02x04 - St. Valentine's Day m*ssacre

[bunniefuu]

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

Italian mobsters, Johnny Torrio and Al Capone, have become two of the biggest kingpins in Chicago.

I got a good feeling about this.

Yeah.

narrator: But after years of peace with the Irish, their partner, g*ng leader Dean O'Banion...

Police! Nobody move!

narrator: sets Torrio up.

Son of a bitch!

So, now what do you think of your friend O'Banion?

"Johnny": I want to k*ll him.

narrator: As the gangland w*r escalates...

Hey, Johnny!

narrator: Torrio decides he's had enough.

I'm leaving you in charge.

Of the clubs, the breweries, everything.

"Al": We need to hit 'em.

Hit 'em hard.

narrator: In one of his first high profile moves as boss, Al Capone takes out a hit on gangster Hymie Weiss... establishing himself as the most powerful gangster in Chicago.

♪ ♪

In less than a decade, Al Capone has risen from a no-name accountant to the head of the Chicago mafia, a criminal syndicate now raking in over $100 million a year.

man: Capone is really at the height of his powers.

He's still a young man, he's only in his 20s, and he's running this massive organization.

He's making a fortune.

And he can't get arrested if he tries.

narrator: Despite his success, Capone is still running his operation out of the neighboring suburb of Cicero... and he knows that if he's going to consolidate power as king of the underworld, he needs to move back to where it all started...

Chicago.

Nearly four years earlier, Capone was driven from Chicago by Mayor William Dever, the man who swore he'd clean up the city.

But with a wave of recent gangland v*olence, Dever's popularity is plummeting.

man: To give you a sense of how crazy the v*olence was in Chicago in the 1920s, Lucky Luciano came to town and was absolutely appalled.

He said, "Chicago, that town is nuts."

Now, we're talking a guy who sh*t another mobster in broad daylight in front of a whole crowd.

This guy was appalled by the level of v*olence in Chicago.

narrator: Capone sees an opportunity.

He takes his revenge by heavily funding Dever's opponent... corrupt former mayor, Big Bill Thompson.

Jonathan: When Big Bill Thompson announced that he was gonna run for mayor again, Capone must have been thrilled.

He knew having his ally back in the mayor's office would be great.

Making sure the mayor was on your side really helped make everything go easier for Al Capone.

narrator: Capone's strategy pays off and Thompson wins easily.

Capone moves back to Chicago and takes over two floors of the city's finest hotel, the Lexington, a destination for presidents, dignitaries, and celebrities.

David: As a way of kind of feeding this notion of the high-class mobster, when Bill Thompson gets reelected mayor, Capone moves into Chicago at the Lexington Hotel.

"Al": How are you guys?

How's the family? Doing all right?

The Tribune, great paper.

David: Invites the press up to take a look at his workspace.

You know, he is putting himself out there in a way that you just did not see mobsters do.

My associates here... get a little bit upset when things don't go right.

But that ain't gonna happen.

Is it?

We're counting on you, councilman.

narrator: With a thriving business and Chicago politicians in his back pocket...

You have a nice day.

narrator: Capone enlists his top lieutenants to oversee the day-to-day operations.

Frank Nitti manages the finances.

Paul Ricca acts as his deal-maker and emissary.

And Tony Accardo works as his chief bodyguard and enforcer.

Capone soon reaches a level of celebrity normally reserved for athletes and entertainers.

Jonathan: He's giving interviews to Cosmopolitan Magazine, to gossip columnists from Hollywood.

Um, you know, Babe Ruth and the Yankees come to town and he invites them to come to the office and meet.

He's loving life, and he figures, you know, everything is going beautifully.

♪ ♪

Hello.

narrator: As Capone's profile grows... he begins to indulge in all that the roaring '20s have to offer.

woman: You want some?

(snorting)

man: The 1920s were an exciting, violent, almost out-of-control, rather reckless time, and cocaine was a common drug in that era, so he wasn't doing anything unusual, but he was doing a lot of it.

narrator: But while Capone enjoys his reign at the top of the Chicago underworld, one man is looking for a way to take him down.

