02x02 - A Death in the Family

[bunniefuu]

narrator: Previously on "The Making of The Mob: Chicago"...

After trying to lead an honest life, Al Capone has just accepted an offer from his childhood mentor, Johnny Torrio, to go to work for his criminal syndicate in Chicago.

Johnny, this is incredible.

But when Prohibition goes into effect, Torrio and Capone see a big opportunity... to start a massive underground bootlegging business.

"Johnny": We'll be selling beer to half of Chicago.

Can you imagine how much money we'll be bringing in?

The only problem, Torrio's boss, ruthless crime lord "Big Jim" Colosimo, shuts them down.

No one in my organization is going into bootlegging!

No one.

Torrio knows he needs to make a bold move, so he hires New York hit man Frankie Yale.

(g*nsh*t f*ring)

With Colosimo out of the way, Torrio and Capone are now the biggest Italian kingpins in Chicago.

But across town, there's a new thr*at...

man: You tell those Italians to stay the hell out of the North Side.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

See that?

If we get another double of that, we double the money.

We've got 500.

In less than two years, Al Capone has risen from a humble bookkeeper to second-in-command of Johnny Torrio's criminal empire.

Chicago presented incredible opportunity for a man like Capone to come in and make a fortune, running brothels and gambling dens.

It was the underground route to the American dream.

narrator: By 1920, Torrio and Capone have expanded their operation in Chicago's South Side into an empire worth the modern-day equivalent of $35 million.

Al was making a fortune at a time when, you know, the average person worked for probably ten bucks a week, and it just kept growing.

Oh, Al...

Looks amazing.

Come on, everybody, take a seat.

I'm starving here.

Here, put that in there...

Thanks, Mae.

This is beautiful.

all: Salute.

Capone purchases a house in Chicago, moving his entire family from New York to live with him.

Including his brothers Frank and Ralph.

man: Capone's motivation to rise to the top was to provide for his family.

That's the motivation of anyone who works and loves his family.

narrator: But Capone's success is about to be challenged.

As Torrio and Capone's operations expand, they begin pushing into Chicago's North Side, an area controlled by the city's second-largest g*ng: the Irish.

The leader of the Irish North Side g*ng is a ruthless criminal named Dean O'Banion.

man: Dean O'Banion had grown up in the tough neighborhood known as "Little Hell."

One of the things about the Irish is you emerged in the underworld quite literally through the force of your ability to be physically tough.

And he demonstrated that numerous times in fights in the saloons and out on the streets.

narrator: In addition to ruling over the city's Irish g*ng...

O'Banion's also set up a legitimate business as the city's top florist.

Lee.

Oh, hey, no, no, no, that's no good.

No, too wilted.

Yeah.

T.J.: He loved flowers.

And he opened a floral shop that became one of the most popular in Chicago, because O'Banion was very good as a florist.

William: He probably k*lled 32 people with his own hands, but he loved to make flowers and he loved, you know... there's... there's a human side to people.

♪ ♪

When Prohibition goes into effect...

O'Banion muscles in on the growing bootlegging business.

Let's go!

And he's not abouto le Torrio and Capone grab a piece of his territory.

"Al": We got to do something about this O'Banion.

He's gonna take down our trucks whenever he feels like it?

I'm gonna send him a message.

man: As businesses would grow more powerful, they would take in more money and they would think about expanding.

And that's where the trouble began, because peop wou try to expand out of their neighborhood into another.

They would see great, profitable pockets, and that's when you'd get these clashes.

narrator: As the weeks pass, O'Banion strengthens his grip on Chicago's North Side, gearing up for a showdown with the Italians.

Once you're strong here, we'll move there slowly.

Yeah.

We're in no hurry.

How many got?

12. 12?

Yeah, we can push straight through there.

To protect his turf, O'Banion relies on his tolieutenants...

Hymie Weiss and Bugs Moran.

man: Hymie Weiss was very, very smart in a business sense and as a strategist.

And he was also incredibly dangerous.

T.J.: Bugs Moran was brought in because he was the muscle.

