Kenneth Shannon
A defendant in the 1987 Westies racketeering indictment who pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge; separately convicted in state court in 1989 of second-degree murder for driving Billie Bokun to and from the 1985 shooting of Michael Holly. His federal habeas petition was denied in 1997.
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal court opinions state. They are works of the United States judiciary, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. No home, family or medical detail is recorded here.
On the record
- 1988-08 — United States v. Bokun (1995): Shannon and Kevin Kelly surrendered in August 1988; Shannon pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge and was sentenced to twenty years.
- 1989-07-28 — Shannon v. Artuz (1997): convicted in New York State court of murder in the second degree and sentenced to eighteen years. The opinion states: "At trial, it was established that petitioner belonged to the "Westies" organized crime group." The Appellate Division affirmed on September 22, 1994.
- 1997-11-24 — Shannon v. Artuz, 984 F. Supp. 807: Judge Whitman Knapp denies his petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
The membership sentence is a federal judge’s summary of what was established at a state trial. It gives Shannon no position in the group, so no role is set here. The opinions’ accounts of other shootings in which they name him are on the 1991 opinion’s page.
Records
itemShannon v. Artuz, 984 F. Supp. 807 (S.D.N.Y. 1997): habeas petition from a state murder convictionJudge Whitman Knapp's opinion of November 24, 1997 denying Kenneth Shannon's federal habeas petition against his 1989 state conviction for helping Billie Bokun in the 1985 shooting of Michael Holly.itemUnited States v. Bokun, 73 F.3d 8 (2d Cir. 1995): the sentence of a Westies defendantSecond Circuit opinion of December 27, 1995 reversing a reduction of William Bokun's sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 and reinstating his thirty-five-year term. Its background summarizes the Westies prosecution and the sentences imposed in 1988.itemUnited States v. Coonan, 938 F.2d 1553 (2d Cir. 1991): the appeal of Kevin KellySecond Circuit opinion of July 16, 1991 affirming Kevin Kelly's racketeering and related convictions. Its background recites the trial evidence about the "Westies," a group the court places in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan.