Top Ten Gangsters by guest contributor Dr. Sweatshirt
Top Ten Gangsters
Now then, how do you choose a top ten of gangsters? I mean, how do you rate them? Number of people they killed? The amount of money they made? The number of rackets they created? Well, actually, that's more or less how I've done it. These were the very best at what they did. Read on and enjoy my top ten of the craziest, meanest killers, thugs, and all-round-not-very-nice people, the like of which, you will hopefully never meet.
Content for the Top 10 Gangsters was culled from a variety of sources but, mostly, from my own library of books, which was pored through, endlessly. Two other sources of reference which I found extremely useful were: The Crime Files CD-ROM, which had content written by "The Guvnor", the legendary Elkan Allan, and was designed, project managed and, in part, programmed by me! Also, The Crime Library at www.crimelibrary.com is an absolutely wonderful web site with such a vast amount of fascinating information. I urge you to visit it.
Now then, how do you choose a top ten of gangsters? I mean, how do you rate them? Number of people they killed? The amount of money they made? The number of rackets they created? Well, actually, that's more or less how I've done it. These were the very best at what they did. Read on and enjoy my top ten of the craziest, meanest killers, thugs, and all-round-not-very-nice people, the like of which, you will hopefully never meet.
Content for the Top 10 Gangsters was culled from a variety of sources but, mostly, from my own library of books, which was pored through, endlessly. Two other sources of reference which I found extremely useful were: The Crime Files CD-ROM, which had content written by "The Guvnor", the legendary Elkan Allan, and was designed, project managed and, in part, programmed by me! Also, The Crime Library at www.crimelibrary.com is an absolutely wonderful web site with such a vast amount of fascinating information. I urge you to visit it.
10. Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante
The Chin
Vincent "The Chin" Gigante became a familiar sight, wandering around the streets of Greenwich Village, a shabby, demented old man, dressed in striped pyjamas, slippers and a royal blue robe, grinning and talking to himself and looking like an injured old bird. "God is my lawyer," he told a psychiatrist. "He will defend me." Was he a crazed loon or a vicious mobster controlling New York's Genovese crime family? Oh, I think we can safely assume that he was in full possession of not only his own marbles, but everyone else's too.
Between 1969 and 1990 he booked himself into his local rubber room 22 times. He first began to feign mental illness to beat a conspiracy rap in 1970 and found that the ploy worked. Psychiatrists told the court that he was a "paranoid schizophrenic, suffering from hallucinations." This actually did get the charges dropped! His success encouraged him to use his mental frailty as a device to wriggle out of trouble on numerous occasions over the years.
However, the only person who his act cut no sway with, was his mother. When told that her son was being indicted for being the boss of the biggest, most powerful Cosa Nostra family in America, his then-88 year-old mother shouted, "Vincenzo? He is the boss of the toilet!" Parents, don't you just love them to death?
Between 1969 and 1990 he booked himself into his local rubber room 22 times. He first began to feign mental illness to beat a conspiracy rap in 1970 and found that the ploy worked. Psychiatrists told the court that he was a "paranoid schizophrenic, suffering from hallucinations." This actually did get the charges dropped! His success encouraged him to use his mental frailty as a device to wriggle out of trouble on numerous occasions over the years.
However, the only person who his act cut no sway with, was his mother. When told that her son was being indicted for being the boss of the biggest, most powerful Cosa Nostra family in America, his then-88 year-old mother shouted, "Vincenzo? He is the boss of the toilet!" Parents, don't you just love them to death?
9. Benjamin "Don't Call Me Bugsy!" Siegel
'Don't Call Me Bugsy!' Siegel
Ben Siegel was a sociopath. He wanted it, he took it. Not known for his patience, Ben knew right from wrong, he just didn't care (actually, I rather like that in a person) and he used and abused people as he saw fit.
The nickname Bugsy was earned early on in his career due to his tendency to "go bugs" without warning. He didn't like the moniker and anyone who used the nickname to his face was either stupid or had a concrete welly fetish. He preferred his friends to call him Ben. If you weren't his friend, "Mr. Siegel" was considered a better form of address.
Mr Siegel felt that his various rackets on the East Coast were all well and good, but the money was to be made in the Nevada desert. Las Vegas: The Flamingo, to be precise. After a few false starts and having made more than his fair share of enemies, Bugsy seemed to actually be turning the Flamingo into a going concern.
On the evening of June 20, 1947, Bugsy returned home and was lolling about on the sofa, in front of an open window, reading the evening papers when, around 10:30 pm, a barrage of bullets embedded Bugsy into the chintz. The first shot hit Bugsy in the head, blowing his eye 15 feet from his body. Cool! Four more bullets fired from a .30-06 dismembered his body, breaking his ribs and tearing up his lungs. Smokin'! Even though Bugsy's slaying was front-page news across the country, just five people - all relatives - attended Ben's funeral. Who killed Bugsy Siegel has never really been answered, but there is no shortage of theories.
The nickname Bugsy was earned early on in his career due to his tendency to "go bugs" without warning. He didn't like the moniker and anyone who used the nickname to his face was either stupid or had a concrete welly fetish. He preferred his friends to call him Ben. If you weren't his friend, "Mr. Siegel" was considered a better form of address.
Mr Siegel felt that his various rackets on the East Coast were all well and good, but the money was to be made in the Nevada desert. Las Vegas: The Flamingo, to be precise. After a few false starts and having made more than his fair share of enemies, Bugsy seemed to actually be turning the Flamingo into a going concern.
On the evening of June 20, 1947, Bugsy returned home and was lolling about on the sofa, in front of an open window, reading the evening papers when, around 10:30 pm, a barrage of bullets embedded Bugsy into the chintz. The first shot hit Bugsy in the head, blowing his eye 15 feet from his body. Cool! Four more bullets fired from a .30-06 dismembered his body, breaking his ribs and tearing up his lungs. Smokin'! Even though Bugsy's slaying was front-page news across the country, just five people - all relatives - attended Ben's funeral. Who killed Bugsy Siegel has never really been answered, but there is no shortage of theories.
8. Joe Valachi
Joe Valachi
In September 1963, Joe Valachi, trying to save himself from some severe federal punishment, appeared as the star witness before a government inquiry into the mob - "The McClellan Committee". On national TV, Joe told his sordid tale. The American public had their first view of a real mobster, testifying about his life in the Cosa Nostra.
