Bloody Valentine: The Bloody History of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is one of the most notorious murders of all time. In the crime-ridden Chicago of the Prohibition era, gangsters like Al Capone battled for power, but few went to the extreme lengths that Capone did on that fateful day in 1929. This short book gives you an exciting look at one of the most notorious criminals of all time, and the massacre he masterminded to finally gain control of the bootleg liquor trade.
Pray he has chocolates in that box and not a Tommy gun! This is one Valentine's Day you will never forget.
Pray he has chocolates in that box and not a Tommy gun! This is one Valentine's Day you will never forget.
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Excerpt
Prologue
St Valentine’s Day, 1929. Chicago. North Clark Street, the Lincoln Park neighbourhood. It’s the morning and the sound of a distressed dog barking cuts through it. The sound of the dog is coming from a garage. Boarding houses sit across the street from the garage. They are run by two women. One of the women is Mrs Landesman. Feeling agitated and slightly concerned about why the dog was making so much noise – it had begun to howl after a short time – Mrs Landesman called to one of her roomers. He was a polite young man who immediately obeyed Mrs Landesman. The man made his way across the street. Mrs Landesman watched him through her window. She saw him disappear into the garage and waited a moment. The dog continued to bark. She was about to turn away with the expectation of the dog being quietened and the young roomer returning when she noticed him stumble back out into the morning. He stood on the street with his hand against the wall, steadying himself. Horror was etched across his pale face. He looked as though he’d seen a ghost. Still the dog barked and when she saw the man throw up Mrs Landesman knew that something was seriously wrong.
Chapter 1: Prohibition and 1920s Chicago
January 16, 1919. The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was announced. This was the Prohibition of alcohol, meaning a national ban on the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol. This would come into effect exactly one year later. America, though, wasn’t ready for prohibition, nor did it want it. America was experiencing the Jazz Age and Americans were enjoying the party. Alcohol was welcomed with open arms. Prohibition was not invited.
January 17, 1920. Legitimate establishments that served alcohol are forced to close their businesses. A ripple of restlessness began to simmer among the American people. The opposite feeling simmered among the gangsters, however. Light bulb moments shone above the heads of each gang member like saintly halos. Dollar signs lit up their eyes. There was money to be made.
The prohibitionists were quick to feebly express how alcohol consumption had decreased considerably. No one was fooled. Of course it had. What choice did they have? But this obvious fact was a mere mask. Behind that mask was hidden the true fact. A fact that prohibitionists had anticipated, but could never have expected to rise as rapidly as it did. Beads of sweat trickled down the faces of the prohibitionists’ faces. Beads of sweat that indicated nerves that had been jangled by the reality: Organised crime was on the rise all around the country and they didn’t have the knowhow or the manpower to prevent it.
# # #
The roaring twenties. Gangsters in major cities all over the U.S. roared into action when Prohibition came into everyone’s lives. None became more famous than Chicago.
The Genna Brothers. Or the ‘Terrible Gennas’ as the six of them were known locally. They were a mean Sicilian crime family unit that led a ruthless gang from their base in Little Italy. Their ruthless alacrity made them the first in Chicago to capitalise on the illegal production of alcohol. Head of the family was Angelo. Handsome, piercing dark eyes and slicked back hair. It was on his orders that the Gennas jumped on the growing bandwagon.
The family made their money by extorting the wealthy. But fuelled by a hunger for more money and to be the first in Chicago to produce and sell alcohol during Prohibition, Angelo and the family decided to cut corners and get their alcohol out to the public as soon as they could. They produced industrial-grade alcohol, which wasn’t palatable. In order to make it so Angelo’s idea was to put additives into the mix. Reckless and conniving, the Gennas got it out to public demand. Whatever was wanted, bourbon, gin, it didn’t matter. They labelled the same alcohol any way they wanted. After all, who was going to argue with a notoriously sinister crime family? Especially when it was still alcohol they were getting. What the public and the Gennas didn’t know though was that their produce would eventually leave drinkers with psychosis.
The brothers’ base was Taylor Street. This was known to many as ‘The Patch’. The Gennas were able to continue their sales because the police were bribed. But ‘The Patch’ wouldn’t be the only patch in Chicago to exploit the laxity of the cops, Other gangsters soon got wind of the Genna brothers’ increasing wealth. And they wanted a slice of the pie.
Big Jim Colosimo. A fearsome Italian-American Mafia boss. Stocky in stature and smart in appearance with short black hair and a thick moustache. He was a notorious gambling racketeer and whoremaster. Word got around that he had forged links with the Genna brothers.
