The History of the Chicago Gangsters
5/5
()
About this ebook
The early days of Chicago's organized crime began in 1850 with Michael Cassius McDonald as the original crime boss and The Black Hand. "Big Jim" Colosimo, Johnny "The Fox" Torri and Al "Scarface" Capone followed as the boss of bosses. Prohibition brought gangland war to Chicago. Capone fought for territory with Dean "Gimpy" O'Bannon, Earl "Hymie" Weiss, Vincent "The Schemer" Ducci and George "Bugs" Moran. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was the beginning of the end for Capone. This book follows gangsters in Chicago onward to the year 2010.
William Howard
William Howard was born and raised in Colorado. He has been on faculty at Western Michigan University and Northern Michigan University. He holds a Doctorate in Special Education and worked in public education for 26 years. He travels often to Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona.
Read more from William Howard
Gunfighters of the West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Cody, Wyoming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Taos, New Mexico Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Durango, Colorado Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Bar Harbor, Maine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Traverse City, Michigan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaisies Are For Lovers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide for Estes Park, Colorado Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHearts Unlocked Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Helena, Montana Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Billings, Montana Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Santa Fe, New Mexico Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGhosts Unlocked Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Travel Guide to Cheyenne, Wyoming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The History of the Chicago Gangsters
Related ebooks
Historic Photos of Chicago Crime: The Capone Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When the Outfit Ran Chicago, Vol I:The "Big Jim" Colosimo Era Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMotor City Mafia:: A Century of Organized Crime in Detroit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5LIFE The Mob Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mafia Court: Corruption in Chicago Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chicago's First Crime King: Michael Cassius McDonald Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHollywood and the Mob: Movies, Mafia, Sex and Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sinatra Club: My Life Inside the New York Mafia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Love & Murder The Lives and Crimes of Bonnie and Clyde Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe "Dust Bowl" Era Bank Robbers, Vol IV: "Pretty Boy" Floyd Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPaddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder & Mayhem on Chicago's North Side Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDouble Cross: The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing For Capone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Gangsters, Murderers and Weirdos of New York City's Lower East Side Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManhattan Mafia Guide: Hits, Homes & Headquarters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen the Outfit Ran Chicago, Vol II: The Al Capone Era Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mafia Murders: 100 Kills that Changed the Mob Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lucky Luciano Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jersey Boy: The Life and Mob Slaying of Frankie Depaula Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5C-1 and the Chicago Mob Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Godfather Garden: The Long Life and Times of Richie "the Boot" Boiardo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Mafia Chronicles: Autobiographies of a Mafia Hit Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Don of New York City Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBensonhurst Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrue Crime: The Mafia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Real Gangs of New York: Organized Crime, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies) History For You
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win | Summary & Key Takeaways Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/518 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not My Father's Son: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of the American People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft In The American South Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wager Disaster: Mayem, Mutiny and Murder in the South Seas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"America is the True Old World" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not Stolen: The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5101 Secrets of the Freemasons: The Truth Behind the World's Most Mysterious Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Constitution of the United States of America: 1787 (Annotated) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Profiles in Courage: Deluxe Modern Classic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within US Slave Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Children's Blizzard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Frontier: The Forgotten History of Struggle, Savagery, & Endurance in Early America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The History of the Chicago Gangsters
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
The History of the Chicago Gangsters - William Howard
The History of the Chicago Gangsters
William Howard
Copyright 2017 by William Howard
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from William Howard, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
All images, logos, quotes, and trademarks included in this book are subject to use according to trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America.
Smashwords Edition
Licensing Notes
This e-book is licensed for your personal use and enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, please visit Smashwords.com and purchase a copy for yourself. Thank you for respecting this author’s work.
E-Book by e-book-design.com.
Table of Contents
Part One: The Early Years
Part Two: The Capone Years
Part Three: The 1940s
Part Four: The1950s
Part Five: The 1960s
Part Six: The 1970s and 1980s
Part Seven: The 1990s
Part Eight: The 2000s
Historic Leadership
Part One
The Early Years
In the 1850’s Chicago was a national railroad hub. Michael Cassius McDonald, an Irish-American, is considered Chicago’s organize crime boss. A run-a-way from Upstate New York, he came to Chicago alone right before the Civil War by way of a train. As a ragged looking young boy, he was a candy butcher
on railroad cars. McDonald sold half full boxes of candy and phony raffle tickets to passengers to survive.
During this period, there was discrimination against the Irish for jobs. So as a teenager he learned how to gamble successfully. McDonald bought fancy suits, polished shoes and expensive cigars.
He gambled at The Sands in Chicago’s red-light district noted for card sharps.
In 1857, a new mayor named John Wentworth, had his police force burn down The Sands and close the brothels. Gambling houses moved throughout Chicago’s neighborhoods. In one of the neighborhoods during this time, McDonald ran a faro game. Faro was a European card game made famous by Mississippi gamblers and cowboys. McDonald’s customers included wealthy citizens and politicians.
During the Civil War, McDonald led a group of bounty jumpers
who took the $300 signing bonus before deserting. Then they would return to Chicago and reenlist under a different name.
McDonald got half of the $300 and offered to get them out of trouble if necessary. With the money, McDonald made off this scam he bought a saloon, gambling house and a top end hotel. He prospered.
When the war ended, McDonald had several real estate properties, four gambling dens and a liquor distributorship.
McDonald acquired a girlfriend named Isabella Belle
Jewel. When visiting friends, he introduced as Mrs. McDonald but they were never married. They lived in a wealthy neighborhood.
Often, they would go to fine restaurants for the evening. Partly because McDonald was a drunk or maybe a physical abuser, Belle left him after seven years. She joined a St. Louis convent until her death in 1889.
In 1871, during the Great Chicago Fire, McDonald lost everything he owned. Following its aftermath, he opened another gambling house. Some of McDonald’s well-dressed employees steered gamblers from the railroad station to the gambling parlor.
Upon an effort to shut him down by a new mayor named Joseph Medill, McDonald threatened to expose bribes given to the police superintendent. Mayor Medill left unexpectedly to Europe.
McDonald threw his political weight to Harvey Colvin who won an election for mayor. Chicago became a wide-open city.
In 1873 McDonald opened the high-end gambling business named The Store.
On the first floor was a saloon and a cigar shop. The second floor was a beautifully designed gambling parlor.
Located on the third floor, The Palace European Hotel located on the third floor offered rooms to gamblers. His girlfriend Mary and her two kids lived at the hotel. McDonald made overnight visits to Mary’s bedroom.
McDonald had the Chicago police force on his payroll. When he pulled out a gun at a political rally the police did nothing. He gave money to charities. When he disliked someone. he could be violent. Once, when arrested for assault and battery, he was quickly acquitted of all charges against him.
That same night he threw a banquet for the police and judge.
Mary took off with a banjo player named Billy Arlington. He followed them to San Francisco and threatened them with a loaded pistol. He forgave her and she returned to Chicago.
She met a priest named Father Joseph Moysant and had an affair with him. They went to New