By Rev. Johnny Lee ClaryOn Thursday Morning, Feb. 14th, 1929, gangster George “Bugs” Moran was walking to the Clark Street garage in Chicago for a meeting that had been set up, when he saw a police car pull up in front of the building. Rather than risk a shakedown, Moran decided to go to a café to have a cup of coffee and wait for the heat to die down. As it turns out that was the best choice he ever made in his life.
“Bugs” MoranEver since Al Capone had moved to Chicago around 1920, the city had been rocked by gangland wars. Prohibition was the law of the land which outlawed alcoholic beverages and the gangsters cashed in on it, selling illegal (bootleg) booze. Mobsters divided Chicago up into 4 sections, North, East, West and South. The most powerful was Johnny Torrio who controlled the Southside, which he inherited after the murder of his boss, “Big Jim” Colosimo who was gunned down. Colosimo's secretary Frank Camilla described the fleeing assailant as a heavyset man with scars on the left side of his face; an accurate description of Al Capone, although he was never arrested.
Big Jim ColosimoThe North side of Chicago was controlled by Irish mobster Dion O’Banion and he came into conflict with Torrio and Capone. O'Banion cheated Torrio out of $500,000 in a brewery acquisition deal and caused Torrio's arrest. Torrio was furious and ordered a hit on O’Banion. On November 10th, 1924, O’Banion was to pay the ultimate price for what he did to Torrio. O’Banion who owned a flower shop which he used as a front to cover his mob involvement, was working that day when Chicago mobsters John Scalise and Albert Anselmi walked into the shop. “Oh hello boys! Are you here for the floral arrangement? “ O’Banion said as he reached out to shake their hands. One of the mobsters clasped O’Banion’s hand and then drew his gun along with his partner and pumped O’Banion full of bullets.
Dion O’Banion
North Side mobsters who were friends and partners with O’Banion, Earl "Hymie" Weiss and George "Bugs" Moran vowed revenge for O’Banion’s murder. On January 24, 1925, Torrio was returning to his apartment at 7106 South Clyde Avenue from a shopping trip with his wife Anna. Moran, Weiss and another mobster who was driving the car lay in wait to ambush Torrio. A hail of gunfire from Weiss and Moran greeted Torrio's car, shattering its glass. Torrio was struck in the jaw, lungs, groin, legs, and abdomen. Moran attempted to deliver the final bullet into Torrio's skull, but ran out of ammunition. The driver of Moran and Weiss’s car signaled that it was time to go, and the three Northsiders left the scene. Although Torrio was severely wounded, he survived but recovered slowly from the assassination attempt. Capone had men guarding Torrio around the clock to make sure his beloved boss and mentor was safe. Torrio observing the rules of the mob to keep silent, refused to tell the police the names of his assailants. Right after his release from jail, Torrio served a year in jail for Prohibition violations. After his release, Torrio said to Al Capone, “It’s all yours Al. I’m quitting,” and moved to Italy with his wife and mother.
Johnny TorrioAl Capone became the big boss now and the war between the mobsters grew even more violent. The rat-a-tat-tat of machine gun fire could be heard throughout the streets of Chicago as Capone and the Moran-Weiss gang hit back and forth at each other for control of the bootleg empire. The Moran-Weiss mob murdered Capone’s trusted chauffeur and tortured him for hours before ending his life. His body was found on Aug. 3rd, 1926. A week later on August 10th, the Capone mob struck back with an attempted hit on Weiss, but they were unsuccessful. On September 20, 1926, a motorcade of ten cars from the North side mob roared up in front of the Hawthorne Hotel restaurant where Capone and his entourage were having lunch and in broad daylight opened fire riddling the restaurant with bullets from Thompson sub-machine guns and shotguns. Capone's bodyguard Frankie Rio, threw his boss to the ground at the first sound of gunfire and lay on top of “Big Al” as the headquarters was riddled with bullet holes. Several bystanders were hurt from flying glass and bullet fragmentation in the attempted assassination, including a young boy and his mother who would have lost her eyesight had not Capone paid for top-dollar medical care for her. After this, Capone called for a truce but the North side mob wanted no part of a truce; they just wanted Capone dead.
Hymie WeissCapone’s men gunned down Hymie Weiss on October 11th, 1926. Moran was furious and all hellish activity broke loose. The next couple of years were hit-for-hit between the North and South side in what became known as the Capone-Moran war. Several attempts were made upon Capone’s life until finally, Capone had had enough. Capone hired Chicago hitman 'Machine Gun' Jack McGurn to put an end to Moran once and for all by sending them the reddest Valentine ever. McGurn planned everything out carefully and Capone headed to his vacation home in Miami, Florida while the hit went down.