Joe Valachi was a butt-ugly, short, squat, bandy-legged little bulldog of a man. Chain-smoking three packs of Camels a day, he dished the dirt on the Mafia. For the first time the American public heard about omerta, about blood oaths, about soldiers and buttons, capos and consiglieri, and all the details of a vast, organised criminal syndicate. All this from a man who had admitted to being involved in 33 murders!
He revealed the existence of five crime families in New York and one in New Jersey. He placed other families in Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa, Boston and Providence, identifying bosses and senior men in each group. He confirmed that there were at least 2000 "made" men in New York, and personally identified 289 of the 383 hoodlums that had been profiled by investigators.
Valachi did not do things by halves. He was not the first mobster to turn but he was the first to do it on camera. Following his hit TV show, Valachi returned to prison and wrote the book of his movie. Whilst it might have felt better to get it all off his chest, all his book succeeded in doing was creating one hell of a fuss. He was moved to a less comfortable jail, for his troubles, and following a bout of depression he attempted suicide. The final straw appeared to be the removal from his cell of a small, portable hot plate and grill he used to cook himself a few delicacies.
Valachi eventually died several years later, in 1971 having survived his old enemy and the man he ratted out to the feds, Vito Genovese, by two years and two months.
Joe Valachi was a butt-ugly, short, squat, bandy-legged little bulldog of a man. Chain-smoking three packs of Camels a day, he dished the dirt on the Mafia. For the first time the American public heard about omerta, about blood oaths, about soldiers and buttons, capos and consiglieri, and all the details of a vast, organised criminal syndicate. All this from a man who had admitted to being involved in 33 murders!
He revealed the existence of five crime families in New York and one in New Jersey. He placed other families in Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa, Boston and Providence, identifying bosses and senior men in each group. He confirmed that there were at least 2000 "made" men in New York, and personally identified 289 of the 383 hoodlums that had been profiled by investigators.
Valachi did not do things by halves. He was not the first mobster to turn but he was the first to do it on camera. Following his hit TV show, Valachi returned to prison and wrote the book of his movie. Whilst it might have felt better to get it all off his chest, all his book succeeded in doing was creating one hell of a fuss. He was moved to a less comfortable jail, for his troubles, and following a bout of depression he attempted suicide. The final straw appeared to be the removal from his cell of a small, portable hot plate and grill he used to cook himself a few delicacies.
Valachi eventually died several years later, in 1971 having survived his old enemy and the man he ratted out to the feds, Vito Genovese, by two years and two months.
7. Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano
The Bull
Now what can you say about Sammy "The Bull" Gravano? Well, apart from the fact that his nickname was "The Bull" and his real name was Sammy, you could say he wore a rat jacket of the type first modelled by Joe Valachi. Sammy Gravano, could also sing - LIKE A CANARY!
Sammy came up through the ranks of the Gambino crime family and became a trusted member of Paul Castellano's crew. Indeed, Sammy's rackets brought a lot of money to Big Paulie's table and he was a well-respected wiseguy.
As John Gotti gained strength and power within Castellano's organisation and decided that he wanted to be capo di tutti capi, he enlisted Gravano's help and support in arranging, and carrying out, the Sparks Steak House assassination. Gravano became Gotti's second in command and the two controlled some of the most profitable rackets in New York before Gotti became paranoid about Gravano's loyalty.
Whilst being detained at the FBI's pleasure on another matter, FBI agents, looking to turn a major mobster state's evidence, played Gravano a surveillance tape they had of Gotti discussing Gravano's dealings, in less than complementary terms. That did the trick. Gravano, seeking revenge, told everything he knew about everything and everyone, in return for a light sentence and a place in the witness protection program. Solids hit rotating, oscillating, cooling devices and, whilst Gotti and many others face many years in state-funded accommodations, The Bull lives out his life in parts unknown.
Sammy came up through the ranks of the Gambino crime family and became a trusted member of Paul Castellano's crew. Indeed, Sammy's rackets brought a lot of money to Big Paulie's table and he was a well-respected wiseguy.
As John Gotti gained strength and power within Castellano's organisation and decided that he wanted to be capo di tutti capi, he enlisted Gravano's help and support in arranging, and carrying out, the Sparks Steak House assassination. Gravano became Gotti's second in command and the two controlled some of the most profitable rackets in New York before Gotti became paranoid about Gravano's loyalty.
Whilst being detained at the FBI's pleasure on another matter, FBI agents, looking to turn a major mobster state's evidence, played Gravano a surveillance tape they had of Gotti discussing Gravano's dealings, in less than complementary terms. That did the trick. Gravano, seeking revenge, told everything he knew about everything and everyone, in return for a light sentence and a place in the witness protection program. Solids hit rotating, oscillating, cooling devices and, whilst Gotti and many others face many years in state-funded accommodations, The Bull lives out his life in parts unknown.
6. Sam "Momo" Giancana
Sam G
Sam G, or Momo to his friends, is everyone's idea of a mobster. The mean looks, the ever-present shades and a CV that runs like a Mafia highlights reel: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, the creation of the Chicago mob, the JFK and Bobby Kennedy assassinations, the murder of Marilyn Monroe, the list goes on and on. Oh yeah, Momo's been there, done that and owned the T-shirt concession!
In at the very dawn of the Cosa Nostra, he took full advantage of the bad times. Using people for his own ends, then discarding them by whatever means necessary, once their usefulness had run out, Sam G was the mobster's mobster. If he did feel one emotion, it was the joy of killing.
Murder dominates his story. It eliminated his rivals, made witnesses disappear, eradicated competitionand served up revenge. Time magazine wrote, "Giancana was just a killer, that's all. And he was proud of it. As boss, if there was a problem, he'd listen to a very brief description and then say, 'Hit him! Hit him!' …Giancana would cuss and scream and howl and try to intimidate you. He was, in almost every respect, a savage."
In at the very dawn of the Cosa Nostra, he took full advantage of the bad times. Using people for his own ends, then discarding them by whatever means necessary, once their usefulness had run out, Sam G was the mobster's mobster. If he did feel one emotion, it was the joy of killing.
