Talk:Tony Felloni

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Tony Felloni/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Ser! (talk · contribs) 12:33, 10 June 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: DrOrinScrivello (talk · contribs) 20:02, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Hello! I'll be happy to review this article. Initial comments to come later today or tomorrow, though I'll likely do a light copyedit pass first – feel free to revert anything you disagree with. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 20:02, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Jesus, King Scum indeed. What a piece of work. Anyway, the article looks to be in good shape after an initial read-through. Most of my comments should be fairly minor, and not all will be required to meet the GA criteria – I'll try to mention when they're merely suggestions. Prose comments first. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 21:23, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Prose review

Lead

• No issue with what is currently written other than it seems too short. I'm not entirely sure what needs to be added, and maybe we can revisit it once we've gone through the rest of the article, but two sentences seems light.

Yeah, happy to expand once I've sorted the rest of the article. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Early life

• he was given his mother's surname, calling him Anthony Carroll. It's possible this is an ENGVAR issue, but "calling him Anthony Carroll" doesn't read quite right to me. If it were me I'd say something like "giving him the name Anthony Carroll", but if the "calling" phrasing is common in Ireland I won't argue.

Fixed. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Criminal career

• He later turned to burglary; in 1967, while on remand for stealing a car, Felloni and an associate escaped from Bridewell Prison in Dublin, but both were recaptured the next day. A couple things here:
  • First, this is a bit nitpicky, but since "burglary" has a fairly specific meaning (the cited source terms it "house-breaking", which is accurate), I don't think the semicolon and segue into the fact that he was on remand for stealing a car (which isn't burglary) quite works. I think adding something about robbery to the burglary bit (which is also supported by the source) would probably solve the problem.
  • Second, even though I absolutely knew what "on remand" meant and definitely didn't have to look it up, some of my American brethren might appreciate a link to pre-trial detention.

Fixed. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• He was sentenced the next month to three months in prison It took me a couple of reads to get that the sentencing occurred the following month, not that he was sentenced to the following 1–3 months. Suggest re-wording.

Fixed. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• Felloni usurped Dunne's position as the city's main dealer after he was sentenced to jail. I would substitute the "he" for "Dunne" to clarify who was jailed.

Fixed. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• For the two sentences here that include quotes (beginning Ali Bracken claimed in the Sunday Tribune and Following his arrest, Felloni reportedly told Gardaí), are the quotes full sentences in their respective sources? Per WP:LQ these should either have the full stops placed inside the quotation marks if so, or the first letter of the quotes de-capitalized if not.

It's through this that I found out the Tribune source is now offline. Fixed both, and added an archived link. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• He was arrested in August 1994, January 1995, July 1995 and October 1995 for heroin possession, I would re-word this to "He was arrested four times between August 1994 and October 1995..." but that's a personal preference and not a requirement.

Yeah, I'll give that a go. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• Following a Garda operation codenamed "Operation Pizza" into his drug operation, Three things:
  • First, I'm not familiar with Garda Síochána beyond a quick glance at that article, but you refer to them twice as "Gardaí" and once as "Garda" – is there a reason for the variation? Either way, you have the third instance linked, when it should probably be the first.

Gardaí would be used as a plural to refer to members of the force, while "Garda" is a descriptor. But I've fixed the link. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• • Second, I think the "codenamed Operation Pizza" phrase should either be in parentheses or otherwise moved around, and I'm not crazy about three uses of "operation" in this clause – suggest re-wording.

Fixed. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• • Third, I'd love some context as to why it was named "Operation Pizza", if it exists. No worries if not.

I would too, but I don't think such context exists. They pick some interesting names; it was Operation Oak that took down Marlo Hyland, which I might nominate for GA soon... ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Personal life and death

• Nothing actionable here, just want to say that I'm glad Anne Marie got to live to see Felloni die.

Hear hear! ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Overall a well-written article, nicely done. @Ser!: Take a look at the above and let me know what you think at your convenience, I'm in no rush. I'll likely work on the source and image reviews tomorrow. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 21:23, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Thanks for the review! I've gone ahead and applied those fixes. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 11:14, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Everything looks great, thanks. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 17:56, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Image review

Might as well go ahead and knock this out since it's easy. Obviously would love a little more illustration for the article, but you can only work with what you're given re: copyright-free images. The lone image illustrates the subject well and has a proper fair use rationale. Suggest adding alt text, but not a GA requirement. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 21:35, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

Source review

Sourcing in general looks good. I have to say I'm surprised that Reynolds's book is only cited once, and for a fairly minor detail. It appears as if we have a pretty full picture painted from the other sources, and the GA criteria requires breadth as opposed to comprehensiveness, so it's not a dealbreaker, but is there a particular reason Reynolds isn't cited more heavily?

To be honest, at the time I didn't own the book so I was relying on the prior reference; having now acquired a copy of the book I'm able to add a little more detail thankfully. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:26, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

For the spot check, I'll be looking at reference #s 1, 3, 8, 12, 16, 17, 23, 27, 29, and 32 as of this version. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 17:56, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• 1: (a) ? The source backs up the birth year and Sicilian father bit, but I'm not seeing his dad's name. Do you know if it's included in the Reynolds source from later in the sentence? (b) Y (c) Y (d) ? The source says "released in the early 1990s" but the article says "1993".

It is included in the Reynolds source from what I've found, albeit misspelled. Will edit imminently and add. Have also moved the "Felloni family history" source to back the 1993 point up. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:26, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

• 3: (a) Y (b) Y (c) Y (d) ? Source says he spent time in Britain in "the late 1970s and early 1980s", article says he moved there in '80. (e) N Not seeing an appeal mentioned in the source.

Have moved the "Felloni family history" source to back up the first one, and added a different source to back the latter point up.

