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2024-03-29T02:18:55Z
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“The Mover” - Profile of Chicago Outfit consigliere Marco D’Amico
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-mover-profile-of-chicago-outfit-consigliere-marco-d-amico
2020-04-27T12:30:00.000Z
2020-04-27T12:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mover-profile-of-chicago-outfit-consigliere-marco-d-amico" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237139274,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237139274?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>He was one of the last old school Chicago Mafia leaders to pass away, media wrote when Marco D’Amico died on April 22, 2020. It was a cliché that – between the lines - revealed the downfall of a once mighty criminal empire. One that D’Amico played an important part in.</p>
<p>Born on January 1, 1936, Marco D’Amico fit right in with some of the crazier gangsters operating in Chicago. That says a lot, seeing how the city was home to torture-murderers like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Tony Spilotro</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-mad-sam" target="_blank">“Mad Sam” DeStefano</a> and a boss like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo" target="_blank">Joey “The Clown” Lombardo</a>, who never missed a chance to live up to his nickname, but would just as easily smile-kill you, if needed.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237139480,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237139480?profile=original" /></a>Biting the finger off a cop: charges dropped</span></strong></p>
<p>D’Amico (right) earned his crazy stripes in 1983 when he got pulled over by a police officer on suspicion of drunk driving. The cop had seen correctly that D’Amico was intoxicated, but the mobster wasn’t about to get busted for something as insignificant as a DUI.</p>
<p>So, he pulled a: “Do you know who I am?!” on the officer. Stunned, the cop replied he didn’t know nor that it mattered. D’Amico then went straight for the cop’s finger and bit it off. Like a madman.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc" target="_blank">Untouchable "Little Jimmy"</a> - Profile of Chicago Mafia boss James Marcello</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>After this violent incident, D’Amico was proven correct in using the “Do you know who I am?!” line. He indeed had a lot of pull. After biting off the finger of a cop, the charges were dropped. Some guys were above the law, it seemed.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Shakers and movers</strong></span></p>
<p>It was indicative of the power of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> of the 1980s. Back then, it not only ruled the underworld in Chicago, but multiple <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Casino" target="_blank">casinos</a> in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Vegas" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a> as well. It still had corrupt contacts in law enforcement, the courts, and even in politics.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-beginnings-of-tony-spilotro-s-infamous-hole-in-the-wall-gang" target="_blank"><strong>The beginnings of Tony Spilotro's infamous Hole in the Wall gang</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>This created the perfect working environment for a mobster like D’Amico. From <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a> to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> and violence, D’Amico had all the freedom he needed. And back up as well, of course. As a made member of the Outfit’s Elmwood Park crew, he could rely on plenty of muscle. D’Amico himself brought plenty to the table as well, earning the nickname “The Mover” because he always got things <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237139498,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237139498?profile=original" /></a>done.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>No Nose</strong></span></p>
<p>His biggest ally in the crew was <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89" target="_blank">John “No Nose” DiFronzo</a>, who would eventually become the boss of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>. John Binder, a historian and expert on the Chicago underworld, told <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/marco-the-mover-d'amico-dead-outfit-chicago-mob/6126739/" target="_blank">ABC7 Eyewitness News</a> that: “D'Amico was close to John DiFronzo for quite some time. His own money was (as an investor) in the large-scale marijuana farms the Outfit ran in Inverness and Carol Stream some years ago, alongside that of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89" target="_blank">John DiFronzo</a> and his brother Joe. He was also part of John DiFronzo's inner circle, meeting with him every day at the old Loon Cafe and after that in another near west suburban location for an extended lunch.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank"><strong>Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder in new book</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>But times were changing fast. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>’s power and influence were dwindling fast. D’Amico was confronted with the new reality in which mobsters actually had to face justice for their crimes in the mid-1990s when he was hit with racketeering charges. Gone were the corrupt contacts. Gone was the protective shield of omerta, the code of silence. If he would have gone to trial, he faced snitches and overwhelming evidence.</p>
<p>The Outfit just wasn’t what it used to be. D’Amico pleaded guilty in 1995 and was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. He was released in 2005.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Consigliere</strong></span></p>
