Death by Wall. The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre

February 14, 1929 was a splendid day for romantic partners to show their appreciation for each other and celebrate the special occasion of Valentine’s Day. For seven individuals, however, their destiny called for demise during the event known as the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre in Lincoln Park, Chicago. The men gathered at a garage to wait for a scheduled shipment of Canadian whisky (Mason and Mason 146). Suddenly, four men entered the building, two dressed as police officers, and yelled at the men to get against the wall (O’Brien). Suspecting no foul play, the men did as they were told. They assumed this was another police raid in which the only harm done to them would be some jail time (“The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”). Oh how wrong they were. Once turned against the wall, the men were filled with lead until they fell to the ground. This gruesome event caught the attention of everyone inside and outside of Chicago. The question became, who would do such an act and kill that many individuals? The answer: ‘Scarface’ Alphonse Gabriel Capone and ‘Machine Gun’ Jack Mcgurn. Their connections to the many individuals involved in the crime, as well as a solid motive, puts them as the prime suspects of the crime.

The first person of interest that irreversibly ties Capone to the crime is Jack Mcgurn who initially planted the idea of the massacre. Jack Mcgurn was a well-known bodyguard of Capone. During his time he was ordered and took out the murder of over 22 individuals, some of whom were trying to execute a bounty on Capone. Mcgurn had exquisite self-initiative being a competent boxer, professional golfer, regularly exercised, and exquisitely groomed (Burbank). However, a henchman has little reason to go against or subterfuge the orders of their boss, since it would end in their destruction . Mcgurn, before the massacre, had many attempts against his life by members of the North Side Gang, specifically by the Gusenberg brothers Frank and Peter. Both of whom were victims of the massacre. When he was asked in his hospital bed if he knew who the perpetrators were he responded with “Of course I know who shot me…When I’m well again, I’ll settle this thing myself” (Mcgurn qtd. In Burbank). Wanting revenge for his attacks Mcgurn petitioned Capone. If one of Capon’s most trusted bodyguards, someone responsible for protecting his life, wanted someone gone then Capone would have little reason to decline. If someone was trying to attack his bodyguard then they are one step closer to killing Capone.

The second item that ties Capone to this event is his vehement rivalry with George Clarence “Bugs” Moran. Bugs Morman’s North Side Gang was the direct competition to Al Capone’s South Side Gang in the smuggling industry of Chicago (“The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre’’). The competition was so intense that the North Side Gang emptied a massive amount of ammunition onto the Hawthorne Hotel on September 20^th, 1926 with the intent of either killing or scaring Capone (“The Hawthorne Hotel”). This attack was in line with mobsters at the time: “Murder was deemed necessary for syndicate bosses to end competition and keep control of money flowing from their rackets, to avenge hits by rival gangs, or to prevent a hoodlum or civilian from cooperating with the police and courts” (Burbank). Capone not only had some form of grudge on his mind from previous attacks but had an incentive to kill Morman. To get rid of Morman would give a great hit to the North Side Gang’s efficiency and operation. In essence, take out the queen, and the hive crumbles. Once the gang was less of a threat this would give more operation and henceforth more profit towards Capone. Ironically, the main shipment that the men were picking up before the massacre was a hijacked container of Capone’s whisky (Mason and Mason 146). Moran was the intended target for the massacre but he missed the attack because he was running late (“The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”). After the event when Morna was interviewed his predominant statement was “only Capone kills like that” (“St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”) which puts more bearing on Capone being the chief executor of the event. If Moran had been killed during the massacre, as intended, then Capone would have greatly benefited.

The third vital person that ties Capone to the crime is Fred “Killer” Burke. Burke had a long history of criminal activity, carrying out his first crime at the age of 17 (“Fred Burke”). Taking on many past killing contracts Burke not only had a disregard for killing but could do it on command. During the massacre, one of the primary weapons the men were shot with was a Thompson submachine gun [Tommy gun]. With recent developments in ballistic forensics, guns were finally able to be attached to the bullet of a crime. On December 14, 1929, during a raid on Burke’s house two Tommy guns were taken from Burke’s home that matched the bullets from the massacre (“The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”). This means that Burke was part of the attack since he has the exact guns that were directly involved in the crime. Burke would not have carried out the act himself because he was lower down the ladder to Capone. Burke was just another henchman like Mcgurn meaning that Capone was above Burke giving the actual orders.

