7295 Upper Lachine Rd.
McGuire never socialized with Dunie Ryan or his crew and some had a burning hatred for him, including John Slawvey.
McGuire - who sported a Compass Rose tattoo on the back of his hand - remained a big supporter of boxing and was close to Joe Mell, who was respected in boxing circles and also ran a halfway house in the Point - he's still alive.
McGuire only made it to age 55, dying of lung cancer in 1984. He was treated to an effusive tribute by Tim Burke, an enthusiast of local Irish thugs. Burke notes that the 6'2' McGuire learned to fight as a child by battling others in line for stale bread as he feared the wrath of his war veteran father if he returned with inferior quality bread.
McGuire also took part in a famous fistfight with Alouette football player Chuck Anderson at Peel and St. Catherine in 1952. The fight led Anderson to be sent out of town for good, Burke notes. (In fact Anderson returned as part of the wrestling circuit after one more year of CFL football.) McGuire added that McGuire was a generous soul who would give money out freely to needy families in the Point.
Shortly after his death an important crime American crime report named him as a labour racketeering kingpin but that notion was shot down as insiders noted that he never had any in with unions and one of his major claims to fame was having a relationship with West End Gang leader Dunie Ryan. The article unkindly described McGuire as a "moocher."
*An earlier version of this story reported that McGuire once slapped restaurant owner Bernard Dankoff, but in fact it was a different John who did this deed. McGuire was friendly with Dankoff.
Guy and St-Antoine Streets brings back memories. I had a summer job in the diaper washing department at Toilet Laundry in 1964.The only thing great about the job was being the only male teenager among dozens of pretty young French girls from St-Henri.
ReplyDeleteWhy not jewish or english asshole?
DeleteYou know, my family moved to Montreal from England in 1957 and moved directly to NDG a street or two over from the Coca-Cola factory (on Westmore). My dad was a jazz drummer and my mother worked as a waitress all up and down St. Jacques when it used to be one motel/lounge after another up to the Rose Bowl. She worked her way up to Head Hostess of the 4 A & W coffee shops in Montreal/Cote des Neiges and got me a job there waitressing when I was 15, along with a lot of my friends. When I read these posts about the Irish Mafia and the unsavoury characters that were about in the late 50's and early 60's, it makes so much more sense why my father gave me HOLY HELL when I failed to come home from a shift one summer day after lingering to have coffee with a busboy. sheesh... what I didn't know then I'm glad of...
ReplyDeleteMy dad, Merv Saltzman, owned that A&W and would no doubt have known your mother!
DeleteThere used to be a bar on Butler called the One and Two. It was a popular spot and some real characters came through the doors. The door man was Roddy Diamond and he told me one story about John. There was a kid who used to buss bottles there, his name is Gary and he now works at the Hiraki. At the time Gary couldn't talk, and after some discussion between John McG. and a fellow named Emmit Kelly the decided it was because he couldn't hear. They both chipped in a couple hundred dollars and bought him a hearing aid. The man learned to speak though hard to understand..So here's to John (Who I knew)...As for Joe Mell, he was a God father to Johns kids and never had anything to do with Boxing other than through "Leo's Boys sports" which is named after Leo Mell..Get your facts straight and a few more details in your stories..
ReplyDeleteYeah, they forgot Roddy in this article. Roddy was JMG driver and best buddy. RIP, Rod, your longtime friend,
DeleteGordie Sawyer.
Well said and on Point...get it? Point! (PSC) haha
DeleteP.J s was such a great club Al was the one that ran it.I remember one night I had a problem with some guys and he came over and said Everything ok kid true ganster style Problem over...
ReplyDeleteP.J s was home to the hustlers of the city everything was for sale there alot of under age hustlers at that.It was on the edge dark and wild.It was home of the pre disco era kind of where the roots of the era s started.
ReplyDeletewould that be gary "gabbage" ... not sure that's the name but i remember gary back in the day .. roddy diamond as well
ReplyDeleteMy father ( Bernard Buongiorno ) onwed the PJ.s wwith Gerry Mcguire after Johnny , Al simking was the doorman and Carol Mcguire at the bar ,,,,,,,,,,,, good old days
ReplyDeleteI worked for Frank in Ville Lasalle on Dollard, Johnny called Frank to send me to P.J.'s because John had a problem the night before, I showed up and Told Carol why I was there, Carol got a little nervious as I didn't look like I fit in (Maybe) she handed me the phone and was told it was ok, Gerald gave me a c-note or something, lol.
DeleteWasn't someone murdered and left in a car in the parking lot of that place?
DeleteWhen Johnny was a young lad my father grabbed a truant officer and held him so John could run away. They became lifelong friends.
ReplyDeleteI used to love sitting at my aunt's kitchen table hearing stories of them all growing up in 1950's Montreal. She was friends with the McGuires, so the story went, used to stash "stuff" for them in her apartment under the kitchen sink where they had a false bottom in the cupboard. She worked in a Chinese restaurant called Han Chow's. I'd love to find some pictures of the crowd to see if I could find my aunt in any of them.
ReplyDelete