<p>By that time, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> was in bad shape. Operation Family Secrets had decimated its top leadership and uncovered many of the underworld’s most guarded conspiracies. DiFronzo and D’Amico were still going. The two mob leaders were seen meeting together in public as late as 2009. But the days of brazen robberies and bombings were far behind them.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-hook-life-and-bloody-crimes-of-feared-chicago-mafia-enforcer" target="_blank">The Hook</a>: Life and bloody crimes of feared Chicago Mafia enforcer</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-hook-life-and-bloody-crimes-of-feared-chicago-mafia-enforcer" target="_blank"><strong>Harry Aleman</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>As a senior figure in the Outfit, D’Amico’s opinion and insight were valued by younger mobsters. According to various sources, he still held the position of consigliere at the time of his death on April 22, 2020. He was 84.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Visiting Chicago’s Prohibition-era underworld with new gangster tour
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/visiting-chicago-s-prohibition-era-underworld-with-new-gangster-t
2019-04-22T12:50:02.000Z
2019-04-22T12:50:02.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/visiting-chicago-s-prohibition-era-underworld-with-new-gangster-t" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237121472,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237121472?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Chicago has seen its fair share of violence. It was infamous during the Prohibition years for its gangland killings and notorious Mafia boss Al Capone. Starting June 14, you will be able to visit many of these historic underworld sites with the brand-new Chicago Prohibition Gangster Tour.</p>
<p>Based on 25 years of research and lasting two and a half hours, the bus tour visits various interesting places, such as the location of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-wishes-rivals-a-happy-valentine-s-day" target="_blank">St. Valentine’s Day Massacre</a>, the sites of the murders of Dean O’Banion, Hymie Weiss, “Big Jim” Colosimo, and John Dillinger, and the attempted hit on Jack McGurn.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-violent-to-loving-in-a-heartbeat-the-two-sides-of-infamous-c" target="_blank"><strong>The two sides of infamous Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The tour is guided by John Binder, author of <em>Al Capone’s Beer Wars</em> and <em>The Chicago Outfit</em> and a consultant on numerous organized crime documentaries. He operates ChiTown Gangster Tours and shares his vast knowledge on the subject. During the luxury bus tour he answers all your questions. The tour involves no walking, but does make a few stops where you are welcome to exit the bus to get a closer look at the sites where gangland activities once took place.</p>
<p>Gangsters Inc. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank">interviewed</a> Binder about his most recent book, <em>Al Capone's Beer Wars: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago during Prohibition</em>. In it he debunks many myths about this period, especially regarding the amount of murders. “Let’s get to the facts here,” Binder <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank">told us</a>. “Virtually every conclusion I’ve seen previously drawn about gangland violence in Chicago during <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> is pretty much wrong.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank"><strong>Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder in new book</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>What is the right story? For that you will have to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank">read our interview</a>, buy and read his book or book a spot on his tour. You will not be disappointed.</p>
<p><em>For more information, including how to buy tickets, go to</em> <a href="http://www.chitowngangstertours.com" target="_blank"><em>www.chitowngangstertours.com</em></a></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Al Capone’s Beer Wars: Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar
2017-09-12T08:05:49.000Z
2017-09-12T08:05:49.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237092696,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237092696?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The Prohibition era in Chicago has gone down in history as a time of extreme mob violence. A time when hoodlums were mowing down enemies with Thompson machine guns in a battle over the lucrative bootlegging business. When mob boss Al Capone ruled supreme while being on the cover of every newspaper. Author John J. Binder gives readers a complete account of those turbulent times in his new book <em>Al Capone's Beer Wars: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago during Prohibition</em>.</p>
<p>“It’s a book to set the record straight,” John J. Binder tells Gangsters Inc. right off the bat. <em><a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">Al Capone’s Beer Wars</a></em> is based on over two decades of exhaustive research by the renowned mob historian and several of his colleagues that covers the entire period from 1920 to 1933.</p>
<p>In it, he paints a detailed picture of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> from its beginnings under leader “Big Jim” Colosimo to its prolific rise under bosses John Torrio and Al Capone. Using many previously unexplored sources Binder lays out how the organization’s diversified operations in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prostitution" target="_blank">vice</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">narcotics</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Union" target="_blank">labor racketeering</a> enabled its expansion and ensured its survival after <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> ended.</p>