Jack Mcgurn being killed gives more of a reason as to why Mcgurn and Capone were part of the massacre. On February 15, 1936, seven years and one day after the massacre Mcgurn was shot at point-blank range in the middle of a bowling alley (“The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”). The note left for him before the alley was raided read “You’ve lost your job; you’ve lost your dough; Your jewels and cars and handsome houses! But things could still be worse, you know…At least you haven’t lost your trousers!” (qtd. in Burbank). This card’s context was meant to have a tone of mockery towards Mcgurn because his financial situation declined after he was kicked out of the North Side Gang by Frank Nitti (Burbank). The most likely suspects of the case were members of the North Side Gang as revenge is an ‘eye for an eye’ game. They wanted to get revenge on Mcgurn because he had done something wrong in the past. He would not be attacked for no reason; there would have to be an event that would provoke this attack, in this case, the Valentine’s Day Massacre. Meaning that Mcgurn has to be directly involved in some part of the massacre. Since Mcgurn was part of the massacre Capone, being his superior, would have also played a role.

The convenient alibis of both Capone and Mcgurn puts the nail into the coffin of them both being involved within the massacre. With both individuals being the masterminds of the crime they did not want the act to be pinned upon them. What they needed was a solid alibi. While Capone and Mcgurn stayed far away from the crime they would have other individuals do the deed for them. On that day Capone was in his Florida home, many states away (“St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”). While Mcgurn, on the other hand, was staying at the Stevens Hotel with his girlfriend, Louise “Blonde Alibi” Rolfe (Burbank). While coincidence does not prove guilt in a court of law, for them both to be completely away from the crime scene gives great suspicion to the fact that both their alibis had been manufactured and planned long before. Rather than their location being a mere coincidence.

The question then becomes, why would Fred Burke not be the mastermind behind the crime? Simple, because he was the one who committed it. Remember, Burke was a contract killer not exactly the mastermind behind any operation (“Fred Burke”). He was always serving someone else above him that was going to pay for the completion of an objective. While Burke is the primary suspect he had no underlying motive for the act, it was just another job for him. During the time of the massacre, Al Capone’s net worth was close to around 100 million dollars (“St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”). Capone had as much money as he needed to dangle in front of Burke’s eyes, all Burke needed to do was accept the offer - which he did. Capone on the other hand needed someone to carry out the crime for him. Given that he had an entire gang under his control the only deed needing to be done was finding the right man to execute the contract. Burke was the best choice because of his proven track record.

It has been almost 100 years since this massacre occurred and no one was officially charged for the crime and with the primary suspects dead no one ever will be. Many of the people involved received different definitions of “justice”. With many mobs losing power with the repeal of the prohibition amendment, this event was the peak of brewing conflict between the North and South Side Gang. And given all the profound evidence, motive, and connections, Al Capone and Jack Mcgurn were the men behind the slaughter.

Works Cited

Burbank, Jeff. “‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn leads list of Top 5 most notorious Mob hitmen.” Mob Museum, 10 Feb. 2020, <www.themobmuseum.org/blog/machine-gun-jack-mcgurn-leads-lists-of-top-5-most-notorious-mob-hitmen/>. Accessed 8 Feb. 2022.

“Fred Burke.” Babyface Nelson Journal, <www.babyfacenelsonjournal.com/fred-burke.html>. Accessed 8 Feb. 2022.

Mason, Philip Parker, and Philip P. Mason. Rumrunning and the Roaring Twenties: Prohibition on the Michigan-Ontario Waterway. Wayne State University Press, 1995.

O’Brien, John. “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Chicago Tribune, 2 Feb. 2008, <www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/chi-chicagodays-valentinesmassacre-story-story.html>. Accessed 8 Feb. 2022.

“St. Valentine’s Day Massacre - Victims, Evidence & Suspects - HISTORY.” History.com, 9 Nov. 2009, <www.history.com/topics/crime/saint-valentines-day-massacre>. Accessed 8 Feb. 2022.

“The Hawthorne Hotel.” My Al Capone Museum, <www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id222.htm>. Accessed 8 Feb. 2022.

“The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, . Accessed 8 Feb. 2022.