Gerald Jonathan McReary (December 1, 1973-) was the boss of the McReary crime family of the New York City Irish Mob during the 2000s. McReary, the third-eldest of five children, led the McReary family in Manhattan and Queens, and it once was the strongest gang in Hell's Kitchen; however, it declined as its family members wasted their money on alcohol and women, and the McRearys were forced to do work for African-American gangs and American Mafia families. McReary was arrested in 2008, and Patrick McReary briefly led the gang.
Biography[]
Gerald McReary was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City on December 1, 1973, the third of five children born to Irish Catholic immigrants John and Maureen McReary. Gerald was the younger brother of Derrick and Francis McReary and the older brother of Patrick and Kate McReary, and he often got into fights with his older brothers and with his father, who beat him regularly. McReary had a troubled childhood, and he was arrested in 1986 at the young age of 13 for grand larceny. McReary would become a professional criminal, and he founded the McReary crime family during the 1990s; it became the largest Irish Mob organization in the city. He was arrested in 1990 for assault, in 1992 for armed robbery and hijacking, in 1999 for conspiracy to commit extortion, and in 2005 for tampering with a sports contest involving dog racing. McReary would become involved with the American Mafia and become the crime boss of Hell's Kitchen, but the gang's power waned as its members wasted their money on drugs, alcohol, and women. Gerald had three failed marriages and became an alcoholic, and he developed a violent temper.
Decline and imprisonment[]
McReary in prison, 2008
By 2008, the gang was reduced to a collection of Irish thugs that were working for the Pegorino crime family against the Ancelotti crime family. Gerald left most of the family's business to his brother Patrick and to lieutenants Gordon Sargent and Michael Keane, but he had Niko Bellic do some jobs that he issued himself, including the murders of Ancelotti capos Frankie Garone and Anthony Spoleto. These hits led to the Ancelottis becoming weakened, and McReary was imprisoned at East Jersey State Prison shortly after, having been convicted due to the testimony of a mole inside the family. Gerald was sentenced to 50 years in prison for previous crimes, but he was able to arrange for Gracie Ancelotti's kidnapping while he was behind bars.