He was a tough guy, he was a sh**t, and he was a k*ller.

narrator: Now Dean Oaniohas all the tools he needs to escalate the situation to an all-out w*r.

♪ ♪

As the v*olence takes a toll on Torrio's business, he decides to gamble on a radical plan.

"Johnny": This is an opportunity, Al.

Yeah, I hear you.

Don't worry about the Irish.

We do this right... and we'd make a fortune.

Jonathan: Torrio calls O'Banion and suggests that they meet.

There's no way that that's a simple conversation.

There's no way that it's friendly.

But Torrio thought it was worth trying because if they could somehow stop k*lling each other, they would really ve the whole town to themselves.

♪ ♪

Don't know why we have to go to them.

But for O'Banion, meeting with Torrio and Capone is the last thing he wants to do.

man: Dean O'Banion, he didn't like Italians.

And he actually would go around calling them Dagos and things like that.

And the Italians didn't like that at all.

So they were constantly struggling and fighting.

♪ ♪

Well...

I'm here.

All this v*olence... stealing... k*lling, it doesn't make any sense.

It's not good for business.

v*olence is my business.

Or you mean your business.

Now, I've fought for every inch that I own of this city and I will not give any of it up.

Hey, we fought for our ter...

"Johnny": Listen, this Prohibition law, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As long as it lasts, I want to make money.

What do you want to do, O'Banion?

Oh, you gonna tell me how to run my business?

Would you rather be rich or dead?

Are you threatening me?

I don't make threats.

I'm making a proposition.

Which is what?

I take a cut of your business and you take a cut of mine.

You get to sell your whiskey in our territory, I get to sell my beer in yours.

(chuckling)

What makes you think I would agree to that?

We got to think smart.

sh**ting up my trucks, stealing each other's liquor, k*lling each other's men... it's not smart.

You understand me?

This is an opportunity.

You want to keep fighting or do you want to be rich?

Okay, Torrio.

I'll be in touch.

♪ ♪

narrator: Despite his reservations, O'Banion accepts the offer, creating the largest bootlegging syndicate in the city.

But the uneasy partnership is only the first step in Johnny Torrio's plan, to take over all of Chicago.

narrator: After Irish gangster Dean O'Banion accepts Johnny Torrio's offer to form an alliance, the two gangsters create the largest bootlegging operation in Chicago... covering the city's North and South Sides and making them into the most dominant Mafia syndicate in the city.

Johnny Torrio was able to think more strategically than most of the other gangsters.

He had the wit to decide that he could form alliances with gangsters from other backgrounds and he built a coalition.

I've got a good feeling about this.

Yeah.

narrator: Determined to take over Chicago's entire bootlegging operation...

Torrio moves to the next phase of his plan and takes advantage of one of Chicago's most distinct features: political corruption.

I'd love a reason to help you.

I'll make a donation to the campaign fund.

That would be very much appreciated, Johnny.

Salute.

Torrio buys off the highest-ranking official in Chicago: Mayor "Big Bill" Thompson.

Karen: Chicago, no doubt, was one of the most corrupt cities in America, if not the most corrupt city in America.

All of the elected officials and cops were all on the take.

narrator: Gangs like Torrio and O'Banion's dedicate nearly 10% of their revenue to payoffs... with some police collecting more money in bribes than from their annual salary.

"Al": Yeah, really good.

The guys say this is just from this morning.

Can you believe it?

Today?

Yeah, look at this.

Here, come on.

Get out of here.

(chuckling)

With the politicians and cops in their pocket... the Irish and Italian conglomerate operates freely throughout the city.

Taking over new territory by wiping out small gangs together.

Vincent: The Mafia came in and wind up running the city of Chicago.

Chicago was like Dodge City, where people are getting sh*t up and nobody was stopping.

It was almost like the Wild West.

♪ ♪

narrator: As the death toll rises, Chicago citizens decide they've had enough.

man: People were getting slaughtered in the streets.

The politicians were bought and paid for.

Who did the cops work for?

Gangsters or the people?

You had corruption in every aspect of civic life.

narrator: With an election approaching, a Chicago superior court judge who spent over a decade upholding the laws of the city decides to run for mayor.

