Mafia+Articles

The Valentine's Day Massacre

On the night of February 13, 1929, a very suspicious yet tempting offer reached Moran, a rivaling gangster of Al Capone, that there was a grand abundance of whiskey available for him a at a discount price. He ordered that the whiskey be delivered to a particular area, where he was keeping all of his bootlegging trucks. The next day, St. Valentines Day, at around 10:50 A.M., a cadillac had driven up to the spot where the transaction was supposed to be taking place. Seeming to be a type of police car, five men had stepped out of the vehicle. According to several witness statements, two of the five men were dressed in police uniforms, while the rest of the few were casual citizens. After about ten minutes upon entering the garage, witnesses described the scene as “Loud rattling noises and what sounded like trucks backfiring, two of the civilians came out with their hands up, shepherded by the third, and the two 'police officers' with guns in their hands.” After a while, nearby neighbors had gotten curious and went into the garage to investigate the commotion. The scene they were about to witness would make headlines across the nation, having 6 men dead and one man wounded with pools of blood and shell casings lying everywhere. Most of the men had been missing limbs and even heads as they were forced to be lined up against the wall and mowed down with machine guns and finished off with shotguns. Five of the dead men belonged to Moran’s gang, while the sixth man happened to be an unlucky mechanic at the wrong place at the wrong time. The seventh man, who was critically wounded, was taken to the hospital, but when he was asked on who the assailant was, he replied “Nobody shot me.” Although it was never said who ordered the attack, it remains a mystery on whether of not Al Capone had had a hand in this disaster (Cavendish, Richard). (Austin)

This comic illustrates the emphasis that bootlegging had on the business of the mafia, while also making a joke at the literal words "boot" and leg." (Robin)

Alphonse Capone’s death heard round the world!

Alphonse other known as Al Capone dies of a stroke in the comfort of his own Florida home. Questions and rumors have spread through the nation claiming to be the correct reason for this notorious gangster’s passing. Some say he suffered from syphilis, a sexual disease said to occur from all the prostitutes he had affairs with. He suffered a stroke then started to regain consciousness only to suffer a cardiac arrest the following day. His wife collapsed at the scene of her husband’s death out of shock. Whether or not the nation was happy to hear of his passing his funeral was attended by thousands of people who cared for him. Flowers bombarded the streets during the procession. Al Capone’s life was filled with crimes such as violations on income taxes and violating parts of the volstead act. He was officially indicted on tax evasion charges which resulted in conviction and imprisonment. This information shocked many people because he was known to be heavily involved in bootlegging and selling booze. Capone’s funeral was one of the finest and most extravagant ever noted. He was placed in a $2000 bronze casket and outfitted with a new blue double breasted suit, white shirt, black tie, black silk socks and the classic gangster black and white shoes. After the funeral his body and casket was transported to Mt. Olivet in Chicago to be buried along side his dad and brother. It took workers nearly 3 hours to dig up the resting place for Al due to the frozen ground. Vandalism hailed over his grave in Mt. Olivet so his relatives secretly moved him to Mt. Carmel so he could rest in peace. The word somehow spread and people started showing signs of respect by leaving souvenirs such as whiskey, plastic replica guns, cigars and so on. Al Capone will always be kept in our thoughts and will go down in history as one of the most well known gangsters of all time. (Kyle)

Editorial

If you wanted to drink, gamble, and have prostitutes all on hand there was only one type of establishment where you could get it all. They were called speakeasy’s. The main reason speakeasy’s became so popular was because it was hard for the police to bust because it was necessary to have a card to enter. Speakeasy’s became most popular during the prohibition time period where alcohol was illegal to transport, sell, and make, but the key was they never said you could not consume it. So people took full advantage of it. One of the most well known groups that took full advantage of prohibition was the mafia. They did not look at prohibition as a bad thing they saw it as an opportunity to get rich and have a little fun while they did it. During the 20’s they had control of almost every group and every person within that group including the law. Often they would pay off judges and the police to just turn there heads while the mafia did some dirty work. During prohibition they would often transport and sell alcohol while making millions doing it. While at the same time paying off the police, F.B.I., and whoever else they needed to so they could get away with it, and if anybody did not want to cooperate. They would be gunned down and killed. Our government was very corrupt back then but in defense of the law enforcement workers, I would not want to be shot either. Plus it would be so easy to just turn your head, and get paid much more while doing it. The mafia in the 20’s time period overall, probably had more power and control in the east than the law enforcement workers even did making them very hard to stop. (Brett)