Johnny Jack Nounes, also known as the "

Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...

of Galveston", was a

mob boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or near ...

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, United States, during the 1920s and 1930s. He, with one-armed

George Musey George Musey, also known as "one-armed George Musey", was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas, during the Prohibition era. Along with Johnny Jack Nounes, he led the Downtown Gang, one of two gangs which controlled the Galveston underworld until the e ...

, led the

Downtown Gang The Downtown Gang was one of the two gangs that dominated the organized crime world in Galveston, Texas, United States, mainly during prohibition. The gang was founded by Johnny Jack Nounes around 1920. The gang became a large profiteer and lead ...

, one of the two gangs which controlled most of the Galveston Crime Syndicate until the early 1930s. They fought for control of the island against the rival Beach Gang led by

Ollie Quinn Ollie Johnson Quinn (26 May 1893 – 23 August 1949) was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities from the 1910s up until ...

and

Dutch Voight Oscar Ernest "Dutch" Voigt was an American mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities during the early 1900s. Voight was called ...

, and later their successors, the Maceo Crime Syndicate. As the

prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

began, his gang came to be one of the dominant forces in the Galveston Crime Syndicate. Galveston became the main port of entry for liquor supply in Texas and many parts of the Midwest. Nounes' flamboyance attracted the attention of federal authorities, leading to his conviction in 1924 and sentencing to Leavenworth Penitentiary. His prison term was short but only two years after being released he was again sentenced to prison after being caught with a shipment of liquor in Seabrook.

Frank Nitti Frank Ralph Nitto (born Francesco Raffaele Nitto, ; January 27, 1886 – March 19, 1943), known as Frank Nitti, was an Italian-American organized crime figure based in Chicago. The first cousin and bodyguard of Al Capone, Nitti was in charge of ...

, a business partner of Nounes, was the "enforcer" for

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

's crime organization in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as well as the future

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

of the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...

Family and early life

Johnny Jack Nounes was born John Louis Nonus in

, to Emanuel and Angelica (Pinto) Nonus, both immigrants from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. They both immigrated to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in 1872, and later married in Galveston soon after meeting. The Nonus family had fifteen children but six died at infancy; the remaining nine were Mary, Lyda, Annie, Mellie, Lily, Beatrice, Mabel, Johnny, and Francis. In 1900, the

1900 Galveston hurricane The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the 1900 Storm, is the deadliest natural disaster in United States history and the third-d ...

hit the island. During this devastating storm, Emanuel managed to break a hole in the house's ceiling in order to get all the children to safety; Johnny was ten years old. One of Johnny's earliest jobs was a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

. He would save all of the meat scraps and, at the end of the day, would give them to his younger brother Francis so that Francis could take them home to their struggling family. Around 1914 Johnny changed his last name from "Nonus" to "Nounes", maybe because he got involved with some type of criminal activity didn't want to ruin his family name as well as releasing it to rivals. So that how his name was born, Johnny Jack Nounes.url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RFRu8kYThEcC

Prohibition

As the prohibition of alcohol started to take way in the early 1920s, Nounes rounded up his gang, known as the

, with soldiers and went to work

rum-running Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ter ...

. During this time a young Syrian named

stepped into the picture. He became Nounes' right-hand man, running the

with him. Among the earliest gang members were Theodore "Fatty" Owens, Otis Skains, Mitchell "Mitch" Frankovitch, Kye Gregory, Morris "Kid" Ross, Joe Varnell, Lawrence "King Coal" Balkey, and Tom Lera. The gang was stronger than ever with Nounes and Musey leading. Their midnight travels through rum-row made them more money than ever, which Nounes soon became a millionaire. Johnny owned a boat called the ''Cherokee'' which had an airplane engine installed in it so it could out run any federal prohibition agent that tried to catch it. That boat was loaded with many cases of liquor from the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Prostitution and gambling was now a side business operating in his clubs downtown. Among his first notable customer was

. Nitti, who was probably just a mob

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

then, would come down from the

to meet with Johnny Jack in order to conduct business dealing with liquor. Southern gangsters attracted a lot of northern gangster because of their direct access to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. Frank Nitti later became a regular customer of Nounes but stole $50,000 from him in 1924 and not returning to Galveston until the close of prohibition. However despite their tension, Nitti did develop a liking to Johnny's brother Francis. Francis lost his job at the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

at the start of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, and so Johnny gave him a job bar tending a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

. Nitti took a liking to Francis and gave him

Duncan Phyfe Duncan Phyfe (1768 – 16 August 1854) was one of nineteenth-century America's leading cabinetmakers. Although he did not create a new furniture style, he interpreted fashionable European trends in a manner so distinguished and particular that ...

furniture along with other gifts. Johnny Jack had the money coming in from the bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and hijacking. He would even hijack the Beach Gang's shipments and cheat the Cubans out of thinking soap coupons were money when buying booze. If anyone gave him any lip he would beat them with his gold-headed cane. He had all the popular gangsters of the time associating with him from Chicago's

and allegedly New York's

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athleti ...

