The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was an Irish-Polish-American criminal organization within

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

during the

Prohibition era 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 be ...

from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the

South Side Gang 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 ...

, also known as the Chicago Outfit, the crime syndicate of

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

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 Sy ...

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 ...

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 Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...

, 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 The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. It was during the Circulation Wars that future North Side leader

Dean O'Banion Charles Dean O'Banion (July 8, 1892 – November 10, 1924) was an American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s. The newspapers of his day made him better known ...

, then a member of the juvenile satellite ''Little Hellions'', would develop valuable contacts with politicians and journalists. O'Banion and other members of the North Siders would be mentored by safecracker Charlie "The Ox" Reiser. O'Banion was one of the many Market Streeters to become a bootlegger.

Prohibition

With the start of Prohibition, the North Siders quickly took control of the existing breweries and distilleries in the North Side of Chicago. This gave them a near

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on the local supply of real beer and high quality whiskey; their rivals only had supplies of

rotgut Fusel alcohols or fuselol, also sometimes called fusel oils in Europe, are mixtures of several higher alcohols (those with more than two carbons, chiefly amyl alcohol) produced as a by-product of alcoholic fermentation. The word ''Fusel'' is G ...

liquor and

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

. Based on the North Clark Street restaurant McGovern's Saloon and Café, the North Side Gang would soon control the working-class neighborhoods of the 42nd and 43rd Wards within months. In addition to bootlegging, the gang continued to burglarize local stores and warehouses and run illegal gambling operations. Unlike the rival Chicago Outfit, however, they refused to traffic in

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. O'Banion strengthened his political protection by assisting his politician friends in committing election fraud. He also ran a publicity campaign in the North Side, with large-scale donations to orphanages and charities as well as food and loans to the poor and unemployed. The old hostility between Irish and Italian gangs, combined with O'Banion's refusal to sell portions of North Side distilleries to the South Siders, raised tension between the North and South Siders. During several meetings arranged by Torrio, O'Banion would often insult the Italians. O'Banion also secretly hijacked South Side beer shipments and sold them back to their owners. However, the North Side Gang also ran into trouble with other ethnic gangs; in 1921, O'Banion shot Ragen's Colts member Davy "Yiddles" Miller after he insulted a North Sider at a local

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

. Although O'Banion was arrested and charged with burglary in 1922, the North Side Gang enjoyed considerable protection from the Chicago police department. At one point, O'Banion threw a lavish banquet for Chicago politicians and police officials. Attendees included Chief Detective Michael Hughes, Police Lieutenant Charles Evans, County Clerk Robert Sweitzer, Public Works commissioner Colonel Albert A. Sprague, and a host of both Democratic and Republican politicians. Dubbed the "Balshazzar Feast" by the press, it was later investigated by reform Mayor William E. Dever. In 1924, Chicago police assisted the North Side Gang in robbing the Sibly Distillery, which had been under federal guard since the beginning of Prohibition. Escorted by Police Lieutenant Michael Grady and four detective sergeants, North Siders looted the distillery in broad daylight, taking 1,750 barrels of bonded whiskey worth approximately $100,000. Although Grady and the other police officers were later indicted for this crime, they were quickly dismissed. Relations between the North and South Side gangs continued to fester. In early 1924, O'Banion agreed to an alliance with Torrio and Capone that was brokered by

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 consider ...

. However, the alliance began to flounder when O'Banion demanded that

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 ...

pay a $30,000 gambling debt from losses at the co-owned gambling casino ''The Ship''. This demand contravened an agreement allowing Angelo and other gang members to run up debts there. In the interest of maintaining harmony, Torrio persuaded Genna to pay his gambling debt. However, Torrio himself would lose patience when O'Banion offered to sell him the valuable Sieben Brewery. On May 19, 1924, while Torrio was inspecting the property, O'Banion arranged for the police to raid the place and arrest Torrio. After his release from custody, Torrio acceded to demands from the

Genna crime family The Genna crime family (), was a crime family that operated in Prohibition-era Chicago. From 1921 to 1925, the family was headed by the six Genna brothers, known as the ''Terrible Gennas''.Capeci, Jerry. ''The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia' ...

