Love is in the air this Friday the 13th, and Ninetoes wants to tell you about the most infamous Valentine’s Day of all time.
Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, and I am on the beat with The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!
Ah, Valentine’s Day! A day for romance, chocolate, a lavish dinner, roses, and murder. Murder? Yes, hear reader, murder. You would be surprised how many murders occur on February 14th. Today, I am bringing you what is, in my mind, the most infamous murder on this date, the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929.
Prohibition was in full swing for ten years at this point. Alcohol was illegal, and the mob was raking in money hand over fist in bootleg booze. Rival gangs were trying to get a leg up on their competition, and this resulted in a lot of mob violence. Two of the biggest gangs at the time were the North Side Gang, led by George “Bugs” Moran, and The Chicago Outfit, led by Al “Scarface” Capone.
On February 13th, 1929, Moran got a call offering him a truckload of hijacked Purple Gang whiskey. He told the caller to deliver the whiskey to 2122 North Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago’s north side. The meeting was to be held at 10:30 a.m. Now, some historians differ on this because the men who met the truck were all dressed in expensive suits. Not hardly the kind of clothes you would wear to unload a truck.
That being said, seven men were at the garage waiting for a delivery. They were: Albert Kachellek, Adam Heyer, Albert Weinshank, Frank and Peter Gusenberg, Reinhardt H. Schwimmer, and John May. The last two were not gang members.
At around 10:35, a black Cadillac pulled up with five men inside. The two up front were dressed as police officers. The three in the back wore civilian clothes. These men exited the car while Moran drove by, saw a police car, and went around the corner for a cup of coffee to avoid what he thought was a police raid.
The seven men who were part of Moran’s gang were lined up against the wall, facing it. The five assailants then shot them at point-blank range with Thompson submachine guns and one shotgun. The shooting went in three volleys, guided toward the head, chest, and stomach area. Over seventy rounds were fired. Clark and May received a coup de grace with a shotgun blast to the head each.
The gunmen exited the building by the front door. Those wearing civilian clothes walked out with their hand in the air, while their compatriots in the police uniforms followed holding the Thompsons on them.
When the actual police arrived, they found one survivor among the dead men. Frank Gusenberg had crawled twenty feet away from where he had been shot. He was taken to the Alexian Brothers Hospital in Elk Grove. Sergeant Clarence Sweeney of the Chicago Police Department questioned Gusenberg, asking who was responsible for the shooting, and each time Gusenberg told him, “No one.” Gusenberg died shortly after being questioned.
News of the massacre swept the country like wildfire. Newspapers were giving a lot of space to the coverage of this incident at an unprecedented level. The public was shocked and felt that a line had been crossed. Many felt that prohibition should end (it will be a few more years before this happens. Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933.)
Moran went into hiding, checking himself into St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, claiming he had the flu. He stayed there for four days. A reporter tracked Moran down to the hospital. He told the reporter, “Only Capone kills like that.”
On March 12, 1929, a federal grand jury was convened to hear testimony about bootlegging in Chicago. Capone was subpoenaed to appear, but sent a doctor’s note from Miami, Florida. The note stated that Capone was suffering from bronchopneumonia and should not travel, especially to Chicago. Going to the colder climate could possibly kill him.
The FBI had gathered evidence that Capone was not ill, and he request for a forty-day postponement was denied by a judge. He was ordered to appear before the grand jury on March 19. He appeared on March 20 and was questioned for over an hour. He was scheduled to make a second appearance, but George Johnson, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said no further questioning was necessary.
The conflict between the two gangs went on until 1931. Capone’s gang took over the entire territory. Capone was indicted on twenty-two counts of tax fraud in June 1931. He was found guilty and sentenced to eleven years.
To learn more about this event, I recommend William J. Helmer and Arthur C. Bilek’s The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: The Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone.
Until the next time, I bid you successful investigating.
PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.
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