♪ ♪

Now, this guerrilla w*r between hijackers, rumrunners and illicit beer peddlers will be crushed.

No bootlegger in Chicago will be safe.

(cheers and applause)

Now that you've elected...

His name is William Dever.

man: William Dever is gonna come in and clean things up.

Part of his platform is to enforce the Prohibition laws and make sure the courts and the police are doing their jobs.

I believe in Chicago!

(cheers and applause)

narrator: With his promise to rid the city of v*olence and corruption, Dever cruises to victory.

♪ ♪

With Dever in office, Torrio and Capone lose their political backing... and they know the new mayor won't accept a bribe.

So they target another high-ranking official...

Chief of Police Morgan Collins... and send a $100,000 bribe... the modern-day equivalent of more than 1 million.

Robert: If you look at the history of organized crime in Chicago, the power of the Mob came and went, depending upon who was mayor and how honest in fact they were.

So the Mob always sought the corrupt politicians.

♪ ♪

Shut them down.

By attempting to corrupt Dever's administration...

Torrio and Capone have just made themselves prime targets of the new mayor of Chicago.

♪ ♪

(woman screaming)

man: This is a raid, nobody move!

(glasses shattering)

I just...

(shattered glass clanking)

It's Dever.

Son of a bitch!

narrator: After Johnny Torrio and Al Capone try to buy Chicago's new police chief...

Mayor William Dever shuts down their highest-grossing brothel and headquarters.

Look at this.

They must have taken like 100 bottles there.

Laurence: If you were good at the rackets, the first thing you did with your money was buy political power.

But Dever couldn't be bought.

narrator: Torrio and Capone have evaded arrest... but Dever continues his as*ault.

♪♪

John B.: This reformed mayor was attacking all of the illegal activities, including bootlegging, gambling, going around the Chicago area, shutting down breweries and distilleries.

It's a clear-cut attempt to try and get Torrio and Capone.

Another truck got hit on the North Side, just over the bridge.

That's the third truck this week!

Son of a bitch.

How much have we lost 'cause of him?

narrator: With no political protection and the cops constantly on their back, Torrio and Capone's illegal businesses are being shutdown almost daily.

And they risk losing everything they've built.

Torrio knows he needs to find a new place to operate outside of Dever's control.

He finds the solution in a small town that sits just on the other side of Chicago's city border: Cicero, Illinois.

Only 10 miles from downtown Chicago, Cicero is a quiet suburb of 40,000 people.

Robert: Cicero was an ethnic town.

Eastern European town, working-class town, and a decent... I think it was a decent place to live.

narrator: For Torrio, it's the perfect place for their new headquarters.

Jonathan: Cicero was a much smaller, easier place for them to control.

They figured that if they could buy the police and the courts in Chicago, it would be a lot easier and a lot cheaper to do it in the small corrupt town of Cicero.

narrator: In 1923, Torrio and Capone move their operations to Cicero.

With its proximity to Chicago, they'll be able to keep their partnership with the Irish alive and still deliver booze to the city.

They'll also look to open new brothels and gambling halls to replace the ones shutdown by Dever.

♪ ♪

Seeing an opportunity to develop his second-in-command...

Torrio puts Capone in charge of setting up the new businesses... including their new headquarters and premier casino, the Hawthorne Inn.

William: Al was always eager, but he had been tutored for quite a long time.

And Al was smart.

Al was very, very smart.

♪ ♪

narrator: But only weeks after Capone starts getting the new businesses up and running...

Torrio receives word that his mother is ill... and he decides to go back to Italy to take care of her.

It's family.

You should be there.

You keep the wheels turning 'til I get back.

Easier said than done.

You'll figure it out.

Take care of yourself.

I'll see you when you get back.

Jonathan: Capone's a very young man.

He's in his mid-20s, and now he's in charge of this massive business.

Capone didn't really have any time to think about whether he was qualified or how he might manage this business.

At just 24 years old, Al Capone is in charge of a criminal empire that was nearly wiped out... and now he has to figure out how to rebuild it all on his own.

"Al": We charge 45 a barrel.

No discounts, no exceptions.

