The Genna crime family (), was a

crime family A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in Italian organized crime and especially in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activ ...

that operated in

Prohibition-era In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and ...

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'
pg.82-84
/ref> The brothers were Sicilians from the town of

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 Gius ...

and operated from Chicago's Little Italy and maintained control over the

Unione Siciliana The Italian-American National Union (formerly known as Unione Siciliana) was a Sicilian-American organization, which controlled much of the Italian vote within the United States during the early twentieth century. It was based in Chicago, Illinoi ...

. They were allies with fellow Italian gang 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, ...

. After a bloody war led to their demise in the 1920s, the gang was eventually absorbed by the Chicago Outfit.

D'Andrea and the Unione Siciliana

Anthony D'Andrea was a

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily ...

boss in Chicago's Little Italy. His closest allies were the Genna brothers, who operated illegal gambling clubs and salons in his territory. In 1919, D'Andrea became president of the Chicago chapter of the Unione Siciliana, an organization dedicated to helping poor Sicilian immigrants. D'Andrea wanted more political power, and ran to become

alderman 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 ...

of Chicago's 19th Ward, which included Little Italy. This started the

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 ov ...

between D'Andrea and John Powers, an Irish saloon-keeper who was the sitting alderman. On May 11, 1921, D'Andrea was shot and killed while entering his apartment.

The Genna brothers

The Genna brothers consisted of six Sicilian brothers: "Bloody" Angelo, Antonio "The Gentleman", Mike "The Devil", Peter, Sam, and Vincenzo aka "Jim"."La Cosa Nostra database: Genna Brothers
Brothers
/ref> In 1919, the Gennas became involved in bootlegging; they obtained a federal licence to legally manufacture

industrial alcohol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a hy ...

, which they sold illegally. The Genna brothers operated from Chicago's Little Italy, which was located west of the

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 Nort ...

. The Genna brothers began selling their extra alcohol at cut-rate prices outside their territory. This produced a clash with the North Side Gang 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 ...

, who went to John "Johnny The Fox" Torrio and

boss

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 ...

to get the Gennas to back down. Torrio refused and O'Banion and his gang began hijacking shipments of whiskey that belonged to the Genna brothers. Torrio then ordered his men to murder O'Banion; they carried out the hit on November 10, 1924.

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, ...

along with two formerly-Genna aligned gunmen—

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 hitme ...

and

Albert Anselmi Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

— entered O'Banion's flower shop and shot him multiple times. It is believed that Antonio "Tony the Scourge" Lombardo and the Unione Siciliano planned the assassination after the attack on the Gennas' bootlegging operation after O'Banion heard rumours that the "guinea dagos" were muscling in on O'Banion's joints.

Gang war

After O'Banion's murder, Chicago erupted into gang war. The

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, als ...

, led by George "Bugs" Moran, shot and wounded Torrio outside his home. Torrio fled to Italy, leaving

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 ...

as boss. The North Side Gang took aim at the Genna brothers and on May 27, 1925, Moran chased down Angelo Genna in a high-speed car chase, then shot him to death. On June 13, 1925, Mike Genna was gunned down by police after a shootout with the North Siders. Antonio Genna was shot to death on July 8, 1925, in an ambush. The remaining three brothers Jim, Sam, and Pete fled Chicago.

Joe Aiello and the last fight

Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello and his brothers Salvatore "Sam" and Pietro "Peter" declared themselves bosses of the old Genna brothers territory of

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

.''The true and complete story of 'machine gun' Jack McGurn'' by Amanda Jayne Par
pg.244
/ref> The Aiello brothers had an alliance with the Castellammarese Clan boss

Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931) was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. ...

and close connection to the

. The brothers attempted to murder

and become the most powerful organization in Chicago. Giuseppe Aiello was murdered in 1930 and Capone took over all Italian organized crime.

Members of Chicago's Sicilian Mafia

Bosses

*1914-1921 — Anthony D'Andrea – led the

backed by the Gennas. He was murdered on May 11, 1921. *1921-1925 — Angelo Genna – murdered on May 27, 1925. *1925 —

Samuzzo Amatuna Salvatore "Samoots" Ammatuna (August 3, 1898 – November 13, 1925) was an Italian-born American mobster and member of the Genna Brothers in Chicago who served as president of the Unione Siciliane. Early life Ammatuna was born in Pozzallo, Sic ...

– led the

. He was murdered on November 13, 1925. *1925-1930 — Joseph Aiello – murdered on October 23, 1930.

Other members

* Antonio Genna – murdered on July 8, 1925. * Mike Genna – murdered on June 13, 1925. *

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 ...

died November 8, 1931 *Peter Genna died May 13, 1948 *Sam Genna died Dec 20, 1951 *Mariano Zagone – Black Hand; murdered in May 1909. * Joseph "Diamond Joe" Esposito – murdered on March 21, 1928. *

- Angelo's bodyguard; became boss after Angelo's death;

president; murdered on November 13, 1925.

Rival

* Rosario Dispenza – Black Hand member and was a Morello crime family Chicago contact. Dispenza was murdered in 1914. * Salvatore Cardinella gang – also operated in Little Italy and Little Sicily.Parr, Amanda Jayne ''The True and complete story of 'machine gun' Jack McGurn'
pg. 37
/ref>

References

{{Organized crime groups in America Organizations established in 1919 1919 establishments in Illinois Organizations disestablished in 1930 1930 disestablishments in Illinois Italian-American crime families Italian-American culture in Chicago Prohibition gangs Former gangs in Chicago