Weiss deadOn Feb. 13th, 1929 McGurn had a local booze hijacker contact Moran and offer to sell him a shipment of Old Log Cabin whiskey (i.e. very good liquor) which he was willing to sell at the very reasonable price of $57 per case. Moran quickly agreed and told the hijacker to meet him at the garage at 10:30am the following morning. McGurn got his hands on a police car and two police uniforms. He then brought in two torpedoes (hitmen) from out of town, just in case there were any survivors no one would be able to finger them as part of Capone’s mob.
Machine Gun Jack McGurnOn the morning of Feb. 14th, 1929, McGurn had posted two men as lookouts to watch the S.M.C. Cartage Company garage at 2122 North Clark Street. At 10:30am the lookouts phoned McGurn and told him they had spotted Bugs Moran heading into the garage. McGurn’s hitmen went into action. The stolen police car pulled up in front of the Clark Street garage and 4 men got out; two wearing police uniforms and two wearing suits, overcoats and fedora hats, and entered the garage.
The man the lookouts spotted as Bugs Moran was not Moran at all, but a man that closely resembled him, named Albert Weinshank. Moran was just about to the garage when he saw the police car and rather than risk what he believed would be a shakedown, he headed off to a café to drink coffee until the “shakedown” was over.
Reenactment photo of the shootersOnce inside the garage, 7 men saw what they thought was cops and just figured it was a routine police raid. The 7 men were told to put their hands in the air and line up against the brick wall. The gunmen then opened fire, using two Tommy guns, a sawed-off shotgun, and a .45 caliber pistol. The killing was fast and bloody. Each of the seven victims received at least 15 bullets, mostly in the head and torso. One of the gangsters fell with one side of the top of his head completely blown off.
Actual photo of the aftermath of the St. Valentine’s Day MassacreNeighbors heard the gunfire and were watching the garage. They reported seeing two men in suits wearing hats and overcoats with their hands in the air coming out of the garage followed by two uniformed policemen with their guns trained on them. They said the two men in suits were put in the backseat of the police car and the two policemen climbed in front and drove off. The neighbors assumed that the police had staged a raid and was arresting two mugs. As a matter of fact, after it was discovered to be a massacre many of the neighbors for several weeks believed the police did it. Six of the victims died in the garage; Frank Gusenberg was taken to a hospital but died three hours later, refusing to name who was responsible. The dead were identified as Frank Gusenberg, Pete Gusenberg, John May, Albert Weinshank, James Clark, Adam Heyer, and Dr. Reinhart Schwimmer. Each of these men had 15-20 or more bullets in him. The only one who would survive the massacre that day was a German Shepherd dog the police found cowering and shaking underneath a car.
Another actual photo view of the massacre
The massacre on that Valentine’s Day made headlines all across the United States. People from everywhere was shocked by the violent brutal killings of the 7 men. Capone’s alibi was bullet-proof. At the time of the massacre he was in the Dade County Florida’s District Attorney’s office. Jack McGurn had an iron clad alibi also. He had been at a hotel with his blond girlfriend from 9:00am Feb. 13th, until 3:00pm Feb. 14th.
Jack McGurn and his girlfriend who was his alibiMoran was sitting in the café drinking coffee when someone rushed in the door and said that Bugs Moran and his gang were just gunned down at the Clark street garage. Moran immediately left the cafe and went into hiding. A few days later he gave an interview to the media and made the statement, “Only Al Capone kills like that!” When reporters in Miami, Florida told Capone what Moran said, he replied, “Well they don’t call that guy “Bugs” for nothing!” Bugs means loony or crazy.
George “Bugs” MoranTo this day no one has ever been tried for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Legend has it that the two hitmen in civilian clothes were discovered later to have taken part in a plot to betray Capone. Capone lured them to a banquet dinner he was hosting in a banquet room at a Chicago hotel, and while the men sat at the table in front of several witnesses Capone beat the two men with a baseball bat within an inch of their lives, before Capone’s henchmen took them out and finished the job with bullets.
Jack McGurn was murdered on Feb. 15th, 1936 while bowling in a bowling alley in Chicago. The killers placed a Valentine’s card in his dead hand.
The body of Jack McGurn gunned down in a Chicago bowling allyGeorge “Bugs” Moran managed to hold on to his territory for a short time after the massacre but lost control after the repeal of Prohibition when liquor was made legal again. Moran was suspected of the murder of Jack McGurn because he was known to be a prankster and to write funny limericks. A limerick was found on the Valentine’s card that had been placed in the dead hand of McGurn. However, Frank Nitti, who was Capone’s enforcer was also a suspect because McGurn had become a liability risk to the Chicago mob, getting drunk and shooting off his mouth. Whatever the case, Moran turned to bank robbery and was caught and sentenced to ten years in prison, and then once released he was sentenced again to another ten years for a prior bank robbery. Moran died in prison of lung cancer on Feb. 25th, 1957, with only $100.00 net worth. He was given a pauper’s funeral.
