Jason Caprio
4-20-14
St.
Valentines Day Massacre
On
February 14th, 1929, seven men were brutally murdered by mysterious
gunmen, who then proceeded to escape in a black Cadillac and in time where no
one could identify who they were. The men that were killed worked for the
notorious “Bugs” Moran, owner of a gang. They were Johnny May, Frank &
Peter Gusenberg, James Clark, Adam Heyer, Frank Snyder, Albert Weinshank, and
Reinhart H. Schwimmer,(Chicago Tribune).
The day of this event is known as the St. Valentines massacre. This is an event that leads to the big chase of Al Capone, the notorious leader who ordered the execution. To understand any of this, the backstory must be told.
It all started with Torrio, the man that Capone worked for. Torrio was nearly murdered by a group of assassins but managed to survive. Not too long after he was in the hospital, he was sentenced to prison time because the police raided and found many underground breweries that he owned. He then proceeded to call up his second-in-command, Capone, to tell him that he is retiring and that he is putting Al in charge. Al Capone gladly took the seat as the new crime boss, and set up his plan to take over all the crime in Chicago,(history.com).
One group of gangs that gave much competition to Capone was “Bugs” Moran, also known as the man who ordered the assassination attempt to Torrio. Capone began to rise to power in Chicago, but Moran was still in the way. Capone decided it was time to both claim his revenge for Torrio and to finish Moran off for good,(history.com)
Al knew that seven of Moran’s men and Moran himself were going to be at the garage on February 14th, 1929, so he set up an assassination. He hired five of his men, two to wear police uniforms and the other three to wear street clothes similar to a detective, and gave them a black Cadillac with utilities that gave it the appearance of a Chicago police car. The seven gangsters of Moran’s group were waiting in the garage for the boss to get there, when two cops came in and three detectives. Two men were armed with Tommy guns, another had a pump action shot-gun, and the other two had revolvers. Moran’s men were not troubled, for they have dealt with the police before and knew they would get out of the situation, oh but how wrong they were. The seven men were lined up against the wall shoulder to shoulder to each other. In less than two minutes, massive wave after wave of gun shots came at them, mutilating and dismembering them. The supposed officers and detectives immediately drove off in the black Cadillac without any hesitation, the news struck Moran as a huge surprise, and was thankful for his life that he was running a little late to get to the garage. Seven mutilated bodies lay on the floor in the garage, but one was still alive. Frank Gusenberg, though very close to death’s grip, was still hanging on to life. He was found and driven off to the hospital, but didn’t make it once he arrived. The only information he gave was that it was cops who killed him and his buddies,(Eig, 187-194).
Capone’s plan had worked. Moran decided to retire from the Mafia which gave Capone the title as the big boss over all the crime of all of Chicago. What he didn’t know was that since he was the growing Mafia boss in Chicago, he was first to be blamed for the massacre. Police began to do research about Capone, which lead to the discovery of his income tax evasion. Not too long after the massacre, Congress appointed more Prohibition agents to enforce the law and make sure that a massacre such as that was to never happen again. Capone thought he had gotten away with the assassination, and that it played out perfectly, but what he didn’t know is that he allowed the beginning of his downfall as quickly as he allowed his rise to power,(Eig,193-194).
The day of this event is known as the St. Valentines massacre. This is an event that leads to the big chase of Al Capone, the notorious leader who ordered the execution. To understand any of this, the backstory must be told.
It all started with Torrio, the man that Capone worked for. Torrio was nearly murdered by a group of assassins but managed to survive. Not too long after he was in the hospital, he was sentenced to prison time because the police raided and found many underground breweries that he owned. He then proceeded to call up his second-in-command, Capone, to tell him that he is retiring and that he is putting Al in charge. Al Capone gladly took the seat as the new crime boss, and set up his plan to take over all the crime in Chicago,(history.com).
One group of gangs that gave much competition to Capone was “Bugs” Moran, also known as the man who ordered the assassination attempt to Torrio. Capone began to rise to power in Chicago, but Moran was still in the way. Capone decided it was time to both claim his revenge for Torrio and to finish Moran off for good,(history.com)
Al knew that seven of Moran’s men and Moran himself were going to be at the garage on February 14th, 1929, so he set up an assassination. He hired five of his men, two to wear police uniforms and the other three to wear street clothes similar to a detective, and gave them a black Cadillac with utilities that gave it the appearance of a Chicago police car. The seven gangsters of Moran’s group were waiting in the garage for the boss to get there, when two cops came in and three detectives. Two men were armed with Tommy guns, another had a pump action shot-gun, and the other two had revolvers. Moran’s men were not troubled, for they have dealt with the police before and knew they would get out of the situation, oh but how wrong they were. The seven men were lined up against the wall shoulder to shoulder to each other. In less than two minutes, massive wave after wave of gun shots came at them, mutilating and dismembering them. The supposed officers and detectives immediately drove off in the black Cadillac without any hesitation, the news struck Moran as a huge surprise, and was thankful for his life that he was running a little late to get to the garage. Seven mutilated bodies lay on the floor in the garage, but one was still alive. Frank Gusenberg, though very close to death’s grip, was still hanging on to life. He was found and driven off to the hospital, but didn’t make it once he arrived. The only information he gave was that it was cops who killed him and his buddies,(Eig, 187-194).
Capone’s plan had worked. Moran decided to retire from the Mafia which gave Capone the title as the big boss over all the crime of all of Chicago. What he didn’t know was that since he was the growing Mafia boss in Chicago, he was first to be blamed for the massacre. Police began to do research about Capone, which lead to the discovery of his income tax evasion. Not too long after the massacre, Congress appointed more Prohibition agents to enforce the law and make sure that a massacre such as that was to never happen again. Capone thought he had gotten away with the assassination, and that it played out perfectly, but what he didn’t know is that he allowed the beginning of his downfall as quickly as he allowed his rise to power,(Eig,193-194).
Sources
-
"Valentine's Day Massacre takes
place." History.com. A&E Television Networks. 02 Mar. 2014
<http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/valentines-day-massacre>.
-
"The St. Valentine's Day
Massacre." Chicago Tribune. 14 Feb. 2014. 28 Feb. 2014
<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-14/news/chi-chicagodays-valentinesmassacre-story_1_al-capone-smc-cartage-co-george-bugs-moran>.
-
Eig, Jonathan. Get Capone: The
secret plot that captured America's most wanted gangster. New York: Simon
& Schuster, 2010.
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