St. Valentine's Day -- Chicago Style

St. Valentine's Day is known for love and kindness and flowers and marriage and great dinners.

But way back in 1929, some people in Chicago had a different message that yielded "Rosy" results.

To this day, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is embedded in Chicago's violent history.

They say famous Mafia powerhouse Al Capone was behind the whole plan.

He successfully eliminated some competition in the rackets of the day that brought in 100's of millions of dollars a year when a dollar was still worth 95 cents instead of today's 2 cents.

The target was a rival Gangster named George Moran aka Bugs Moran.

Ironically however, Moran was not there and wasn't killed. But the "Love Letter" effectively put him out of business.

Lots of legends and stories about what actually happened, especially who the people were with the guns.

Please add any details about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre if you have any.


St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Gang warfare ruled the streets of Chicago during the late 1920s, as chief gangster Al Capone sought to consolidate control by eliminating his rivals in the illegal trades of bootlegging, gambling and prostitution. This rash of gang violence reached its bloody climax in a garage on the city’s North Side on February 14, 1929, when seven men associated with the Irish gangster George “Bugs” Moran, one of Capone’s longtime enemies, were shot to death by several men dressed as policemen. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, as it was known, was never officially linked to Capone, but he was generally considered to have been responsible for the murders.

From 1924 to 1930, the city of Chicago gained a widespread reputation for lawlessness and violence. Not coincidentally, this phenomenon coincided with the reign of chief crime lord Al “Scarface” Capone, who took over from his boss Johnny Torrio in 1925. (Torrio, who was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in 1924, had “retired” to Brooklyn.) Prohibition, ushered in by the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1920, had greatly increased the earnings of America’s gangsters through bootlegging (the illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol) and speakeasies (illicit drinking establishments), as well as gambling and prostitution. Capone’s income from these activities was estimated at some $60 million a year; his net worth in 1927 was around $100 million.

Ratty - Tat - Tat

a reply to: xuenchen

Ah yes the good old days...mob, unions and democrats....


The not so holy trinity......

Dang gangsters, no respect....not even on Valentines Day!