A guy tells you he'll pay you the money next week, you tell him that's when he'll get his delivery.

narrator: After moving their headquarters from Chicago to the bordering suburb of Cicero, Al Capone's mentor, Johnny Torrio, leaves for Italy.

And now the 24-year-old must take over their massive bootlegging operation.

If you're gonna supply booze to the whole city of Chicago, obviously, you need thousands of employees.

They had to pay truck drivers.

They had to pay salesmen.

You know, it had to be a big, organized effort.

Come on, let's get these moving, huh?

Back on the road in an hour.

♪ ♪

narrator: But in addition to running alcohol, Capone sees an opportunity... to build a new vice trade of casinos and brothels that can attract clients from Chicago to Cicero.

For help, he turns to the two people he knows he can trust, his brothers... Frank and Ralph.

What do you think?

Very nice.

You did good, Al.

Jonathan: This is such a difficult business to run with so many different moving pieces, so many different people coming at you for... wanting something.

It must have been nice for him to know that there were at least two people whose loyalty he didn't have to question.

♪ ♪

narrator: Capone puts his oldest brother, Ralph, in control of the day-to-day operations.

Deidre: My Grandfather Ralph, he was the one that kept all the books, he was the one that paid all the bills.

He was the one that hired, he was the one that fired.

narrator: Capone knows from working under Torrio that to keep operations running, you need to buy protection from the local government.

So he sends his brother, Frank, to bribe Cicero politicians.

I was hoping that you and the people down in City Hall could help us out.

Laurence: Capone's brother Frank was more of a flashy gangster, almost at a Hollywood mode.

He was young, he was slender, he was good looking.

He acted as a go-between with the politicians.

He had people skills.

Cheers.

♪ ♪

narrator: Now under the control of Capone and his brothers... the once-sleepy town of Cicero begins to transform... into a destination for drinking and entertainment.

Just outside the laws of Chicago.

man: That what you're gonna do?

Okay, no more bets, no more bets.

Deidre: What drove my Uncle Al to do the things that he did was taking care of his family.

The family was very strong together, and that's why they survived, because they had such respect and love for one another.

No.

Hey, remember that time we couldn't find Ralph?

Ma was looking for him everywhere?

You can't miss Ralph.

♪ ♪

But just as Capone's reputation in the underworld is growing, he gets an unexpected visit.

Interesting place you got here.

What do you want?

Where's Torrio?

I need to talk to him.

You can talk to me.

Okay.

Word is you've been making a nice little profit since you've been here.

Which is funny.

I haven't seen a dime.

Why would you?

What did you just say to me?

The deal was for a cut of our Chicago interests.

Cicero is not in Chicago.

I don't give a damn where Cicero is.

The only reason I allow your trucks through my territory is for a cut of your profits.

In Chicago, in Cicero, wherever.

You want to move your trucks through the North Side... that's what it's gonna cost you.

Try stopping one of my trucks.

See what happens.

chuckling: I wanna be crystal clear.

Either I get my cut of everything by the end of the week or you will have a serious problem.

man: Control your temper.

Don't blow off the handle.

Don't start fighting people or k*lling people.

Think about it.

Think very thoroughly.

Don't react on an impulse.

narrator: Only in business in Cicero for a few months, Capone knows not giving O'Banion a cut could dissolve the partnership Torrio set up and possibly lead to an all-out w*r.

John B.: One of the major things he would have learned from Johnny Torrio is it's all about business.

We're in here to make money.

We don't want any trouble.

That was Johnny Torrio's sort of catch phrase.

Trouble is bad for business.

♪ ♪

narrator: Despite his instinct to push back, Capone decides to give O'Banion what he wants.

man: There's tough guys in both organizations.

In life, one thing I was always told, no matter how tough you are, there's always somebody tougher.

But you have to be smart.

narrator: But after appeasing O'Banion, Capone will soon face an even bigger challenge... when the people of Cicero decide to take their town back.

narrator: In a matter of months, Al Capone has transformed Cicero from a quiet suburb... to a mob paradise... alive with gambling dens, whorehouses... and cold-blooded gangsters.