.url=https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/crimemyths/conversations/topics/13334 He was a funny flamboyant man who liked to be the center of attention. Being a generous man, would carry around a bundle of $100 bills and would give them to anybody in need. He would drive around in his fancy cars and buy toys for the kids around town on

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. He made a lot of money, but also gave a lot away.

"Beau Brummell of Galveston"

In the late 20s, New York's society experienced this flashy prominent mobster head of the Galveston Crime Syndicate. Nounes took a trip up to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and threw a $40,000 party at the

Hotel Pennsylvania The Hotel Pennsylvania was a historic hotel at 401 Seventh Avenue (15 Penn Plaza) in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Opened in 1919, it was once the largest hotel in the world. ...

. Many high society officials and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

actresses attended. Among some of them were

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

and

Nancy Carroll Nancy Carroll (born Ann Veronica Lahiff; November 19, 1903 – August 6, 1965) was an American actress. She started her career in Broadway musicals and then became an actress in sound films and was in many films from 1927 to 1938. She was t ...

, who were both said to have bathed in tubs filled with

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. His character and personality attracted starlets. Johnny also dated actress

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

for a short time in the early 20s, with her also said to have had a champagne filled bath. He had his suits custom-tailored in New York while also having an apartment over looking

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

for when he went up to conduct business and throw one of his extravagant parties. Johnny had some great times, however he had to face the trials that would lie ahead of him.

Trials and Prison

Nounes was convicted in 1924 due to bootlegging. He received up to two years in

Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP Leavenworth) is a medium security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Unite ...

. When Judge J. C. Hutcheson fined him $5,000, Johnny grinned at him and said "Hell, Judge, I've got that much in my right pocket!" However that didn't help any, therefore, Nounes called Leavenworth his home for two years. However, after being released he met up with his right-hand man George Musey. They took the gang on a run and were unloading the booze at

Seabrook, Texas Seabrook is a city in Harris County in the U.S. state of Texas, with some water surface area located within Chambers County. The population was 11,952 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 14,149 in 2019. Several fish markets line the city's waterfront, ...

, and were caught by agents. Nounes was then tried over the next two years and was sentenced to two years in

Atlanta Federal Penitentiary The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justic ...

in 1929. J.C. Hutcheson stated that Nounes has bothered him more than any other person in his district.

Post-Prohibition and Later Life

After Nounes' release, and around the time

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

was ending, the

was seen back in Galveston. Conflicting accounts say he stole $50,000 from Johnny Jack and $24,000 from Johnny and opposing mobster

. However much it was, Nounes and Voight found Nitti at a

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

bar one night. They then high-tailed him back to the island where they talked over a nice plate of

spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridg ...

Seawall Boulevard Seawall Boulevard is a major road in Galveston, Texas in the United States. The boulevard is conterminous with Farm to Market Road 3005 south of 61st Street. It runs along the Gulf coast waterfront of the island near the main parts of the city. ...

. Johnny then confronted him that it would either be his money or his brains next to that plate of spaghetti. The next day Nitti forked over the money he owed and was riding a train back to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

never to be seen in Galveston again. Furthermore, Sam and Rose Maceo have taken over the Beach Gang and the Galveston crime underworld during Nounes' absence. They established the

Maceo Syndicate The Maceo Organization, also known as the Maceo Syndicate, was a criminal organization, that ran Galveston, Texas politically and criminally throughout most of Galveston's open era. The organization's bosses, Sam and Rosario Maceo, operated ...

and would come to take control of the island, especially after they pulled the hit on George Musey.url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Maceos_and_The_Free_State_of_Galveston_T/iJTFDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=johnny+jack+nounes&pg=PA62&printsec=frontcover Therefore, after the Downtown Gang's demise, Johnny would later go on to own businesses such as nightclubs, restaurants, and other establishments. He would then run for mayor of West Beach, Galveston and win the election in 1947, however he was found guilty of

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

and was forced out of office in 1949. However, he did enter politics again and ran for mayor in Pirates Beach, Galveston in 1960 and won again.

Health Problems and Death

By the late 1960s Nounes had lost both of his legs due to

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, and later died on March 11, 1970, at

St. Mary's Hospital, Galveston St. Mary's Hospital was a Catholic hospital founded in 1866 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Galveston, Texas, United States; it was the first private hospital in Texas. The hospital was closed and sold in 1996 to the neighbor ...

. One of his pallbearers at his honorary pallbearers was mobster

. He is buried at Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nounes, Johnny Jack 1890 births 1970 deaths People from Galveston, Texas History of Galveston, Texas American gangsters of Portuguese descent American people of Portuguese descent