<p>Another reason the Capone gang was so successful was that it welcomed gangsters from other ethnicities into its ranks. “Therefore,” Binder writes in his <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">book</a>, “from the earliest days [they] greatly benefitted from the likes of Jake Guzik and Murray Humphreys and readily embraced other non-Italians such as Sam Hunt and Willie Heeney. Capone was also willing to cooperate with and eventually merge with other gangs as things evolved, as opposed to fighting them and then expelling them from the areas they controlled, even though these other gangs were not heavily Italian in membership.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!</strong></span></p>
<p>One should add that all of this reasoning is based on decades of research. Part of the reason for writing this <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">book</a> stems from the large amount of crime fiction that is being presented as fact by many writers. “A lot has been written about this subject, which I’ve been studying for 25 years now,” Binder tells us. “I’ve had the opportunity to dig into a lot of things. And as other books came out I’d sometimes be perplexed.”</p>
<p>Flipping through the pages, Binder found himself asking: “Really? How could you say that? How do you think that happened?” Or, he adds, “When one guy says X and 99 other sources say Y yet the author, without anything else to contribute to this issue, goes with X. Come on! You’re kidding me?!” he exclaims.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-mob-story-the-man-who-loved-being-a-gangster" target="_blank">A Chicago Mob Story: The man who loved being a gangster</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>There are many reasons for this, he explains. “One problem is that in this day and age sensationalism sells books. I think a lot of authors might be a bit too quick to go with something that they hear or can put together quickly, especially if it is very sensational.” This sensationalism, Binder says, led to the creation of myths and fiction like the claims that Capone was a cocaine addict (he wasn’t) or that Capone had nothing to do with the St. Valentine’s Day massacre (he did).</p>
<p>A bit frustrated by this and realizing he had compiled a ton of factual evidence about the Prohibition era in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a>, Binder went to work on <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">his latest book</a>. A major focus of his work is how the group led by Al Capone gained a virtual monopoly over organized crime in northern Illinois and beyond even though it was just one of a staggering twelve major bootlegging gangs vying for territory at the start of Prohibition.</p>
<p>When it comes to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga" target="_blank">researching organized crime</a>, Binder has simple advice: Dig deep and dig wide. “Working this subject is so difficult,” he admits. “You’re talking about a field of history where you have minimal source material. You think the Middle Ages are bad? Organized crime history is much worse.”</p>
<p>What helps is cross checking every lead you find, Binder advices. “If you’re not careful of the source material you draw conclusions that might be very different than if you’d dig a little deeper.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>TOMMY GUN MASSACRE</strong></span></p>
<p>“The history of Chicago prohibition and most of organized crime has been written about in a very particular way,” he tells us. “Most writers are not looking at the bigger picture, asking: What do these guys do? How do they make their money? Because that’s the sole goal of organized crime.” Instead, Binder says, the media focused on the violence.</p>
<p>“For years everybody was drawing conclusions without looking at what really happened. ‘Oh my God! 729 gangland killings! Oh, they must’ve all been bootleggers! They must’ve all been part of the wars between the bootleggers! It was so incredibly violent they were all using Thompson machine guns,” Binder says with a critical tone.</p>
<p>During his meticulous research Binder partnered with Mars Eghigian and decided to take a look at all of these 729 killings one by one, devoting an entire chapter to the topic in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga" target="_blank">his book</a>. After painstakingly going through reports and historic documents the results were in. Of the 729 killings between 1919 and 1933 only 138 people were members of the major bootlegging gangs.</p>
<p>Binder: “The flashiest incidents [during Prohibition] were, yes, with the Thompson submachine gun, but that doesn’t mean it was used regularly. Let’s go look at all these incidents and see in what percentage a Tommy gun was used.”</p>
<p>In 444 murders between 1926 and 1933 the Thompson machine gun was used a total of only 27 times. “There is a simple reason why they used them infrequently; when fired on full automatic such weapons are difficult to control and the gangsters were extremely wary of accidentally hitting bystanders. To minimize the risk, gunmen tended to shoot their victims at close range, in which case a handgun or shotgun was sufficient.”</p>
<p>Binder: “That chapter more than any other shows what the work was really all about: Let’s get to the facts here. Virtually every conclusion I’ve seen previously drawn about gangland violence in Chicago during Prohibition is pretty much wrong.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>“AL CAPONE WAS A GREAT BOSS”</strong></span></p>
<p>One man who has gotten a particularly bad rep is <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">crime boss Al Capone</a>. Described frequently as a hothead with little in terms of brain capacity, readers had to ask themselves: how could this guy be boss?!</p>
