Maurice "Mossy" or "Mossie" Enright (died February 2, 1920) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

and one of the earliest

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

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

racketeer Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and ...

s in the early 20th century. Little is known of Maurice Enright's background before his

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

violent Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened o ...

and brutal methods managed to dominate Chicago's

labor unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

by the end of the 19th century. A veteran of the "Circulation Wars," he became a major figure in the city's

steamfitter A pipefitter or steamfitter is a tradesman who installs, assembles, fabricates, maintains, and repairs mechanical piping systems. Pipefitters usually begin as helpers or apprentices. Journeyman pipefitters deal with industrial/commercial/marine pi ...

s' union during the early 1910s and was instrumental in the rise of

Johnny 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 Syn ...

, who provided Enright with invaluable

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

protection from Chicago's First Ward vice district

Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many 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 them ...

"Bathhouse" John Couglin and Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna. Enright remained in control of the city's labor unions into the early months of

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 ...

until his death on February 2, 1920, when he was

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

ned down near his South Side home (most likely by rival Timothy "Big Tim" Murphy or Johnny Torrio and

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 ...

. Enright's death occurred shortly before the death of James "Big Jim" Colosimo). Although Vincent Cosmano was later

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

ed and eventually

acquit In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

ted for the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, only labor union racketeer James Vinci would be convicted of Enright's murder.

References

*Tim Novak, Robert C. Herguth and Steve Warmbir. "One family's rise, a century of power." ''Chicago Sun-Times''. 22 May 2006. (Discusses the opinion of the Chicago Police Department regarding the alleged involvement of reputed Outfit (organized crime) boss Bruno Roti, Sr. in the murder of Maurice "Moss" Enright). {{DEFAULTSORT:Enright, Maurice Year of birth missing 1920 deaths American gangsters Murdered American gangsters of Irish descent Gangsters from Chicago People murdered in Illinois Male murder victims Deaths by firearm in Illinois

Further reading

References