Antonio "the Gentleman" Genna (; July 12, 1890 – July 8, 1925) was an Italian-born mobster in

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

. He headed 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' ...

with his brothers. Genna was ambushed by a Genna family turncoat on orders of

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 ...

leaders Vince Drucci and

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 ...

Early life

Antonio Genna was born on July 12, 1890, to Sicilian parents, Antonio Genna Sr. and Maria Concetta Utica in Marsala,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. He had six brothers: Michele "the Devil", Vincenzo "Jim", Pietro "Peter", Salvatore "Sam", Angelo "Bloody Angelo", and Nicola Genna; and two sisters: Rosa Laudicina and Caterina Mariana. He and his brothers entered the U.S. through New York around 1910.

Legitimate business

Before becoming a gangster, Genna was an excellent building contractor and architect. If he stuck to this profession, he could have amounted to something honorable, but the lure of fast cash and cars and power quickly won over his mind as a way of life.

Prohibition and O'Banion

Genna reportedly had some rudimentary skill as a surgeon, and was known to operate on his soldiers if they couldn't go to a hospital for fear of arrest. They started selling their extra alcohol at cut-rate prices outside of their territory on the North Side. This caused a problem with the

leader Charles Dean O'Banion, who in turn, went to South Side Gang boss John "Johnny the Fox" Torrio and Unione Siciliana 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, so O'Banion started hijacking alcohol shipments belonging to the Genna brothers. Torrio ordered the brothers to kill O'Banion; the brothers carried out the hit on November 10, 1924."La Cosa Nostra database: Genna Brothers
Brothers
/ref> Francesco Ioele and two Genna hitmen— Giovanni Scalise and Alberto Anselmi—entered O'Banion's flower shop, Schofield, and when Yale shook O'Banion's hand, Scalise and Anselmi shot two bullets into his chest and two in his neck. And while O'Banion was lying face-down on the floor, one of the men shot a final bullet in the back of his head.The Dean O'Banion Project

Personal life

Genna had a girlfriend named Gladys Bagwill, whom the rest of the Gennas did not like due to her not being Italian. She was a minister's daughter. Apparently, Genna had planned to marry her (before he was killed).

Gang war and death

After the O'Banion murder, Chicago erupted into a full-scale war. The North Siders—now led by Earl "Hymie" Weiss—attempted to kill Torrio outside his home, causing him to flee to Italy, leaving his second-in-command— Alphonse "Scarface" Capone—as head of the Outfit. Then, the North Siders took aim at the Gennas. On May 26, 1925, Weiss, Vincent "the Schemer" Drucci and George "Bugs" Moran wounded Tony's brother Angelo in a high-speed chase, causing him to die shortly after. Then on June 13, 1925, Mike Genna was killed by police after a shootout with North Siders. On July 8, 1925, Tony Genna was asked to meet by one of his friends—Antonio "Cavalero" Spano (aka Giuseppe Nerone)—at Grand Avenue and Curtis Street. He agreed, not knowing that the meeting was set up by Drucci and Moran. The two men met in front of a grocery store, and when they shook hands, another two men stepped out from behind Spano and shot Genna in the chest and abdomen (Spano set it up to be just like O'Banion's murder). Tony was rushed to the hospital and lived long enough to tell Sam Genna that it was Spano who lured him.

Funeral

Genna's funeral was the exact opposite of his brother Genna's funeral. It was modest and secretive. There were only two floral pieces, one from a relative and one from his remaining brothers. His casket cost $5,000. None of his brothers showed up at the funeral. Due to Tony being a slain gangster, Cardinal Mundelin refused the family Catholic funeral rites.

Aftermath

The remaining three brothers fled Chicago. On August 26, 1926, Spano was killed by one of Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello's brothers for a past transgression against the Aiellos. After the Gennas fled, the Aiello brothers declared themselves the bosses of the old Genna territory.''The true and complete story of 'machine gun' Jack McGurn'' by Amanda Jayne Par
pg. 244
/ref> The Aiellos had an alliance with 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 a close connection to the North Siders. They attempted to murder Capone to become the most powerful Italian organization in Chicago. In 1930, Joe Aiello was murdered and Capone took over the territory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genna, Tony American bootleggers 1890 births 1925 deaths 1925 murders in the United States Murdered American gangsters of Sicilian descent People from Marsala Italian emigrants to the United States People murdered in Illinois Male murder victims Deaths by firearm in Illinois