<p>“In my opinion,” Binder begins, “Al Capone was a great gang leader. He had strong business sense and excellent martial skills. They’re running a multimillion-dollar business empire. Illegal as it is, that is the sole goal. If you can’t earn profits and make money for everyone, you won’t last very long. Guys underneath you are probably going to revolt, because you’re not just damaging how much guys at the top make but also how much everyone makes. I don’t think anyone would last very long as a gang leader if he didn’t have some basic and decent business skills to run the operations.”</p>
<p>Apart from that, Capone could never have lasted, Binder says, if he wasn’t able to keep his aggression under control. Not just because it would cloud his judgement and result in hasty and bad decisions, but also because he would alienate others. “You have to be diplomatic in how you interact with people inside and outside your organization,” he adds.</p>
<p>Of course, he did have his shortcomings. Binder acknowledges that Capone’s public behavior put him in the spotlight and that he should have filed his income tax returns every year and declared income equal to what he thought the authorities could attribute to him.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>LESSONS LEARNED FROM PROHIBITION</strong></span></p>
<p>After extensively researching this fascinating period, what have we learned from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> with regards to fighting organized crime? Well, you might not like the answer.</p>
<p>“The basic law enforcement approach is someone breaks the law and you punish him,” Binder says. “The next approach is, as you saw in Chicago, authorities would try to hit them in the pocketbook. Shut everything down in a certain area so they lose income and start behaving themselves. Or if it’s really bad, something really major, authorities will shut down organized crime citywide for two weeks. Maybe keep hitting the speakeasies and gambling places and keep them totally closed to really punish the gangster element.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/there-goes-the-neighbor-hood-take-a-tour-through-chicago-s-gangla" target="_blank">Take a tour through Chicago's gangland</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>But you hit organized crime the hardest if you take away their livelihood altogether. Binder: “Make their activities legal. If you do that, you put them totally out of business. Legal casinos and legal slot machines have taken illegal gambling largely away from the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>.”</p>
<p>If we apply that theory to our present-day predicament, it would mean legalizing drugs. “Complete legalization of drugs would take it away from the street gangs who are involved in a lot of the violence on the street corners and from those at the upper ends distributing and trafficking it. I’m not trying to use that as a blanket statement, saying there’s your conclusion, let’s do it. Society would have to weigh the benefits against the costs. People always argue about the cost and that it will create more addicts, more crime, but it would certainly have a positive effect as all that violence would probably disappear. The corruption of public officials with drug money would go away. The government could tax the narcotics trade and make it a revenue baring activity for society,” Binder argues.</p>
<p>“We learned from Prohibition that the racket quickly ended when authorities legalized alcoholic beverages again. The bootlegging gangs tried to go legit, but found they were bad at it. When they’re forced to deal with a legal competitive environment they get their pants kicked off. When alcohol became legal they tried to hold on but it was very clear that they had become ancient history as far as the booze business was concerned.”</p>
<ul>
<li><em><strong><a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">Al Capone's Beer Wars</a> is available at <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> and bookstores near you.</strong></em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</strong></p>
<p>John J. Binder, Ph.D., is the author of two previous books on organized crime and has appeared in interviews on and served as an expert consultant for documentaries on the mob shown on the A & E and AMC cable networks and on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. He has also given numerous interviews on the subject for newspapers, magazines, and radio and television news programs. He lectures frequently on organized crime in Chicago. He is associate professor emeritus of finance in the College of Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
There Goes the Neighbor Hood: Take a tour through Chicago’s gangland with Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/there-goes-the-neighbor-hood-take-a-tour-through-chicago-s-gangla
2017-06-15T09:00:00.000Z
2017-06-15T09:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/there-goes-the-neighbor-hood-take-a-tour-through-chicago-s-gangla" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237080269,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237080269?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Have you always wanted to see where notorious Chicago mob bosses like Al Capone and Sam Giancana lived, where they enjoyed some quality time with their wife and kids after a day spent planning murder and mayhem? Now’s your chance! Starting May 21, mob author John J. Binder takes people on his Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour titled “There Goes the Neighbor Hood.”</p>