Murder dominates his story. It eliminated his rivals, made witnesses disappear, eradicated competitionand served up revenge. Time magazine wrote, "Giancana was just a killer, that's all. And he was proud of it. As boss, if there was a problem, he'd listen to a very brief description and then say, 'Hit him! Hit him!' …Giancana would cuss and scream and howl and try to intimidate you. He was, in almost every respect, a savage."
5. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow
Bunny and Claude
Bonnie and Clyde were not Mafiosi, but they were gangsters. They stole, they cheated, and they killed. They led the authorities a merry old dance as they tore through Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, and New Mexico during their depression years crime spree. Whether or not they were an actual love match is still the subject of intense debate, even today. It is unlikely. Clyde Barrow's passion was, almost certainly, not for females. He was a violent, crazy, mixed up individual who was probably incapable of forming a meaningful relationship with anybody, man, woman, or dog.
To the people of the time, their crimes were not seen as despicable. Out in America's Heartland, they robbed banks that were foreclosing on farms. They destroyed loan agreements and bank records. As far as the people were concerned they were striking a blow for the smallholder; they were latter-day Robin Hoods. One of them was female which added an element that Dillinger, 'Pretty Boy' Floyd, 'Baby Face' Nelson et al could not offer a public seeking an escape for the dreadful reality of the day. To the FBI they were mangy yellow dogs who needed to be stopped, as soon as possible.
They always knew that they would die; it was only a matter of time. After many chases, escapes and gunfights, Federal Agents ambushed Bonnie & Clyde on May 23, 1934. Their stolen Ford V8 sedan was riddled with bullets from all sides as agents, determined that they should not escape again, brought their wild-ride to an end.
To the people of the time, their crimes were not seen as despicable. Out in America's Heartland, they robbed banks that were foreclosing on farms. They destroyed loan agreements and bank records. As far as the people were concerned they were striking a blow for the smallholder; they were latter-day Robin Hoods. One of them was female which added an element that Dillinger, 'Pretty Boy' Floyd, 'Baby Face' Nelson et al could not offer a public seeking an escape for the dreadful reality of the day. To the FBI they were mangy yellow dogs who needed to be stopped, as soon as possible.
They always knew that they would die; it was only a matter of time. After many chases, escapes and gunfights, Federal Agents ambushed Bonnie & Clyde on May 23, 1934. Their stolen Ford V8 sedan was riddled with bullets from all sides as agents, determined that they should not escape again, brought their wild-ride to an end.
4. John Gotti - 'The Teflon Don'
His Teflonness
John Gotti's story is heavily intertwined with that of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's, certainly in the later years. That story you already know because it is at number 7!
But what of Gotti? Was he just a street punk who caught a lucky break and managed to be in the right place at the right time? Did he really have the luck of old BL himself? Was he just misunderstood?
Well, the answers are basically, yes, yes, and no. Yes, Gotti was a street punk with a violent streak, who caught a lucky break by being in the right place at the right time. Yes, he did seem to be charmed for a while there. But, no, he was not misunderstood. He was a greedy, man who let no-one stand in his way when he was striving to get what he wanted.
Mind you, to a certain extent, he earned his reputation too. As a youngster, he became close to Carlo Gambino when he carried out a revenge killing for the old man. This earned him a stay at a government facility and much respect from the old man. When he came out, he quickly became the right-hand man to Gambino's underboss (and Gotti's mentor) Anniello (Neil) Dellacroce.
When the old man died, his named successor was Paul Castellano. Whilst Dellacroce lived, Gotti would make no move against Castellano, out of respect for his boss. After Dellacroce died from cancer, Gotti and Sammy Gravano saw to it that Castellano did not outlive Dellacroce by long.
Once Gotti took charge of the Gambino crime family, he became the focal point for the FBI's racketeering (RICO) investigation. "The Dapper Don" became a high profile media celebrity and he managed to wriggle out of trouble on such a regular basis that the press nicknamed him "The Teflon Don", because nothing would stick to him! Until he tried to stitch up Sammy "The Bull", that is.
John Gotti will only ever leave prison feet first.
But what of Gotti? Was he just a street punk who caught a lucky break and managed to be in the right place at the right time? Did he really have the luck of old BL himself? Was he just misunderstood?
Well, the answers are basically, yes, yes, and no. Yes, Gotti was a street punk with a violent streak, who caught a lucky break by being in the right place at the right time. Yes, he did seem to be charmed for a while there. But, no, he was not misunderstood. He was a greedy, man who let no-one stand in his way when he was striving to get what he wanted.
Mind you, to a certain extent, he earned his reputation too. As a youngster, he became close to Carlo Gambino when he carried out a revenge killing for the old man. This earned him a stay at a government facility and much respect from the old man. When he came out, he quickly became the right-hand man to Gambino's underboss (and Gotti's mentor) Anniello (Neil) Dellacroce.
When the old man died, his named successor was Paul Castellano. Whilst Dellacroce lived, Gotti would make no move against Castellano, out of respect for his boss. After Dellacroce died from cancer, Gotti and Sammy Gravano saw to it that Castellano did not outlive Dellacroce by long.
Once Gotti took charge of the Gambino crime family, he became the focal point for the FBI's racketeering (RICO) investigation. "The Dapper Don" became a high profile media celebrity and he managed to wriggle out of trouble on such a regular basis that the press nicknamed him "The Teflon Don", because nothing would stick to him! Until he tried to stitch up Sammy "The Bull", that is.
John Gotti will only ever leave prison feet first.
3. J. Edgar Hoover
Sucked like a Dyson, apparently.
When President Richard Nixon heard the news of Hoover's death, he allegedly remarked: "Jesus Christ! That old cocksucker!" Publicly, he called Hoover a "truly remarkable man" and "one of his closest friends and advisers." Hoover was either loved or loathed. Everyone feared him but no one ever disrespected him to his face.
Rumours about his sexual proclivities and his penchant for red frocks persist years after his death. Whatever the truth about his peccadilloes - crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside - and his personal sartorial preferences, the fact remains that he did a good job. Besides, I like red; it's my favourite colour.
