Dean O'Banion

When Dean was young, who sang in the church choir at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral. But, neither music or religion held O'Banion's interest; instead the street life of Kilgubbin caught his eye. Dean and his friends join a street gang. They later became, "sluggers," thugs hired by a newspaper to beat news stand owners who did not sell the paper. The gang also met the political bosses of the 42nd and 43rd ward through Annenberg; their job was to use violence to help steer the outcome of elections.

Life as a bootlegger

Dean was an Irish-Americn mobster. His rivals were none other than Johnny Trio and Al Capone during the bootlegging wars of the 1920s

Dean started a bootlegging operation. He planned beer suppliers in Canada to start shipments right away, and also made deals with whiskey and gin distributors. Dean pioneered Chicago's frst liquor hijacking on December 19, 1921. He and the "lads of Kilgubbin' quickly got rid of their competition. The O'Banion mob, also known as the North Side Gang, now ruled the North side and the Gold Coast.

Early Life

Death

On November 3, 1924, Dean O'Banion carelessly signed his own death warrant during an argumentative phone call to arch-rival Angelo Genna. They about The Ship, the gambling casino that the North Side gang boss owned along with the Torrio Syndicate. On this day, O'Banion sat in with Al Capone, Frank Nitti, Frank Rio, and others to tally the week's profits. Angelo Genna and his family could no longer be restrained. Until then, Mike Merlo and the Unione Siciliana had refused to permit a hit on O'Banion. However, Merlo had terminal cancer and died on November 8, 1924. With Merlo gone, the Gennas and South Siders were free to move on O'Banion. On the morning of November 10, 1924, O'Banion was clipping chrysanthemums in Schofield's back room. Yale entered the shop with Genna gunmen John Scalise and Albert Anselmi. When O'Banion and Yale shook hands, Yale grasped O'Banion's hand in a tight grip. At the same time, Scalise and Anselmi stepped aside and fired two bullets into O'Banion's chest and two into his throat. One of the killers fired a final shot into the back of his head as he lay face down on the floor. The O'Banion killing sparked a brutal five-year gang war between the North Side Gang and the Chicago Outfit that culminated in the killing of seven North Side gang members in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929.

O'Banion lived with Torrio's deal for about three years before becoming unhappy with it. To satisfy him, Torrio granted O'Banion some of Cicero's beer rights and a quarter-interest in a casino called The Ship.O'Banion then convinced a number of speakeasies in other Chicago territories to move to his strip in Cicero.This move could've started a bootleg war.Torrio tried to convince O'Banion to abandon his plan in exchange for some South Side brothel proceeds. O'Banion angrily refused, as he abhorred prostitution.

Dean O'Banion

Dean Documentary

Who was he?

Bootleggers divide Chicago