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.
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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.
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).
That led some to question whether he might perhaps be gay but Johnny also married into a Mafia family, which some later described as a sort of royal wedding of the underworld.
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 noted that McGuire was a generous soul who would give money out freely.
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."
*This information is cobbled together from a variety of sources, please write me directly or in the comments to add or adjust stuff. I'd also love a photo if anybody has.
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.
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).
That led some to question whether he might perhaps be gay but Johnny also married into a Mafia family, which some later described as a sort of royal wedding of the underworld.
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 noted that McGuire was a generous soul who would give money out freely.
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."
*This information is cobbled together from a variety of sources, please write me directly or in the comments to add or adjust stuff. I'd also love a photo if anybody has.