When Hoover assumed control of the FBI in 1924 corruption was rife throughout the organisation. Ironically, Hoover's first task in office was to cut the number of staff and cease the collection of lifestyle information on suspects! It was not until President Roosevelt reinstated this directive in 1936 that Hoover began to keep his files on peoples activities and political beliefs. His initial appointment was as Acting Director of the FBI, but contrary to advice given to him, the Attorney General appointed Hoover to the position of Director for life, on Dec 10 1924.
Undoubtedly, Hoover cleaned house, firing the corrupt and the incompetent, employing the dedicated, honest, effective types that he felt were needed to win the war on the escalating crime that was destroying society. Over the years he created one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the world. However, his total power was awesome and no one was spared from the files that he kept, no one.
But was he a transvestite who liked dressing up in red farty procks? Who knows? No one has ever proved that he actually ever had any kind of sexual relationship at all. He never had any recorded "date" with anyone of any sex. He dressed like a dandy. He lived with his mother until she died in 1938. He had classical male nude statues in his garden.
Following the death of Hoover's mother, Clyde Tolson, Hoover's Deputy lived with him. They went on holiday with together, attended private and public engagements together. In short, they were inseparable until Hoover's death on May 2nd 1972, but there was never anything to suggest anything other than a genuine friendship between the two men.
Hoover reigned supreme over the FBI for 53 years. He built the organisation to his rules and ran it strictly. How many people can truly say that they did it their way?
Rumours about his sexual proclivities and his penchant for red frocks persist years after his death. Whatever the truth about his peccadilloes - crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside - and his personal sartorial preferences, the fact remains that he did a good job. Besides, I like red; it's my favourite colour.
When Hoover assumed control of the FBI in 1924 corruption was rife throughout the organisation. Ironically, Hoover's first task in office was to cut the number of staff and cease the collection of lifestyle information on suspects! It was not until President Roosevelt reinstated this directive in 1936 that Hoover began to keep his files on peoples activities and political beliefs. His initial appointment was as Acting Director of the FBI, but contrary to advice given to him, the Attorney General appointed Hoover to the position of Director for life, on Dec 10 1924.
Undoubtedly, Hoover cleaned house, firing the corrupt and the incompetent, employing the dedicated, honest, effective types that he felt were needed to win the war on the escalating crime that was destroying society. Over the years he created one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the world. However, his total power was awesome and no one was spared from the files that he kept, no one.
But was he a transvestite who liked dressing up in red farty procks? Who knows? No one has ever proved that he actually ever had any kind of sexual relationship at all. He never had any recorded "date" with anyone of any sex. He dressed like a dandy. He lived with his mother until she died in 1938. He had classical male nude statues in his garden.
Following the death of Hoover's mother, Clyde Tolson, Hoover's Deputy lived with him. They went on holiday with together, attended private and public engagements together. In short, they were inseparable until Hoover's death on May 2nd 1972, but there was never anything to suggest anything other than a genuine friendship between the two men.
Hoover reigned supreme over the FBI for 53 years. He built the organisation to his rules and ran it strictly. How many people can truly say that they did it their way?
2. Al 'Snorky' Capone
Scarface
"Honey, you have a nice ass and I mean that as a compliment." And so Al Capone got one of his nicknames: Scarface. So incensed was the young ladies' escort at that remark, that he carved three deep lines in Capone's face. You never mentioned the scars. Alphonse Capone was a vain man.
He was not, however, a cultured man, no matter how much he tried to portray that image to the public. He had a taste for the high-life, for sure, his suits were cut from the finest cloth, his shoes hand-made and his nails manicured but he was, essentially a coarse, vulgar thug with a very unpleasant temper.
Young Capone learned everything he knew from one Johnny Torrio. Torrio was a new breed of gangster, a pioneer in the development of a modern criminal enterprise. It was he who turned organised crime into the corporate affair that it is today. Capone learned and used it to found the criminal empire he would construct in Chicago: gambling, brothels, illegal alcohol, protection, numbers.
Chicago was a perfect place to build a criminal empire. It was a rowdy, pugnacious, hard-drinking town that was open to anyone with enough money to buy it. It was a strictly commercial town with no appetite for snobbery and unlike New York, "old money" did not impress anyone. In Chicago, old money, was last week's pay packet.
Political corruption was a tradition and the city became known for its wealth and sexual promiscuity. It was into this vast criminal enterprise that Torrio brought twenty-two-year-old Al Capone from his honest bookkeeping job in Baltimore. In 1920, the flesh trade was becoming the province of organised crime. Brothels could earn $50,000 per month, or more.
Capone's brutal reign involved violence, election rigging (by whatever means necessary) and, very nearly, an all-out war with the Chicago Police Dept after officers shot Capone's brother Frank. Chicago Police Chief Collins even sent the same cops who had shot Frank to death, to observe his funeral.
Capone's temper stayed under control for about five weeks, until a small-time hoodlum, Joe Howard, used incredibly poor judgement and called Capone a dago pimp, to his face. Capone shot Howard dead. William McSwiggin, the "hanging prosecutor" decided to get Capone, but, amazingly, he wasn't able to win a conviction, as eyewitnesses suffered from an epidemic of amnesia. Capone got away with murder and was The Teflon Don of his day. Like Gotti 60 years later, he had broken his mentor's cardinal rule: anonymity.
When rival gangster and florist Dion O' Bannion stitched up Johnny Torrio over a bootleg liquor deal, Capone returned the favour only Dion didn't end up in jail like Torrio, Capone had him killed. Capone even paid for the funeral! O Bannion's friend "Hymie" Weiss knew exactly who was responsible, and vowed revenge. From then on, both Capone and Torrio kept an eye open for Weiss and another Dion associate, Bugs Moran.
In January of 1925, Bugs Moran tried to assassinate Capone. His big mistake was that he failed. Torrio, who had left Chicago, in fear of his life, returned. He and his wife had just returned from a shopping trip when Weiss and Moran jumped out of a car and shot Torrio in the chest, neck, right arm and groin. Moran held a gun to Torrio's temple and pulled the trigger, but the firing chamber was empty. Capone took care of business in Torrio's absence.
In March of 1925 Torrio announced that he was retiring from the Chicago rackets and going to live abroad. He was not the same after the shooting incident. He was turning over his vast assets to Al: nightclubs, whorehouses, gambling joints, breweries and speakeasies. Capone's power increased exponentially.
