A Criminal and an Irishman

A Criminal and an Irishman is an incomparable account of Pat Nee's life as an Irish immigrant and Southie son, a Marine, a convicted IRA gun smuggler, and a former top associate of Whitey Bulger's. His narrative transports the reader into the criminal underworld, inside the planning and preparation for an armored car heist, inside gang wars and revenge killings. Pat Nee details his evolution from tough street kid to armed robber to dangerous potential killer. He discloses for the first time how he used his underworld connections and know-how as a passionate and effective IRA operative. For years law enforcement and the media have speculated about important events with Pat Nee near or at their center: the Mullen-Killeen gang war for control of South Boston, the Valhalla smuggling operation (seven tons of heavy weapons aboard a fishing boat from Gloucester, Massachusetts, bound for Ireland), the murder of John McIntyre, and many other episodes. Pat NeeÕs stories are sometimes dark and brutal, but they shed light on the world in which we live, and are stories that only he can tell.Author’s Note
1. How to Rob an Armored Car
2. Ireland
3. Gunslinger
4. The Mullen Gang
5. The Stuttering Marine
6. Hawaii
7. A War We Should Have Won
8. Crime Pays
9. Peter Nee
10. Hunting
11. The Southie Gang War
12. “The Truce”
13. A Criminal and an Irishman
14. The Long Journey Home
15. The Birth of Valhalla
16. Seven Tons of Guns
17. The Atlantic Ocean
18. Circle of Green“A profane, often brutal memoir . . . Nee maintained an uneasy alliance with Bulger while pursuing his personal cause—raising money and smuggling weapons for the Irish Republican Army.”
—The Boston Herald
 
“Nee commits some horrible crimes, from attempted murder to armed robbery. Yet even as he chases someone with a rifle through South Boston, he's the sort of guy you want to root for . . . Scenes in which Nee interacts with his parents or siblings are most touching. He’s a good son, a bit of a smart-aleck and a fine drinking buddy as well as a gunrunner and would be assassin.”
—The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune

Patrick Nee was a major player in Boston’s infamous Irish mob. At fourteen he became associated with the gang that would later battle Whitey Bulger for rights to Southie’s criminal activities. When his younger brother was gunned down in the streets, Pat knew he was capable of killing for a cause, successfully hunting Peter’s killer and leaving him for dead. A Marine veteran of Vietnam, Pat helped the Irish Republican Army smuggle money, guns, and munitions out of the United States. He served nearly two years in prison for the seven tons of weapons he attempted to transport aboard the Valhalla, received early parole, then promptly attempted to rob an armored car in order to raise funds for the IRA. 

 

As an independent journalist Richard Farrell covered the war in Bosnia during the early 1990s. He has directed several award-winning films and written articles for the Boston Globe and numerous other publications. 

 

Michael Blythe, like his good friend Pat Nee, is a lifelong South Boston resident who served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is a screenwriter and father of six.

"Not one account in this book is taken from a newspaper article, a police report, or somebody else's 'gangster' book. Everything detailed in this book I have either done, seen done, or heard about from the person who did it. Most reporters and authors who write Southie gangster books use CIs - confidential informers - as sources. However, seldom is the majority of information compiled by these sources correct information. Confidential informers are self-serving criminals who lie. This book is different from other books on the Boston Irish mob or any other 'Whitey/Southie' crime book. If my recollections don't match those in some other book by some other criminal, I don't care. My memory is not perfect. This is my life as I remember it. And I'm comfortable with that." - Author's Note, Patrick Nee20th Anniversary Edition