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Angelo Genna
Angelo "Bloody Angelo" Genna (; February 3, 1898 – May 26, 1925) was an Italian-born Chicago bootlegger and organized crime leader during the Prohibition era. The leader of his own Sicilian crime family, he was best known for his war with the North Side Gang leader, Charles Dean O'Banion. Genna masterminded the assassination of O'Banion in November 1924. Genna and his brothers then fought the North Side's new leader, George "Bugs" Moran. But, almost seven months later, in May 1925, Moran chased Angelo in a high-speed car chase and shot him to death. In June and July, two of Angelo's brothers were killed, while the other three brothers fled. Early life Angelo Genna was born on February 3, 1898, in Marsala, Sicily. Genna's parents, Antonino Genna Sr. and Maria Concetta Utica, had six other sons: Antonio "the Gentleman", Mike "the Devil", Vincenzo "Jim", Pietro "Peter", Salvatore "Sam", and Nicola Genna (who stayed in Sicily); and two daughters: Rosa Laudicina and Caterin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsala
Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibaldi on 11 May 1860 (the ''Expedition of the Thousand'') and for its Marsala wine. A feature of the area is the Stagnone Lagoon Natural Reserve – a marine area with salt ponds. Marsala is built on the ruins of the ancient Carthaginian city of Lilybaeum, and includes in its territory the archaeological site of the island of Motya, an ancient Phoenician town. The modern name likely derived from the Arabic (''marsā ʿaliyy'', "Ali's harbor"), or possibly (''marsā llāh'', "God's harbor"). Geography Situated at the extreme western point of Sicily, the town was founded on Lilibeo Cape from where the Aegadian Islands and the Stagnone Lagoon can be seen. Territory The territory of Marsala, , has a rich cultural and landscap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Side Gang
The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was an Irish-Polish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the South Side Gang, also known as the Chicago Outfit, the crime syndicate of Italian-Americans Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. History of the North Side Gang Early history Like many other Chicago-based Prohibition gangs, the North Side Gang originated from the Market Street Gang, one of many street gangs in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. The Market Street Gang was made up of pickpockets, sneak thieves and labor sluggers working in the 42nd and 43rd Wards. The gang especially distinguished itself during the newspaper "Circulation Wars" of the early 1910s between the '' Chicago Examiner'' and the ''Chicago Tribune''. It was during the Circulation Wars that future North Side leader Dean O'Banion, then a member of the juvenile satellite ''Little Hellio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawthorne Smoke Shop
The Hawthorne Smoke Shop (later known as the Ship) was a gambling casino owned by American gangster Al Capone and run by fellow gangsters Frankie Pope and Pete Penovich.Eig, ''Get Capone'', p. 102. It was located in Cicero, Illinois, where Capone had fled to escape Chicago police. Although shut down temporarily by raids several times during its existence, it provided a significant amount of revenue, earning half a million dollars in a two-year period. Leslie Shumway, a cashier who worked there, testified in court that horse betting, roulette, craps, blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ..., and birdcage ( chuck-a-luck) all took place there. The profits from the Hawthorne Smoke Shop were one piece of evidence used against Capone at his trial in 1931. Location The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Merlo
Michele "Mike" Merlo (January 4, 1880 – November 8, 1924) was a Chicago political figure and "fixer" associated in his later years with the Torrio-Capone organization. As head of the Unione Siciliana fraternal group, Merlo wielded considerable influence both in Chicago's Democratic Party politics and also within Chicago's criminal underworld during the early years of Prohibition. Although Merlo was able to maintain peace among the city's numerous bootlegging gangs, his death marked the beginning of Chicago's bootleg wars that plagued the city for the rest of the decade. Biography Born Michele Merlo to Calogero and Maria Merlo in Sambuca Zabut, Sicily, at the age of nine Merlo immigrated with his family from Palermo to New Orleans and, then, in 1900, to Chicago. In 1902, Merlo's father died of a stroke at the age of 52, leaving the 22-year-old Merlo and his sick mother to fend for themselves. Merlo later became involved in the Chicago chapter of Unione Siciliana, a nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Torrio
John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian born-American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Syndicate in the 1930s and later became an adviser to Lucky Luciano and his Genovese crime family, Luciano crime family. Torrio had several nicknames, primarily "The Fox" for his cunning and finesse. The United States Department of the Treasury, US Treasury official Elmer Lincoln Irey, Elmer Irey considered him "the biggest gangster in America" and wrote, "He was the smartest and, I dare say, the best of all the hoodlums. 'Best' referring to talent, not morals". Virgil W. Peterson of the Chicago Crime Commission stated that his "talents as an organizational genius were widely respected by the major gang bosses in the New York City area". Crime journalist Herbert Asbury affirmed: "As an organizer and administrator of underworld affairs, Johnny ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Loop
The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in North America and contains the headquarters and regional offices of several global and national businesses, retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, and theaters, as well as many of Chicago's most famous attractions. It is home to Chicago's City Hall, the seat of Cook County, and numerous offices of other levels of government and consulates of foreign nations. The intersection of State Street and Madison Street, located in the area, is the origin of the address system of Chicago's street grid. Most of Grant Park's 319 acres (1.29 km2) are in the eastern section of the community area. The Loop community area is bounded on the north and west by the Chicago River, on the east by Lake Michigan, and on the south by Roosevelt Road. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Italy, Chicago