By 1929, Capone was seemingly, unassailable, but once again having trouble with, Bugs Moran. Moran was lucky to still be alive, considering that he had tried to kill Capone, and had almost despatched Torrio four years earlier. His luck was about to run out. On February 14th 1929, Moran and 6 members of his gang were lured to a Chicago garage on the pretence of buying bootleg liquor at an attractive price. Whilst they were doing the deal, four men dressed as police officers appeared and ordered the men to stand against the wall. Being raided was nothing new in Chicago. The "police officers" took the gangsters' guns and opened fire on the seven men lined up against the wall.
The St Valentine's Day Massacre became a national media event. Capone had a perfect alibi...he was in Florida.
Capone loved his new found celebrity status even using Damon Runyon as his press agent. He loved playing the part of a self-made millionaire who could show those Wall Street big shots a thing or two about doing business in America. No one was indifferent to Capone; everyone had an opinion about him. Everyone knew Al Capone.
With the publicity came interest. Interest from unwanted sources. Capone didn't consider it to be important - he had more pressing business to attend to. Evidence was mounting that three of his Sicilian colleagues were causing problems. Capone hosted a dinner for the three guests of honour. He even observed the old tradition: hospitality before execution. They ate their fill before Capone confronted them. Having left their guns in the cloakroom, they were defenceless. Capone's bodyguards lashed them to their chairs with wire and gagged them. Capone got up, holding a baseball bat. Slowly, he walked the length of the table and halted behind the first guest of honour. With both hands he lifted the bat and slammed it down full force. Slowly, methodically, he struck again and again, breaking bones in the man's shoulders, arms and chest. He moved to the next man and, when he had reduced him to mangled flesh and bone, to the third. One of the bodyguards then fetched his revolver from the cloakroom and shot each man in the back of the head.
Eventually, Capone's reign was bound to end. It was essential to both J. Edgar Hoover and President Herbert Hoover. The glorification of violence that had followed The St Valentine's Day Massacre had been too much to bear.
Whilst incorruptible Federal agent Eliot Ness had been gnawing away at Capone, on the bootlegging side of operations, the IRS had known about an irregularity in Capone's 1924 tax return for almost six years. Now they had to use it, or forget about it, before the six-year statute of limitations ran out. They decided to move.
On June 5, 1931 Capone was charged with 22 counts of tax evasion. A week later, he and 68 members of his gang were jointly charged with some 5000 infringements of the Volstead Act.
Capone faced a possible 34 years in jail but the prosecution, worried about technical aspects of their case, accepted a deal and agreed to recommend a sentence between 2 and 5 years. However, what no one banked on was that the judge would come in and swap juries. Faced with a jury that he hadn't bought off, and couldn't get to, Capone was in serious trouble.
Eventually, on October 17, 1931, after nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Capone guilty on some charges, not guilty on others. A week later, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison, shocking everyone.
He was not, however, a cultured man, no matter how much he tried to portray that image to the public. He had a taste for the high-life, for sure, his suits were cut from the finest cloth, his shoes hand-made and his nails manicured but he was, essentially a coarse, vulgar thug with a very unpleasant temper.
Young Capone learned everything he knew from one Johnny Torrio. Torrio was a new breed of gangster, a pioneer in the development of a modern criminal enterprise. It was he who turned organised crime into the corporate affair that it is today. Capone learned and used it to found the criminal empire he would construct in Chicago: gambling, brothels, illegal alcohol, protection, numbers.
Chicago was a perfect place to build a criminal empire. It was a rowdy, pugnacious, hard-drinking town that was open to anyone with enough money to buy it. It was a strictly commercial town with no appetite for snobbery and unlike New York, "old money" did not impress anyone. In Chicago, old money, was last week's pay packet.
Political corruption was a tradition and the city became known for its wealth and sexual promiscuity. It was into this vast criminal enterprise that Torrio brought twenty-two-year-old Al Capone from his honest bookkeeping job in Baltimore. In 1920, the flesh trade was becoming the province of organised crime. Brothels could earn $50,000 per month, or more.
Capone's brutal reign involved violence, election rigging (by whatever means necessary) and, very nearly, an all-out war with the Chicago Police Dept after officers shot Capone's brother Frank. Chicago Police Chief Collins even sent the same cops who had shot Frank to death, to observe his funeral.
Capone's temper stayed under control for about five weeks, until a small-time hoodlum, Joe Howard, used incredibly poor judgement and called Capone a dago pimp, to his face. Capone shot Howard dead. William McSwiggin, the "hanging prosecutor" decided to get Capone, but, amazingly, he wasn't able to win a conviction, as eyewitnesses suffered from an epidemic of amnesia. Capone got away with murder and was The Teflon Don of his day. Like Gotti 60 years later, he had broken his mentor's cardinal rule: anonymity.
When rival gangster and florist Dion O' Bannion stitched up Johnny Torrio over a bootleg liquor deal, Capone returned the favour only Dion didn't end up in jail like Torrio, Capone had him killed. Capone even paid for the funeral! O Bannion's friend "Hymie" Weiss knew exactly who was responsible, and vowed revenge. From then on, both Capone and Torrio kept an eye open for Weiss and another Dion associate, Bugs Moran.
In January of 1925, Bugs Moran tried to assassinate Capone. His big mistake was that he failed. Torrio, who had left Chicago, in fear of his life, returned. He and his wife had just returned from a shopping trip when Weiss and Moran jumped out of a car and shot Torrio in the chest, neck, right arm and groin. Moran held a gun to Torrio's temple and pulled the trigger, but the firing chamber was empty. Capone took care of business in Torrio's absence.
In March of 1925 Torrio announced that he was retiring from the Chicago rackets and going to live abroad. He was not the same after the shooting incident. He was turning over his vast assets to Al: nightclubs, whorehouses, gambling joints, breweries and speakeasies. Capone's power increased exponentially.
By 1929, Capone was seemingly, unassailable, but once again having trouble with, Bugs Moran. Moran was lucky to still be alive, considering that he had tried to kill Capone, and had almost despatched Torrio four years earlier. His luck was about to run out. On February 14th 1929, Moran and 6 members of his gang were lured to a Chicago garage on the pretence of buying bootleg liquor at an attractive price. Whilst they were doing the deal, four men dressed as police officers appeared and ordered the men to stand against the wall. Being raided was nothing new in Chicago. The "police officers" took the gangsters' guns and opened fire on the seven men lined up against the wall.