Johnny TorrioJohnny Torrio returned to the USA and was given much respect by the Mafia as an elder statesmen. He lived to the ripe old age of 75 when he died April 16th, 1957 while sitting in a barber chair getting a haircut.
Al Capone The Man Who Ruled ChicagoAnd whatever became of Big Al Capone? Well, the police never did get him for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, however the government came after him for income tax evasion. The judge in the case heard a rumor that Capone’s mob was trying to bribe and intimidate some of the jurors so in the last minute before the trial began the judge railroaded Capone by ordering the jury to be switched with another jury on another trial. This very act should have called for a mistrial because the defense did not have a chance to question the new jurors as required by law. They found Capone guilty and he was sentenced to 11 years in the Federal Penitentiary. Capone appealed but it was denied. Capone was sent to Atlanta U.S. Penitentiary which was a very tough prison, but the judge then found out that Capone was able to obtain special privileges there and he ordered Capone transferred to Alcatraz Island Federal Prison on August 11th, 1934 under the tightest security possible and ordered that while in Alcatraz, Capone could not have any contact with the outside world. Capone has clearly drawn the wrath of the federal government who were determined to punish him as hard as anyone could be punished.
Capone on his way to prisonWhile in Alcatraz Capone got into a fight with an inmate who stabbed him but Capone only received a minor wound. He was more seriously injured by an old case of syphilis from many years before that went untreated. He spent his last year in Alcatraz in the prison hospital confused and disoriented a lot of the time. He was released from Alcatraz Jan. 6th, 1939 and was transferred to Terminal Island Penitentiary to serve a one year misdemeanor sentence, before being paroled Nov. 16th, 1939 after which Capone moved to his estate home in Miami, Florida.
Ariel view of Capone’s estateCapone had not lost his mind completely, but he was unable to return to running the mob. He was known to have gone into fits of rage while playing tennis when someone would beat him, he would yell to his guards, “I want this guy taken care of! “ At times he would seem OK, and then for no apparent reason he would fly off the handle and start having imaginary conversations yelling at people who were not there such as Bugs Moran and Hymie Weiss threatening to have them rubbed out. Sometimes he would sit by his swimming pool in his bathrobe with a fishing pole, thinking he was fishing. He constantly yelled and carried on about Communists, foreigners and Bugs Moran, who he was convinced was plotting to kill him from his prison cell in Ohio.
Capone used to fish in his swimming pool wearing his bathrobeAl Capone suffered a stroke on Jan. 21st, 1947, but then he started to improve when he contacted pneumonia on Jan. 24th, and suffered a fatal heart attack the very next day on Jan. 25th. He died in his home surrounded by his family including his wife who collapsed at the scene.
Al Capone a changed manOne thing the history writers most always neglect to mention, is that Al Capone repented of his sins while he still had some of his right mind left. He asked Jesus into his heart and became a Christian.
Capone was released from Alcatraz on January 6, 1939 and sent to the Federal Correctional Institute at Terminal Island near Los Angeles. There, one Sunday Reverend Silas A. Thweatt, pastor of the First Baptist Church of San Pedro, California, held a church service. When he asked if any needed prayer, Capone raised his hand. They prayed. When Thweatt gave the invitation, according to his account in Time Magazine, "'At the close of the talk, Capone's face seemed to radiate, and when I asked those prisoners to stand who felt the need and will to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, he was the first to rise.' That this "conversion" had taken place, no one doubted."2 Al Capone was the first of 16 men to stand up.3,4,5 Judging from newspaper accounts, Capone's conversion took place on or before March 19, 1939. By September 1939. His mind began to go a few months later.
Even when Capone was head of Chicago’s mob, he gave money to the poor, and also opened up soup kitchens to feed the homeless and hungry, which the government was not doing. He was known to have a generous heart and to have had his driver pull over and hand kids money that looked poor and hungry. He also provided coal for widows and orphaned children so they could keep warm in the winter.
Al Capone’s grave marker reads:
Alphonse Capone
1899-1947
My Jesus Mercy
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
Happy Valentine’s Day!
2. "Religion: Bitter Thweatt," Time, April 10, 1939. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,761014,00.html
3. John Kobler. Capone, The Life and World of Al Capone, (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press), 2003, p. 372.
4. "Al Capone Turns to Religion," St. Petersburg Times, March 25, 1939, p. 5.
5. "Capone, Leaning Toward Religion, Attending Services Regularly," Los Angeles Times, March 24, 1939, p. 1.
Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.