Little Italy, sometimes combined with University Village into one neighborhood, is on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The current boundaries of Little Italy are Ashland Avenue on the west and Interstate 90/94 on the east, the Interstate 290 (Illinois), Eisenhower Expressway on the north and Roosevelt to the south. It lies between the east side of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus in the Illinois Medical District and the west side of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. The community was once predominantly Italian immigrants but now is made up of diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds as a result of immigration, urban renewal, gentrification and the growth of the resident student and faculty population of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Its Italian-American heritage is primarily evident in the Cuisine of Italy, Italian-American restaurants that once lined Taylor Street. The neighborhood is home to the Nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Powers (alderman)
John Powers (February 15, 1852 – May 19, 1930) served as an alderman in Chicago, Illinois (1888-1903, 1904–1927) for the Democratic Party. He was known as Johnny De Pow by his constituents. Along with Bathhouse John Coughlin and Hinky Dink Kenna, Powers was considered one of the leaders of the "Gray Wolves" of Chicago politics. Early career Powers arrived in Chicago in 1872 and began working as an apprentice to a grocer. After opening his own grocery store, he added a tavern next to it and used his exposure there to begin a political career as a ward captain. In 1888, Powers ran for alderman of Chicago's 19th ward and won, after which he closed his grocery, but continued to run his saloon, eventually going into business with fellow alderman, William O'Brian. They opened a larger saloon which included gambling. Jane Addams Powers introduced the practice of distributing free turkeys, ducks, and geese to voters at Christmas, but his inability to keep his ward clean of garba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by Direct election, popular vote, or a council member elected by voters. Etymology The title is derived from the Old English title of ''ealdorman'', literally meaning "elder man", and was used by the chief nobles presiding over shires. Similar titles exist in some Germanic countries, such as the Sweden, Swedish language ', the Danish language, Danish, Low German, Low German language ', and West Frisia, West Frisian language ', the Netherlands, Dutch language ', the (non-Germanic) Finland, Finnish language ' (a borrowing from the Germanic Swedes next door), and the German language, High German ', which all mean "elder man" or "wise man". Usage by country Australia Many local government ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldermen's Wars
The Alderman's wars was a series of murders and violent rioting between warring Alderman Johnny "de Pow" Powers and Anthony D'Andrea from 1916 until 1921. Over a period of five years, over 30 deaths were reported during the struggle for control over the "Bloody" 19th Ward of Chicago's Little Italy. Background Johnny Powers, a local Irish-American saloonkeeper and longtime political boss of the predominantly Irish 19th Ward, had been in power since the 1880s and despite the large influx of Italian immigrants over the decades managed to retain power among the area despite his reputation for corruption and offering political protection to criminal elements in Chicago's underworld. However, Powers was faced with a challenge when the Italian-American Anthony D'Andrea ran against junior alderman and Powers associate James Bowler in 1916. D'Andrea, although a defrocked priest and convicted counterfeiter, was a popular leader within the Italian-American community as a prominent member of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincenzo Genna
Vincenzo "James" Genna (; January 18, 1888 – November 8, 1931) was an Italian-born mobster in Chicago. He headed the Genna crime family with his brothers. Genna and his brothers waged war against the North Side Gang before half of the brothers were killed and Genna fled. Early life Vincenzo Genna was born on in Marsala, Sicily. His parents, Antonio Genna Sr. and Maria had six other sons: Antonio "the Gentleman", Angelo "Bloody Angelo", Mike "the Devil", Salvatore "Sam", Pietro "Peter", and Nicola Genna (who stayed in Sicily); and two sisters: Rosa Laudicina and Caterina Mariana. He and his brothers entered the U.S. through New York around 1910. Prohibition and O'Banion The Genna brothers became a close knit Marsala-based Mafia and bootlegging gang. When Prohibition became a federal law in 1919, the Gennas obtained a federal license to legally manufacture industrial alcohol, in which they sold illegally."La Cosa Nostra database: Genna BrothersBrothers/ref> Tony and his brot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Genna
Michele "Mike the Devil" Genna (; January 18, 1895 – June 13, 1925) was an Italian-born mobster in Chicago during the 1920s. He headed the Genna crime family with his brothers. He was killed by police officers after a shootout with North Siders, being one of the only American organized crime leaders to be killed by a policeman. Early life Michele Genna was born on January 18, 1895, in Marsala, Sicily. Genna's parents, Antonino Genna Sr. and Maria Concetta Utica, had six other sons: Antonio "the Gentleman", Angelo "Bloody Angelo", Vincenzo "Jim", Pietro "Peter", Salvatore "Sam", and Nicola Genna (who stayed in Sicily); and two daughters: Rosa Laudicina and Caterina Mariana. He and his brothers entered the U.S. through New York around 1910. Prohibition and O'Banion The Gennas became a close knit Marsala-based Mafia and bootlegging gang. In 1919, the Gennas obtained a federal license to legally manufacture industrial alcohol, which they sold illegally. Angelo and his brot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