The St Valentine's Day Massacre became a national media event. Capone had a perfect alibi...he was in Florida.
Capone loved his new found celebrity status even using Damon Runyon as his press agent. He loved playing the part of a self-made millionaire who could show those Wall Street big shots a thing or two about doing business in America. No one was indifferent to Capone; everyone had an opinion about him. Everyone knew Al Capone.
With the publicity came interest. Interest from unwanted sources. Capone didn't consider it to be important - he had more pressing business to attend to. Evidence was mounting that three of his Sicilian colleagues were causing problems. Capone hosted a dinner for the three guests of honour. He even observed the old tradition: hospitality before execution. They ate their fill before Capone confronted them. Having left their guns in the cloakroom, they were defenceless. Capone's bodyguards lashed them to their chairs with wire and gagged them. Capone got up, holding a baseball bat. Slowly, he walked the length of the table and halted behind the first guest of honour. With both hands he lifted the bat and slammed it down full force. Slowly, methodically, he struck again and again, breaking bones in the man's shoulders, arms and chest. He moved to the next man and, when he had reduced him to mangled flesh and bone, to the third. One of the bodyguards then fetched his revolver from the cloakroom and shot each man in the back of the head.
Eventually, Capone's reign was bound to end. It was essential to both J. Edgar Hoover and President Herbert Hoover. The glorification of violence that had followed The St Valentine's Day Massacre had been too much to bear.
Whilst incorruptible Federal agent Eliot Ness had been gnawing away at Capone, on the bootlegging side of operations, the IRS had known about an irregularity in Capone's 1924 tax return for almost six years. Now they had to use it, or forget about it, before the six-year statute of limitations ran out. They decided to move.
On June 5, 1931 Capone was charged with 22 counts of tax evasion. A week later, he and 68 members of his gang were jointly charged with some 5000 infringements of the Volstead Act.
Capone faced a possible 34 years in jail but the prosecution, worried about technical aspects of their case, accepted a deal and agreed to recommend a sentence between 2 and 5 years. However, what no one banked on was that the judge would come in and swap juries. Faced with a jury that he hadn't bought off, and couldn't get to, Capone was in serious trouble.
Eventually, on October 17, 1931, after nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Capone guilty on some charges, not guilty on others. A week later, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison, shocking everyone.
Alcatraz - then
|
Alcatraz - now
|
Initially his stay in prison was comfortable but, in August of 1934, Capone was sent to Alcatraz. His days of living like a king in prison were gone. Capone could run nothing from Alcatraz; he wouldn't even know what was happening outside. There were no smuggled letters or messages. All incoming letters were censored, then retyped by guards with prohibited subjects omitted. This included the faintest whiff of business or the doings of former associates. Censors excised even mention of current events. No newspapers were allowed and only magazines more than seven months old were allowed. The only source of news was new arrivals. At best, prisoners could write one letter a week, rigorously censored, and only to their immediate family members. Only immediate family could visit, only two of them each month, and they had to write the warden for permission each time. Visitors and prisoners made no physical contact. They sat on opposite sides of plate glass.
Whilst he coped reasonably well mentally with his incarceration, his health deteriorated. The syphilis that he had contracted as a young man was moving into the tertiary stage. By 1938, he was confused and disoriented. Al spent the last year of his sentence, which had been reduced to six years and five months for a combination of good behaviour and work credits, in the hospital section being treated for syphilis. He was released in November of 1939. Mae, Capone's wife, took him to a hospital in Baltimore where he was treated until March of 1940.
For his remaining years, Al slowly deteriorated in the quiet splendour of his Palm Island palace. On January 25, 1947 he died of cardiac arrest, his grieving family surrounding him. He survived, Andrew Volstead, author of the Volstead Act that ushered in the era of Prohibition from 1920 to 1933, by one week.
Whilst he coped reasonably well mentally with his incarceration, his health deteriorated. The syphilis that he had contracted as a young man was moving into the tertiary stage. By 1938, he was confused and disoriented. Al spent the last year of his sentence, which had been reduced to six years and five months for a combination of good behaviour and work credits, in the hospital section being treated for syphilis. He was released in November of 1939. Mae, Capone's wife, took him to a hospital in Baltimore where he was treated until March of 1940.
For his remaining years, Al slowly deteriorated in the quiet splendour of his Palm Island palace. On January 25, 1947 he died of cardiac arrest, his grieving family surrounding him. He survived, Andrew Volstead, author of the Volstead Act that ushered in the era of Prohibition from 1920 to 1933, by one week.
John Dillinger at a press conference
Crown Point Prison Indiana
1. John Dillinger - 'The Public Enemy'
John Dillinger was good looking, charming, dangerous. He was Public Enemy No 1.
More importantly, he was the Public Enemy No 1. No one else captivated America before, or since, in quite the way that Dillinger did.
Like Bonnie and Clyde, the Dillinger Gang - John Dillinger, Harry Pierpoint and "Baby Face" Nelson - were celebrities. Their exploits were closely followed by a Depression-weary American public. They were the soap opera stars of their time. They were bad guys, yes, but they did it with such style and panache that they were revered like movie stars. Besides, who were they hurting? The Banks? They stole from the banks that were taking peoples homes and businesses away. It seemed to the American public like a fair exchange. Anyway, wasn't Dillinger good-looking?
Possibly, in Washington, J. Edgar Hoover did think that Dillinger was good looking, but he couldn't have this gang running riot, mocking and taunting the Authorities the way they were doing. Not only was the Dillinger gang robbing banks throughout the American Midwest, but Dillinger, having been captured by Tucson police and deported to the "inescapable" Crown Point prison in Indiana, promptly escaped using a "gun" fashioned from a bar of soap and a can of boot polish. Following his escape, Dillinger mailed the "gun " to his sister! What made matters worse was that, on his arrival at Crown Point, Dillinger had appeared on a newsreel with the cops and prison officials, looking like they were all good friends. The Prison warden had allowed 1500 visitors into his facility in what was a showcase presentation of America's most famous criminal's capture. It turned into a public relations nightmare. And it wouldn't be the last that Dillinger would hand them.
