Charlestown Gang
| Founded | c. 1950s |
|---|---|
| Founders | Bernard "Bernie" McLaughlin |
| Founding location | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Years active | c. 1950s–1966 |
| Territory | Charlestown |
| Ethnicity | Predominantly Irish American |
| Activities | Racketeering, gambling, loan sharking, extortion, armed robbery, theft, murder |
| Allies | |
| Rivals |
The Charlestown Gang, also known as the McLaughlin Gang, was an Irish American organized crime gang based in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The gang was headed by the McLaughlin brothers Bernie, Georgie, and Edward "Punchy" McLaughlin, along with their primary enforcers, the brothers Stevie and Cornelius "Connie" Hughes. The gang's associates included Will Delaney, Harry Hannon, William Bennett, Edward Bennett, John Shackelford, Frank Murray, Leo Lowry, Ron Dermody and Joe "Rockball" O'Rourke.
The Charlestown Gang became involved in a gang war with a rival Irish mob group, the Winter Hill Gang of Somerville led by James "Buddy" McLean, beginning in 1961. By 1966, two of the McLaughlin brothers, Bernie and "Punchy", had been killed, while the other, Georgie, was sentenced to life in prison for murder. The Hughes brothers suffered almost identical fates, as they were both shot to death on separate occasions.