<p>Binder’s exterior tour will visit fourteen houses which were previously owned by major hoodlums, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-message-dont-fuck-with" target="_blank">Tony Accardo</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ricca" target="_blank">Paul Ricca</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Giancana" target="_blank">Sam Giancana</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Battaglia" target="_blank">Sam Battaglia</a>, “Tough Tony” Capezio, and "Machine Gun Jack" McGurn. He will discuss the criminal careers of the former owners, the interesting features of each home, the family's time there, and answer questions from the audience.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-chicago-outfit-made" target="_blank">How the Chicago Outfit made its Hollywood dreams come true</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The tour lasts a little more than two hours and is a deep immersion into the history of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">organized crime in Chicago</a> from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> to almost the present day. It is by luxury bus with no walking required. The bus departs from and returns to the Oak Park Visitor’s Center, 1010 Lake St., Oak Park, IL 60301.</p>
<p>Please call the Visitor’s Center at 708-848-1500 to get tickets ($30 per person, $27 for seniors and active military). We can accommodate larger groups on the regularly scheduled tours and I also do custom tours (including a separate tour of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago gangland</a> sites).</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>2017 dates for the Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour “There Goes the Neighbor Hood” are:</strong></span></p>
<ul>
<li>July 23</li>
<li>September 17</li>
<li>October 15</li>
</ul>
<p><em><strong>Times are 11 am and 1:30 pm</strong></em>.</p>
<p>Also be sure to check out John J. Binder’s new book:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga" target="_blank">Al Capone’s Beer Wars</a>: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago During Prohibition</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Al Capone’s Beer Wars: Book delves into Prohibition-era Chicago gangland violence, revealing rare facts and insights
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga
2017-01-10T12:15:06.000Z
2017-01-10T12:15:06.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237079664,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237079664?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Chicago during Prohibition was a place of extremes. It was a city where men made more money than God as they smuggled booze, set up speakeasies, engaged in labor racketeering, ran prostitution and organized gambling. It was also where many of them died violent deaths at the hands of their rivals as various gangs fought for supremacy. Now, author John J. Binder gives readers a complete account of those turbulent times in his forthcoming book <em><a href="http://amzn.to/2jpJ9Vv" target="_blank">Al Capone's Beer Wars</a>: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago during Prohibition</em>.</p>
<p>Based on over two decades of exhaustive research by renowned mob historian Binder, the book covers the entire period from 1920 to 1933. A major focus is how the gang led by infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone">mob boss Al Capone</a> gained a virtual monopoly over organized crime in northern Illinois and beyond even though it was just one of a staggering twelve major bootlegging gangs vying for territory at the start of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition">Prohibition</a>.</p>
<p>Binder will detail these gangs extensively, he writes Gangsters Inc. Interestingly enough, many of these groups are virtually unknown to the public as they have at best barely before been discussed in books to date. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Guilfoyle-Kolb-Winge gang</li>
<li>The Schultz-Horan gang</li>
<li>The Cook-Vogel gang</li>
<li>The O’Donnell-McErlane gang, formed when Frank McErlane left the Saltis-McErlane gang and joined his long-time adversary “Spike” O’Donnell</li>
<li>The Downs-McGeoghegan-Quinlan gang</li>
<li>The McErlane gang, which was created when the O’Donnell-McErlane gang split into three separate groups</li>
</ul>
<p>As Binder takes readers deeper into the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago">Chicago gangland</a> of that era, showing them its secrets and unknown players, he also refutes numerous myths, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>The South Side O’Donnell gang was formed in 1923 when Spike O’Donnell was released from prison</li>
<li>An inter-gang squad of killers punished the South Side O’Donnell mob when it invaded Saltis-McErlane territory in the fall of 1923</li>
<li>The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre was not a Capone operation</li>
<li>The North Side gang only had 7 members, if you count the optometrist and the mechanic, in early 1929</li>
<li>The North Side gang broke up right after the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre</li>
<li>The Capone gang controlled almost all bootlegging in Chicago before Capone went to prison in 1931</li>
<li>Over 700 members of the major bootlegging gangs were killed during the Prohibition Era gang wars in Chicago</li>
<li>The Thompson submachine gun was heavily used in these murders</li>
<li>The Capone gang did not deal in illegal narcotics</li>
<li>Policy gambling was invented in Chicago in the 1890s</li>
</ul>
<p>While his focus is on Chicago’s criminal element, Binder hasn’t forgotten about the brave members of law enforcement and citizens who stood up to the violent gangsters. He describes the fight by federal and local authorities, as well as citizens' groups, against organized crime.</p>
<p>What emerges is a big – and very detailed - picture of how <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago's underworld</a> evolved during this period. This broad perspective goes well beyond Capone and specific acts of violence and brings to light what was happening elsewhere in Chicagoland and what happened after <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone">Capone</a> went to jail.</p>
<p><em><strong><a href="http://amzn.to/2jpJ9Vv" target="_blank">Al Capone's Beer Wars</a>: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago during Prohibition by author John J. Binder will be available at stores on June 6, 2017. </strong></em></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>