, allies of Chicago Outfit, to kill O'Banion. On November 10, shortly after the death of Merlo,

Frankie Yale Francesco Ioele (; January 22, 1893 – July 1, 1928), known as Frankie Yale or Frankie Uale, was an Italian-American gangster based in Brooklyn and second employer of Al Capone. Early life Yale was born in Longobucco, Italy, on January 22, ...

John Scalise John Scalise (born Giovanni Scalise, 1900, Castelvetrano, Sicily – May 7, 1929, Chicago) was an American organized crime figure of the early 20th century and, with partner Albert Anselmi, was one of the Chicago Outfit's most successful hitmen ...

, and Albert Anselmi reportedly entered the Schofield Flower Shop owned by O'Banion and shot him dead. This was to be the beginning of a five-year gang war between the North Side Gang against

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, ...

that would climax with the

St. Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 1 ...

in 1929.

War with the Chicago Outfit

After the death of O'Banion,

Hymie Weiss Earl J. "Hymie" Weiss (born Henryk Wojciechowski; January 25, 1898 – October 11, 1926), was a Polish-American mob boss who became a leader of the Prohibition-era North Side Gang and a bitter rival of Al Capone. He was known as "the only ma ...

assumed leadership of the North Side Gang and immediately struck back at his rivals. On January 12, 1925, Weiss,

Bugs Moran George Clarence "Bugs" Moran (; Adelard Leo Cunin; August 21, 1893 – February 25, 1957) was an American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Seven members of his gang were gunned dow ...

, and

Vincent Drucci Vincent Drucci (born Ludovico D'Ambrosio; January 1, 1898 – April 4, 1927), also known as "The Schemer", was an American mobster during Chicago's Prohibition era who was a member of the North Side Gang, Al Capone's best known rivals. A frien ...

attempted to kill Torrio's lieutenant,

, at a Chicago South Side restaurant. Firing at Capone's car, the men wounded chauffeur Sylvester Barton, but missed Capone entirely. Capone, unnerved by the shooting, ordered his famous armored car to be created. Moran then decided to kidnap one of Capone's trusted bodyguards, torturing him for information before finally executing him and dumping the body. On January 24, shortly after the assassination attempt on Capone had taken place, Weiss, Moran, and Drucci ambushed Torrio as he returned from shopping with his wife. Both Torrio and his chauffeur Robert Barton were wounded several times. As Moran was about to kill Torrio, the gun misfired; the gang members were forced to flee the scene as the police arrived. After narrowly surviving this attack, Torrio decided he wanted out. After serving time on bootlegging charges Torrio retired to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, passing leadership of the Chicago Outfit to Capone. Weiss and the North Siders then went after the Genna brothers, leaders of the Genna crime family. First, "Bloody" Angelo Genna was shot to death by Moran after a car chase. Next, Mike "The Devil" Genna was shot down by police when he turned his gun on them after a shootout with the North siders. Then Drucci killed Samuzzo "Samoots" Amatuna, a Genna family backer. Finally, Antonio "The Gentleman" Genna was murdered (although it was rumored that Capone, not Weiss, ordered this). At this point, the remaining Genna brothers fled Chicago. The North Siders and Capone took the spoils.

The North siders under Weiss, Drucci and Moran

Soon after

's death, the North Siders had formed a "governing council" with Hymie Weiss emerging as leader. Although the loss of O'Banion was a shock to them, the gang was at the height of its power. The Genna family was gone, Torrio had been scared out of the rackets, and Capone was on the defensive. The North Siders expanded their business and strength and plotted another attack on Capone. In the second North Side attack on Capone, a fleet of North Side cars, with Moran in the lead car, drove to Capone's hotel in

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

. While Capone and his bodyguard were drinking downstairs, the North Siders drove by the lobby and opened fire with their

Thompson submachine guns The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...