May 11, 1920. Three weeks had passed since Big Jim had married for the second time. In the lobby of his self-named restaurant on South Wabash Avenue the crime boss waited for a shipment. The shipment never arrived. Instead, there was a delivery of spraying bullets through the entrance. Big Jim was found murdered. Nobody was ever charged, but the prime suspect was Frankie Yale. He worked for Johnny ‘The Brain’ Torrio.
St Valentine’s Day, 1929. Chicago. North Clark Street, the Lincoln Park neighbourhood. It’s the morning and the sound of a distressed dog barking cuts through it. The sound of the dog is coming from a garage. Boarding houses sit across the street from the garage. They are run by two women. One of the women is Mrs Landesman. Feeling agitated and slightly concerned about why the dog was making so much noise – it had begun to howl after a short time – Mrs Landesman called to one of her roomers. He was a polite young man who immediately obeyed Mrs Landesman. The man made his way across the street. Mrs Landesman watched him through her window. She saw him disappear into the garage and waited a moment. The dog continued to bark. She was about to turn away with the expectation of the dog being quietened and the young roomer returning when she noticed him stumble back out into the morning. He stood on the street with his hand against the wall, steadying himself. Horror was etched across his pale face. He looked as though he’d seen a ghost. Still the dog barked and when she saw the man throw up Mrs Landesman knew that something was seriously wrong.
Chapter 1: Prohibition and 1920s Chicago
January 16, 1919. The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was announced. This was the Prohibition of alcohol, meaning a national ban on the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol. This would come into effect exactly one year later. America, though, wasn’t ready for prohibition, nor did it want it. America was experiencing the Jazz Age and Americans were enjoying the party. Alcohol was welcomed with open arms. Prohibition was not invited.
January 17, 1920. Legitimate establishments that served alcohol are forced to close their businesses. A ripple of restlessness began to simmer among the American people. The opposite feeling simmered among the gangsters, however. Light bulb moments shone above the heads of each gang member like saintly halos. Dollar signs lit up their eyes. There was money to be made.
The prohibitionists were quick to feebly express how alcohol consumption had decreased considerably. No one was fooled. Of course it had. What choice did they have? But this obvious fact was a mere mask. Behind that mask was hidden the true fact. A fact that prohibitionists had anticipated, but could never have expected to rise as rapidly as it did. Beads of sweat trickled down the faces of the prohibitionists’ faces. Beads of sweat that indicated nerves that had been jangled by the reality: Organised crime was on the rise all around the country and they didn’t have the knowhow or the manpower to prevent it.
# # #
The roaring twenties. Gangsters in major cities all over the U.S. roared into action when Prohibition came into everyone’s lives. None became more famous than Chicago.
The Genna Brothers. Or the ‘Terrible Gennas’ as the six of them were known locally. They were a mean Sicilian crime family unit that led a ruthless gang from their base in Little Italy. Their ruthless alacrity made them the first in Chicago to capitalise on the illegal production of alcohol. Head of the family was Angelo. Handsome, piercing dark eyes and slicked back hair. It was on his orders that the Gennas jumped on the growing bandwagon.
The family made their money by extorting the wealthy. But fuelled by a hunger for more money and to be the first in Chicago to produce and sell alcohol during Prohibition, Angelo and the family decided to cut corners and get their alcohol out to the public as soon as they could. They produced industrial-grade alcohol, which wasn’t palatable. In order to make it so Angelo’s idea was to put additives into the mix. Reckless and conniving, the Gennas got it out to public demand. Whatever was wanted, bourbon, gin, it didn’t matter. They labelled the same alcohol any way they wanted. After all, who was going to argue with a notoriously sinister crime family? Especially when it was still alcohol they were getting. What the public and the Gennas didn’t know though was that their produce would eventually leave drinkers with psychosis.
The brothers’ base was Taylor Street. This was known to many as ‘The Patch’. The Gennas were able to continue their sales because the police were bribed. But ‘The Patch’ wouldn’t be the only patch in Chicago to exploit the laxity of the cops, Other gangsters soon got wind of the Genna brothers’ increasing wealth. And they wanted a slice of the pie.
Big Jim Colosimo. A fearsome Italian-American Mafia boss. Stocky in stature and smart in appearance with short black hair and a thick moustache. He was a notorious gambling racketeer and whoremaster. Word got around that he had forged links with the Genna brothers.
May 11, 1920. Three weeks had passed since Big Jim had married for the second time. In the lobby of his self-named restaurant on South Wabash Avenue the crime boss waited for a shipment. The shipment never arrived. Instead, there was a delivery of spraying bullets through the entrance. Big Jim was found murdered. Nobody was ever charged, but the prime suspect was Frankie Yale. He worked for Johnny ‘The Brain’ Torrio.
