McLaughlin was a former boxer and a member of the "The McLaughlin Brothers" gang of Charlestown, Massachusetts. In his book, "My Life in the Mafia", Vincent Teresa, described Edward as, "Punchy was just as crazy as George...a legbreaker for the longshoreman's union. Punchy was a cuckoo and as hotheaded as they came". McLaughlin was a suspect in the 1957 murder of a fellow ex-boxer, Tommy Sullivan, who allegedly tore McLaughlin's upper left ear off during a barroom brawl. Punchy McLaughlin's legitimate occupations over the years included work as a seaman, a union delegate, laborer, longshoreman and as a union organizer. The McLaughlin brothers had been known to also perform hits for gangs all over New England, including the Winter Hill Gang and the Patriarca crime family, but later became e