. Capone and his bodyguard were forced to take cover on the floor. Once the attack was over, Capone sent word to the North Siders that he wanted a truce. A truce was made, which inevitably began to come apart. Some time later, Capone struck back at the North Siders by gunning down Hymie Weiss and several of his associates. Drucci and Moran now assumed joint leadership of the North Side Gang. The two gangs traded killings and bombings for several more months until a peace conference was held. Moran and Capone both appeared at the meeting along with many other mob bosses. During the conference, Capone complained that "they were making a shooting gallery of a great business." He also stated that "Chicago should be seen as a pie and each gang gets a slice of the pie." The two gangs agreed to make peace. This peace would last for a while, during which no killings occurred as a result of gang war. Drucci was killed during this time, but it resulted from a brawl with police. Moran now became the sole boss of the North Side Gang. However, conflict eventually started again. Moran would regularly hijack Capone's beer shipments, aggravating Capone. Capone retaliated by burning down Moran's dog track. A few days later, Capone's own dog track went up in smoke. Moran was the prime suspect. Open warfare started again between the two gangs. Moran ordered the execution of two union leaders who were powerful allies and personal friends of Capone. This act prompted Capone to order the

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

On February 14, 1929, four unidentified men, two of them dressed as

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

police officers, entered a North Side Street garage and ordered six members of the North Side Gang and a friend of a gang member to stand against a wall. The gunmen then pulled out machine guns and gunned them all down. The only survivor, Frank "Tight Lips" Gusenberg, died hours later at a nearby Chicago hospital refusing to name his attackers. However, the primary target of the gunmen,

, leader of the North Side Gang, was not at the garage and escaped harm. Strong circumstantial cases can be made for almost a dozen individuals as being one of the gunmen, but it remains unknown to this day exactly who those four gunmen were. Known as the

, the attack effectively left the five-year gang war between

and

in a stalemate. The brazenness of this crime resulted in a Federal crackdown on all gang activity in Chicago that eventually led to the downfall of both Moran and Capone.

Aftermath

Although Bugs Moran survived the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, several experienced North Side gunmen had been lost. The North Side Gang continued to control the 42nd and 43rd Wards and managed to thwart a takeover attempt by

Frank McErlane Frank McErlane (1894–1932) was a Prohibition-era Irish American gangster. He led the Saltis-McErlane Gang, allied with the Johnny Torrio- Al Capone Gang, against rival bootleggers, the Southside O'Donnell Brothers. He is credited with introduci ...

in 1930. As the decade progressed, the power of the North Side Gang slowly declined. In 1936, Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn, alleged mastermind of the massacre, was killed and Moran was one of the prime suspects, along with

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 ...

of the South Side mob, as McGurn had become more trouble for the South Side Gang than he was worth to protect. Moran and the North Side Gang eventually lost control of their gambling operations to the new

National Crime Syndicate The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to the multi-ethnic, loosely connected, American confederation of several criminal organizations. It mostly consisted of and was led by the closely interconnected Italian-American Mafia ...

. Since the repeal of Prohibition, gambling had been the main source of North Side income. Bugs Moran eventually left the gang by 1935, after which it quickly dissolved.

North Side Gang members

Bosses

*1919–1924 —

(1892–1924) *1924–1926 —

(1898 –1926) *1926–1927 — Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci (1898–1927) *1927–1935 — George "Bugs" Moran (1891–1957)

Other members

References

* English, T.J. ''Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster''. New York:

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

, 2005. * Enright, Laura L. ''Chicago's Most Wanted: The Top Ten Book of Murderous Mobsters, Midway Monsters, and Windy City Oddities''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books Inc., 2005. * Zorbaugh, Harvey Warren. ''The Gold Coast and the Slum: Sociological Study of Chicago's Near North Side''. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

, 1929. * Mason City Globe-Gazette. ''Chicago Peddler of Alcohol Is Found Dead''. Iowa: June 27, 1929(Page 4). Newspaper Archive. * Decatur Review. ''Moran Gangster Latest Victim''. Decatur, Illinois: June 27, 1929. Newspaper Archive. {{Organized crime groups in America Organizations established in 1919 1919 establishments in Illinois Organizations disestablished in 1935 1935 disestablishments in Illinois Former gangs in Chicago Irish-American organized crime groups North Side, Chicago Prohibition gangs Irish-American culture in Chicago