And the local population has had enough.

Robert: Cicero at the time Capone went out there, it was a working-class community and a decent place to live.

It was a fine town, up until the time that the gangsters were allowed to come in.

And people didn't like that at all.

narrator: With an election looming, Capone realizes that the politicians on his payroll could be voted out... and he knows he can't let what happened in Chicago happen again in Cicero.

"Al": This election, it's becoming a real problem.

The papers exaggerate everything.

I need you to do whatever it takes to keep our friends in office.

I don't wanna take any chances.

You understand?

Yeah, all right, I understand.

I trust you, Frank.

I know you won't let me down.

Frank Calabrese: When you're in the life, there's a lot of anxiety.

You worry about what you need to do.

Al Capone brought his brother into the life.

It's always the trust factor.

You know you can trust a family member more.

♪ ♪

Nice vote.

Jonathan: The Capones controlled the election in Cicero by standing by the polls with g*ns stickin' outta their pockets, reminding people that this is election day and we're here to make sure you're voting for the right folks.

(clearing throat)

Your ballot, let me see it.

It's none of your business.

None of my business?

(groaning)

(groaning continues)

Anyone else have a problem?

♪ ♪

narrator: Under orders from his brother, Frank Capone uses any means necessary to fix the election... from stuffing ballot boxes to kidnapping election officials...

Let's go, boys!

And even sh**ting up election headquarters.

Robert: Capone's syndicate controlled or influenced elections in Cicero through v*olence.

And the word gets out pretty quick that if you know what's good for you, you'll in fact vote for the political party that's working with the Mob.

What regular person could be willing, foney, to go take a person's life?

The Mafia is all based on death.

Think nothing else.

It's all money and death.

They get people to do what they want them to do on thr*at of pain and suffering or death.

narrator: As chaos breaks out in Cicero, town officials reach out to a man who's taken down Capone once before...

Chicago Mayor William Dever.

The only problem is Dever's army of police officers in Chicago has no authority in Cicero... until the mayor comes up with a plan that could take down Al Capone for good.

♪ ♪

narrator: In order to rig the Cicero elections for his brother, Al Capone...

(groaning)

Frank Capone resorts to v*olence.

But Chicago Mayor William Dever has a plan to stop him.

("William") For the next 24 hours, you no longer serve the city of Chicago.

You are civilians, deputized to uphold the law in the suburb of Cicero, and are responsible for protecting its citizens by any means necessary.

Dever sends his police officers into Cicero dressed in plainclothes, without badges and driving unmarked cars... with orders to act as civilian peace enforcers.

Now go get 'em!

("Frank") My brother wasn't too pleased with how things were going.

It's very important that you tell him, okay?

How'd we go with the 12th precinct?

Chicago policemen were deputized and sent into Cicero in order to protect the polling places.

And they saw Frank Capone when they were visiting a particular polling place...

man: Frank!

Frank Capone?

♪ ♪

Laurence: Capone's brother Frank found himself, for no apparent reason, in the middle of a gunfight with the police department.

He was m*rder*d in broad daylight in the street in front of everybody.

narrator: Some say Frank drew on the police first while others believe that the Chicago cops targeted Frank from the beginning.

To this day, no one knows exactly what happened.

Deidre: Frank's death in 1924 was very devastating to the family.

Al Capone and my grandfather believed that family was everything.

So it was very, very, devastating.

♪ ♪

narrator: Al Capone's corrupt politicians win the Cicero election across the board.

But for Capone it comes at a heavy cost.

Jonathan: Al Capone never talked about the... the death of his brother and what it did to him.

It's the beginning of a darker period for Capone where the v*olence is going to ratchet up.

He's going to see his own men k*lled.

He's going to have to k*ll more frequently to... to hold onto power.

♪ ♪

narrator: With his family in mourning, Capone begins plotting his revenge, determined to go to w*r with the Chicago Police and Mayor Dever.

There could be circumstances in life that make you so livid that you'd wanna commit mayhem.

But the average person doesn't do that.

But if you can do anything you want, if you have an organization of 1,000 people and somebody bothers you... there's not much you can't do.