Hoover was livid. He saw Dillinger and his gang as a threat to the national morals. Here was a serious problem. They were robbing banks, killing anyone who got in their way, as and when they pleased, and to cap it all, Dillinger had his moll, Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, right by his side. But, as dashing as Dillinger's escape from Crown Point had been, he had stolen the sheriff's car and driven across the Illinois state line. This put him in the jurisdictional sights of the FBI, under the new anti-crime laws, which made bank robbery, the transport of stolen goods, or flight of a felon over state lines to avoid prosecution, a federal crime. Hoover mounted a special operation to capture Dillinger.
Young Melvin Purvis, the son of a well-connected wealthy southern aristocrat, was in charge of the Chicago office of the FBI. Dillinger became his project. What "Little Mel" lacked in height and weight, he made up for in ambition and intelligence.
For more than a month, Dillinger escaped the traps that were set for him. In April of 1934, the gang needed a place to hide out. One of them suggested a summer resort in northern Wisconsin called Little Bohemia. The owner and his wife figured out who the guests really were and managed to get word to the police. An operation was mounted to get Dillinger. It was one of the worst public relations fiascos in FBI history. The FBI killed an innocent man and wounded two others, while one agent was killed, one wounded and a third lawman seriously injured. The gang escaped and went to ground.
During the next few weeks things changed rapidly. Dillinger was in hiding whilst his girl, Billie Frechette was awaiting trial in St Paul. (She would eventually serve two years for her part in the crimes.) Conscious that his was probably the most famous face in the country, he decided to undergo plastic surgery to try to disguise his appearance. His surgery was successful and, pleased with his new appearance, he made his way back to Chicago using the name of Jimmy Lawrence. It had been a long time since he had been able to move freely without being recognised and he was making the most of the situation visiting cabarets and movie theatres. One day he met a young girl called Polly Hamilton. Through Hamilton "Jimmy Lawrence" met Anna Sage.
Sage was a Rumanian brothelkeeper who was in an assortment of trouble with the immigration authorities in Indiana. Whilst she would later deny it, she had recognised Jimmy Lawrence for who he really was and figured that she could use this knowledge to stop her being deported. In the meantime Polly Hamilton would, unknowingly, occupy Dillinger until the trap could be set.
Purvis went along with her and on July 22nd 1934 his private phone rang. It was Sage. Agents were dispatched to the Marbro and Biograph theatres to keep watch. Sure enough, at 8:15 the trio was spotted. Dillinger purchased the tickets and they went inside. With the newsreel, the program would run for two hours and four minutes. Purvis positioned his men. When he spotted Dillinger coming out of the theatre he would light his cigar to signal his men to close in.
As the theatre let out, he soon spotted Dillinger between the two women. He struck the match and lit the cigar.
Officially, the FBI (and Purvis, in his autobiography) would have you believe that Dillinger was alerted and given the chance to surrender, but this seems unlikely. The evidence leads to another conclusion: that Dillinger was never going to leave the area surrounding the Biograph alive.
Agents fired at Dillinger from the front and the back. From the rear, two bullets slightly grazed his face next to the left eye. A third, the fatal shot, entered the base of his neck, travelled upward until it hit the second vertebra, then exited below and to the outside of his right eye. A fourth bullet, fired from the front, entered his left clavicle and exited his left side. All four wounds, as well as the wounds suffered by two bystanders, were all consistent in proving that Dillinger was on the ground when fired at.
The body was taken to Alexian Brothers Hospital and laid on the lawn until the deputy coroner arrived. Officially declared dead, the body was removed to the Cook County Morgue. When the body arrived at the morgue it was already stripped. A large ring, photographed while the body lay on the floor of the police wagon that picked up Dillinger, was now missing and never accounted for. Dillinger was known to carry vast amounts of cash. He had only $7.70 on him when the body reached the morgue.
At the morgue, the post-mortem room was jammed with doctors, nurses, interns, law enforcement officials, newsmen - and the morbid curious, many of whom "talked, bluffed or bought their way in." Meanwhile hundreds of spectators waited outside until the early hours of the morning, some pressing their faces to the wire mesh-protected windows in hopes of catching a glimpse of the slain outlaw.
An estimated 15,000 people shuffled past the body of the dead bank robber before the corpse could be taken to the funeral home. When the mourners left, a police guard stayed behind to prevent ghouls from unearthing the body. Days later the grave was re-opened and an elaborate protection of concrete mixed with scrap iron and chicken wire was placed at staggered levels above the coffin.
As for his two companions, that night, at the Biograph, Sage had gone home and changed out of the orange skirt that had turned scarlet under the bright lights of the theatre's marquee, giving her the infamous nickname, the "Woman in Red." She also, allegedly, collected Dillinger's firearms cache and dumped it in Lake Michigan. Polly Hamilton disappeared and, due to Sage's subsequent statements, she was thought to have committed suicide.
As the Chicago Police Dept. had not been involved in the incident, they really had no idea what the situation was. The FBI was withholding information about Sage because she was considered a government informant. When officers took her into custody on July 24th 1935 she told the police a complete pack of lies.
By September 29, 1935 Sage told reporters that Cowley and Purvis had promised to stop the deportation proceedings, but the government was not keeping its' part of the bargain. Cowley by this time was dead and Purvis had resigned from the FBI months earlier, after a year of personal confrontation with Hoover, some allege because of the government's refusal to help Sage. It is more likely that it was because Hoover was jealous of Purvis' celebrity. In late April 1936 Anna Sage was sent home to Romania where she died on April 25, 1947.
More importantly, he was the Public Enemy No 1. No one else captivated America before, or since, in quite the way that Dillinger did.
Like Bonnie and Clyde, the Dillinger Gang - John Dillinger, Harry Pierpoint and "Baby Face" Nelson - were celebrities. Their exploits were closely followed by a Depression-weary American public. They were the soap opera stars of their time. They were bad guys, yes, but they did it with such style and panache that they were revered like movie stars. Besides, who were they hurting? The Banks? They stole from the banks that were taking peoples homes and businesses away. It seemed to the American public like a fair exchange. Anyway, wasn't Dillinger good-looking?
