Читать книгу What Happened to Mickey? - Peter McSherry - Страница 4

The subject of this book was born Donald John MacDonald, but started calling himself Donald McDonald in his teens, then Michael McDonald in his twenties. After a time he was known as “Mickey.” He married as Donald John MacDonald and was charged with murder and some later offences under that name. His two wives used the name “MacDonald,” never “McDonald,” even when they lived with him while he was “McDonald.” His criminal brothers, Alex and Edwin, always used their proper name, “MacDonald,” but, inevitably, were sometimes referred to as “McDonald” in the press, as Mickey too most often was. Other misspellings of Mickey’s surname — Macdonald, M’Donald — inevitably appeared as well. In this work, I have referred to him as “Mickey McDonald” except when he was otherwise under indictment as MacDonald or there was some other specific reason to do otherwise.

Similarly, there appears in Part II of this book a character who was born Nicholas Minnelli and later came to spell his name “Minelli.” He was in Kingston Penitentiary as “Minnille” and his name sometimes appeared as that in the press. In this book he is “Minelli” except where it is otherwise warranted.

Four of the names used in this work are pseudonyms. Their use in the text was part of the cost of getting information that would otherwise not have been available. Jenny Law, who was a major source for my first book, The Big Red Fox: The Incredible Story of Norman “Red” Ryan, Canada’s Most Notorious Criminal, had things to say about Mickey, too, and though she has long since passed away, I have continued our pact regarding the protection of her real identity.

The name of Roy “Binky” Clarke, who was undoubtedly the most valuable and enduring source in this work, is also a pseudonym. He passed away in 2011 after being a constant source of information, a close advisor, and a personal friend for 33 years.

Of those I approached who were associates of Mickey few would talk at all, and none of the MacDonald family, understandably, was interested in participating. Ulysses Lauzon, one of Mickey’s partners in the Kingston Penitentiary escape of August 1947, had previously robbed banks with a youth who I have given the name “Joe Poireau.” Joe, who has long-since rehabilitated himself, spoke with me forthrightly but wanted his family protected with a pseudonym — and, tacitly, that included the name of his sister, Elaine, who was involved in the story as well.