Former Canadian West End Gang member Ron “Big Ronnie” Mckinnon, 60, has died of cancer. Mckinnon was an enforcer in Quebec for the “Irish Gang” for 25 years, though he has not been involved in the gang or organized crime for at least a decade.
Mckinnon used to work as a bodyguard for West End Gang member Johnny McLean, a suspected government informant and protégé of the gang leaders, the Matticks brothers. The last remaining Matticks sibling, Gerry Matticks, accused McLean of causing his drug arrest in 2001.
An attempt was made on Mckinnon’s life when he was shot in the leg by masked attackers. Mckinnon was convinced he was sent by the Matticks brothers to murder him because of his close relationship with McLean. In fact, many people believe that the perpetrators were brothers Cody and Jamie Laramee. In the summer of 2013, the Laramee brothers were murdered inside the Nite Night Lounge in Montreal.