Possibly, in Washington, J. Edgar Hoover did think that Dillinger was good looking, but he couldn't have this gang running riot, mocking and taunting the Authorities the way they were doing. Not only was the Dillinger gang robbing banks throughout the American Midwest, but Dillinger, having been captured by Tucson police and deported to the "inescapable" Crown Point prison in Indiana, promptly escaped using a "gun" fashioned from a bar of soap and a can of boot polish. Following his escape, Dillinger mailed the "gun " to his sister! What made matters worse was that, on his arrival at Crown Point, Dillinger had appeared on a newsreel with the cops and prison officials, looking like they were all good friends. The Prison warden had allowed 1500 visitors into his facility in what was a showcase presentation of America's most famous criminal's capture. It turned into a public relations nightmare. And it wouldn't be the last that Dillinger would hand them.
Hoover was livid. He saw Dillinger and his gang as a threat to the national morals. Here was a serious problem. They were robbing banks, killing anyone who got in their way, as and when they pleased, and to cap it all, Dillinger had his moll, Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, right by his side. But, as dashing as Dillinger's escape from Crown Point had been, he had stolen the sheriff's car and driven across the Illinois state line. This put him in the jurisdictional sights of the FBI, under the new anti-crime laws, which made bank robbery, the transport of stolen goods, or flight of a felon over state lines to avoid prosecution, a federal crime. Hoover mounted a special operation to capture Dillinger.
Young Melvin Purvis, the son of a well-connected wealthy southern aristocrat, was in charge of the Chicago office of the FBI. Dillinger became his project. What "Little Mel" lacked in height and weight, he made up for in ambition and intelligence.
For more than a month, Dillinger escaped the traps that were set for him. In April of 1934, the gang needed a place to hide out. One of them suggested a summer resort in northern Wisconsin called Little Bohemia. The owner and his wife figured out who the guests really were and managed to get word to the police. An operation was mounted to get Dillinger. It was one of the worst public relations fiascos in FBI history. The FBI killed an innocent man and wounded two others, while one agent was killed, one wounded and a third lawman seriously injured. The gang escaped and went to ground.
During the next few weeks things changed rapidly. Dillinger was in hiding whilst his girl, Billie Frechette was awaiting trial in St Paul. (She would eventually serve two years for her part in the crimes.) Conscious that his was probably the most famous face in the country, he decided to undergo plastic surgery to try to disguise his appearance. His surgery was successful and, pleased with his new appearance, he made his way back to Chicago using the name of Jimmy Lawrence. It had been a long time since he had been able to move freely without being recognised and he was making the most of the situation visiting cabarets and movie theatres. One day he met a young girl called Polly Hamilton. Through Hamilton "Jimmy Lawrence" met Anna Sage.
Sage was a Rumanian brothelkeeper who was in an assortment of trouble with the immigration authorities in Indiana. Whilst she would later deny it, she had recognised Jimmy Lawrence for who he really was and figured that she could use this knowledge to stop her being deported. In the meantime Polly Hamilton would, unknowingly, occupy Dillinger until the trap could be set.
Purvis went along with her and on July 22nd 1934 his private phone rang. It was Sage. Agents were dispatched to the Marbro and Biograph theatres to keep watch. Sure enough, at 8:15 the trio was spotted. Dillinger purchased the tickets and they went inside. With the newsreel, the program would run for two hours and four minutes. Purvis positioned his men. When he spotted Dillinger coming out of the theatre he would light his cigar to signal his men to close in.
As the theatre let out, he soon spotted Dillinger between the two women. He struck the match and lit the cigar.
Officially, the FBI (and Purvis, in his autobiography) would have you believe that Dillinger was alerted and given the chance to surrender, but this seems unlikely. The evidence leads to another conclusion: that Dillinger was never going to leave the area surrounding the Biograph alive.
Agents fired at Dillinger from the front and the back. From the rear, two bullets slightly grazed his face next to the left eye. A third, the fatal shot, entered the base of his neck, travelled upward until it hit the second vertebra, then exited below and to the outside of his right eye. A fourth bullet, fired from the front, entered his left clavicle and exited his left side. All four wounds, as well as the wounds suffered by two bystanders, were all consistent in proving that Dillinger was on the ground when fired at.
The body was taken to Alexian Brothers Hospital and laid on the lawn until the deputy coroner arrived. Officially declared dead, the body was removed to the Cook County Morgue. When the body arrived at the morgue it was already stripped. A large ring, photographed while the body lay on the floor of the police wagon that picked up Dillinger, was now missing and never accounted for. Dillinger was known to carry vast amounts of cash. He had only $7.70 on him when the body reached the morgue.
At the morgue, the post-mortem room was jammed with doctors, nurses, interns, law enforcement officials, newsmen - and the morbid curious, many of whom "talked, bluffed or bought their way in." Meanwhile hundreds of spectators waited outside until the early hours of the morning, some pressing their faces to the wire mesh-protected windows in hopes of catching a glimpse of the slain outlaw.
An estimated 15,000 people shuffled past the body of the dead bank robber before the corpse could be taken to the funeral home. When the mourners left, a police guard stayed behind to prevent ghouls from unearthing the body. Days later the grave was re-opened and an elaborate protection of concrete mixed with scrap iron and chicken wire was placed at staggered levels above the coffin.
As for his two companions, that night, at the Biograph, Sage had gone home and changed out of the orange skirt that had turned scarlet under the bright lights of the theatre's marquee, giving her the infamous nickname, the "Woman in Red." She also, allegedly, collected Dillinger's firearms cache and dumped it in Lake Michigan. Polly Hamilton disappeared and, due to Sage's subsequent statements, she was thought to have committed suicide.
As the Chicago Police Dept. had not been involved in the incident, they really had no idea what the situation was. The FBI was withholding information about Sage because she was considered a government informant. When officers took her into custody on July 24th 1935 she told the police a complete pack of lies.
By September 29, 1935 Sage told reporters that Cowley and Purvis had promised to stop the deportation proceedings, but the government was not keeping its' part of the bargain. Cowley by this time was dead and Purvis had resigned from the FBI months earlier, after a year of personal confrontation with Hoover, some allege because of the government's refusal to help Sage. It is more likely that it was because Hoover was jealous of Purvis' celebrity. In late April 1936 Anna Sage was sent home to Romania where she died on April 25, 1947.
Dillinger, following his capture in Tucson
|
Hoover and Purvis
|
