I’ve heard whispers about the life and crimes of Winter Hill gangster Joe McDonald (1917-1997) for years, though he appears only fleetingly in true crime books and documentaries. Not much is known about him; he was at once a mercurial and an ominous figure in the bizarre society that was the Boston underworld. I had already written a prequel of sorts about the subject (“On the Boston Waterfront,” see link in Notable Features) about a working-class hero who got caught up in the waterfront feud of the 1950s and was killed only steps from his mother's house.  “Confessions of a Loan Shark” (see link in Notable Features) features many of the same characters: Maxie Shackelford, a primary source of Boston's Gangland War of the 1960s, counted them as friends. I found him at the end of his life and he shared firsthand details about what happened that had been buried, along with his friends, for decades.

    Joe McDonald haunts both stories. He haunts the Boston underworld, even today. 

    Who was he? "Joe Mac" was a World War II combat veteran, a father of five, and the most prolific hitman in the Boston underworld. Read "Habeas Corpus" (also in Notable Features) and you'll see why his story has been left alone.

    But it must be told. His daughter, whose own unforgettable story is laced within her father's, introduces us to a fascinating personality marred by tragedy and motivated by principle.    

   Forget Whitey Bulger and what you think you know about the Winter Hill Gang -that's the "official" narrative, a controlled show. This is the ruthless truth, told from the inside out. Its revelations are startling.

   True Crime? This is something much more.

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Don't Talk About Joe Mac 

The Life, Wars, and Secret History of the Man Behind the Winter Hill Gang

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Publisher: Bloomsbury                         

Publication Date: November 13, 2025