Angelo Genna
Angelo Genna | |
|---|---|
| File:AngeloGenna.jpg | |
| Born | February 3, 1898 |
| Died | May 26, 1925 |
| Cause of death | Homicide |
| Resting place | Mount Carmel Cemetery |
| Other names | Bloody Angelo |
| Occupation(s) | Crime boss, gangster, bootlegger. |
| Parent(s) | Antonino Genna Mary Sancore |
| Allegiance | Genna crime family, Chicago Outfit, American Mafia. |
Angelo "Bloody Angelo" Genna (1898 - May 26, 1925) was a Chicago bootlegger and organized crime leader during the Prohibition era. The leader of his own Sicilian Mafia family, he was best known for his war with the North Side Gang leader Charles Dean O'Banion. Genna masterminded the assassination of O'Banion in November of 1924.
Genna and his brothers then fought the North Side's new leader, George "Bugs" Moran. But, almost seven months later, in May of 1925, Moran chased Angelo in a high-speed car chase and shot him to death. In June and July, two of Angelo's brothers were killed, while the other three brothers fled.
Early life
Angelo Genna was born on February 3, 1898 in Marsala, Sicily. Genna's parents, Antonino and Mary Sancore Genna had five other children: Antonio "the Gentleman", Mike "the Devil", Vincenzo "Jim", Pietro "Peter", and Sam. He and his brothers entered the U.S. through New York around 1910. Angelo arrived in New York harbor on August 5, 1914, via the S.S. Venezia. He was on his way to meet his brother Pietro, who lived 870 Blue Island Avenue in Chicago.[1][unreliable source?]
Prohibition and O'Banion
The Gennas became a close knit Marsala-based Mafia and bootlegging gang. In 1919, the Gennas obtained a federal license to legally manufacture industrial alcohol, which they sold illegally. Angelo and his brothers operated from Chicago's Little Italy, which was located west of the Chicago loop.[2]
They started selling their extra alcohol at cut-rate prices outside of their territory. This caused a problem with the North Side Gang leader [[Dean O'Banion}Charles O'Banion]], who went to John "Johnny The Fox" Torrio and Unione Siciliana boss Michele Merlo to get the Gennas to back down. When Torrio refused, O'Banion hijacking shipments of alcohol belonging to the Genna brothers. Torrio ordered the Gennas to murder O'Banion; the brothers carried out the hit on November 10, 1924.[2] Francesco Ioele and two Genna hitmen—John Scalise and Alberto Anselmi—entered O'Banion's flower shop, Schofield, and when Yale and O'Banion shook hands, Scalise and Anselmi shot two bullets into O'Banion's chest and two in his throat, and one of them shot a final bullet into the back of his skull as he was lying on the floor, face-down.[3]
Personal life
On January 10, 1923, Angelo married Lucille Spignola, sister of Genna ally Peter Spignola. The wedding was lavish, with 3,000 guests a huge 2,000 pound cake.[1][unreliable source?]
Gang war and death
After the O'Banion hit, Chicago erupted into a five-year full-scale war. The North Siders—now led by George "Bugs" Moran—attempted to assassinate Torrio outside his home, causing Torrio to flee to Italy, leaving Alphonse "Scarface" Capone as head of the Chicago Outfit.[2]
The North Siders took aim at the Genna brothers. On May 26, 1925, Moran shot and wounded Genna numerous times during a high-speed car chase, causing Genna to crash his car into a lamp post at Hudson and Ogden Avenues. Angelo was rushed to the Evangelical Deaconess Hospital. When police questioned Genna who shot him, he merely shrugged. He died shortly afterwards while his brother Sam, wife, and brother-in-law were at his bedside. He was buried on May 29, 1925 at the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Chicago.[1][unreliable source?]
On June 13, 1925, Mike Genna was shot by police after a shootout with North Siders. On July 8, 1925, Antonio Genna was ambushed and shot to death. The remaining three brothers Jim, Sam, and Peter fled Chicago.[2]
References
- ^ a b c "Genna, Angelo (1898-1925)". Thomas A. Hunt. April 2011.
- ^ a b c d "La Cosa Nostra database: Genna Brothers" Brothers[better source needed]
- ^ The Dean O'Banion Project