Short break, more to come. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 17:56, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

• 8: Have to highlight this quote from the source: Like Felloni's permed and dyed hairstyle in the 1980s, it is a cheap and nasty business. That's just too good. Anyway, (a) Y (b) Y (c) Y (d) ? The source mentions his mistress twice but seemingly only refers to one son, unless I'm missing something. (e) Y

Ha! Yes, brilliant line. Have amended the prior claim and number of children; I definitely remember another source backing this up, but can't find it. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:26, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

• 12: ? The source says His position as one of the country's biggest drug dealers was subsequently usurped by criminals such as Tony Felloni, John Gilligan and Christy Kinahan Senior., which doesn't quite jibe with Felloni usurped Dunne's position as the city's main dealer after Dunne was sentenced to jail.

Turns out again this is another issue of a different source saying something similar; the Williams source says When his old friend from Daingean, Larry Dunne, first introduced heroin to Dublin, Felloni became a business partner. When Dunne and his other brothers were jailed, Felloni took over the business. I'll try amend the wording. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:26, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

• 16: Y, though I'd like for the citation to be amended. It's currently cited to The Free Library, when it should actually be cited to a 1999 article from The Mirror, according to the byline. You could add a |via=thefreelibrary.com parameter perhaps.

Ahh, missed this one completely. Predates me. I'll fix. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:26, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

• 17: (a) Y (b) Y (c) ? The source says Of his seven children with his wife, all except one have spent long spells in jail and become heroin addicts, while the article claims six children with Anne. There was probably a mix-up at some point that attributed one of the kids to the mistress, resulting in the error in #8(d) above.

Yeah, this is probably where the confusion around how many children he had came from. It backs the quote at least, so hopefully this addresses that. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:26, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

• 23: Y

• 27: Y

• 29: Y

• 32: Y

Nothing too concerning here, but a few things to address. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 20:19, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

@Ser!: just realized that I forgot to ping you, apologies. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 14:23, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

No worries, thanks for the ping. I'm currently in the midst of completing a project so might have to put this on the long finger til later in the week, but will have a look at fixing these up as soon as I can. — ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:33, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

Not a problem, take your time. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 14:35, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

@DrOrinScrivello: I've addressed the issues above. I now have a copy of the Reynolds book so I may end up looking further into it and expanding it with details from that at some stage, but here's what I've got for now. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:26, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

That's what I figured was likely the case. It's great that you have the book now, though, and I encourage you to continue improving the article with it (especially if you ever decide to take it to FAC). But since the above fixes look good, I'm satisfied that the article as it stands meets the GA criteria, and am happy to pass it. Congratulations to Ser! and everyone else who worked on it! DrOrinScrivello (talk) 20:47, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)
It is reasonably well written. a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists): It is factually accurate and verifiable, as shown by a source spot-check. a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism): It is broad in its coverage. a (major aspects): b (focused): It follows the neutral point of view policy. Fair representation without bias: It is stable. No edit wars, etc.: It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate. a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
Overall: Pass/Fail:
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The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. You can locate your hook here. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Theleekycauldron (talk) 18:48, 26 January 2026 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

• ... that "King Scum" was blamed for "flooding" Dublin with heroin?

• Source: https://www.crimeworld.com/ireland/former-detective-says-garda-top-brass-didnt-see-drugs-threat-posed-by-king-scum-tony-felloni/a/103792521.html

• • ALT1: ... that "King Scum" once escaped from prison by pretending to be a solicitor?

• Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/no-light-in-sordid-fable-of-heroin-boss-felloni-1.209265

• • Reviewed:

Improved to Good Article status by Ser! (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 22:12, 26 December 2025 (UTC).

• I'll take this Ser!.
• Passed GA recently enough, long enough, checked very recently for BLP compliance, neutrality, COPYVIO etc. I'm inclined to agree with that assessment except as noted below. Putting this type of subject on the front page about a recently deceased person makes some people understandably tetchy, but I think we're okay there. Issues in the hook and article (lead and body) with MOS:QUOTEPOV and in the lead, WP:V's requirement that quotes are cited inline. I do believe? however that DYK doesn't mind issues with the first in a hook. Hook is interesting, reliably sourced in the body to reputable outlet, even if it reads a bit schlocky. Short enough, no QPQ needed - just the QUOTEPOV and WP:V issue then we're okay. Rollinginhisgrave (talk | edits) 07:33, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Hmm, thanks for the review @Rollinginhisgrave:. I think attributing the quote to a Sunday World journalist who, as much as he'd be a reliable source, isn't the main source of such a belief, wouldn't really look great in a DYK. That considered, I might look into an ALT form; if you've any strong thoughts on a potential alternative I'd be open to them, else I'll think on it myself. Thanks again, ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 09:35, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Reading the few mentions of MOS:QUOTEPOV in the WT:DYK archives, I think that the hook should be fine for that piece of the MOS. If you want to change the article, attributing in the body (even if it's not great) and then putting in plain English what it means in the lead instead of the flood quote (e.g. "blamed for the volume of heroin") would address all concerns. Rollinginhisgrave (talk | edits) 10:34, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Upoon thinking about it, I've figured out there's actually a more interesting piece of info I can go with here. @Rollinginhisgrave: how's this one? ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 16:38, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

That one's great, super interesting (verified, inline cite etc). We still have to handle the QUOTEPOV/WP:V issue -- I can go in and do it myself if it is not clear what needs to be done, then we're ready to pass. Rollinginhisgrave (talk | edits) 17:11, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Ahh, my bad - misread that as being about the DYK itself rather than the page. Would be appreciated if you could have a go at it, thanks. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 17:36, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Now done. Rollinginhisgrave (talk | edits) 01:35, 1 January 2026 (UTC)