Irish gangster, Bugs Moran.

"Bugs": Who do they think they are?

They come into my side, they k*ll everyone that I've worked for, and now they think they get away with it?

I'm going to make them pay for the blood they spilled.

man: Moran was a survivor.

He saw what happened to O'Banion.

He saw what happened to Weiss after that.

And with a character as violent and as dominant as Al Capone, managed to continue.

♪ ♪

narrator: Seeking revenge for the deaths of his partners, Moran is more determined than ever to k*ll Capone.

Moran probably felt that he had little choice but to k*ll Capone before Capone k*lled him.

It was Al Capone's intention to not operate peacefully with other organizations.

It was in his intention to take over everything.

narrator: Moran also targets those closest to Capone, hoping to weaken his organization.

man: Revenge, it's what fuels wars.

You get us, we get you.

It's a show of power, of who's stronger.

(car engine rumbling)

(doors creaking)

(crank spinning)

(car approaching)

♪ ♪

(g*ns cocking, f*ring)

(glass shattering)

(snorting throughout)

We need to talk.

It can wait.

No, it can't.

♪ ♪

(door closing)

Somebody tried to hit McGurn.

How bad is it?

He'll live.

Call Ricca.

Get everybody.

Okay.

♪ ♪

narrator: On March 7th, 1928, Bugs Moran orders a hit on one of Capone's top associates, the man who took out Hymie Weiss...

Jack McGurn.

Jack McGurn is the top k*ller in the Capone g*ng.

He k*lled guys that were in the north side g*ng, and that's just what your soldiers do, they k*ll and get k*lled.

"Frank": How many guys were there?

Two, maybe three.

Did you see their faces?

It was dark, but I could see their faces, two of Moran's guys.

Those stupid Irish pricks.

What does he think?

Having a sh*t at you is supposed to do what?

Intimidate me?

He couldn't even finish the job.

Moran's gonna keep coming.

I'm done dealing with these Irish pricks!

I want to send a clear message to all of Chicago.

This is the last time anyone tries to go up against us.

narrator: Capone decides that to make a big impact, he's going to take out Moran and as many of his men as possible, all at once.

T.J.: Capone was willing to go to a level of carnage that was almost beyond the comprehension of even the most murderous gangster.

We're gonna give them a message they'll never forget.

♪ ♪

narrator: But with Moran's g*ng heavily armed, Capone's crew knows that taking them down in the streets would be a su1c1de mission.

If this goes wrong and blows back on us...

"Paul": The smartest move is to b*at them at their own game.

narrator: They come up with a simple solution, but one that requires meticulous planning.

♪ ♪

First, they enlist Chicago's top two Sicilian hit men, John Scalese and Albert Anselmi, to carry out the operation.

Jonathan: Scalese and Anselmi were a couple of paid K*llers.

If you needed something taken care of, you needed somebody hurt, Capone knew he could count on them.

(phone ringing)

Yeah?

narrator: To get Moran and his entire crew in one location, they arrange to have one of their trusted liquor dealers set up a buy.

"Paul": You trust these guys?

Yeah, of course I trust them.

Wouldn't put them on the job if I couldn't.

narrator: Then, they plan to stage a fake police raid to catch their victims off guard.

♪ ♪

John: You have to have a plan about how you're going to do this, step by step.

It's done very much like a m*llitary operation, well-planned and well-orchestrated.

♪ ♪

narrator: With all the pieces in place, Capone leaves for Miami, to distance himself from the hit.

Laurence: Capone loudly announced that he was going to be out of town so that people wouldn't draw a direct connection between him and the hit.

♪ ♪

Jonathan: It was a cold Valentine's Day morning in Chicago.

Kids were making their little cards to bring into their teachers for Valentine's Day.

Ready?

Yeah.

Let's go.

♪ ♪

narrator: Disguised as law enforcement, Capone's men leave for Irish territory.

And now, Capone's crew is about to execute a hit that will change the course of American history.

♪ ♪

(engine chugging)

narrator: After weeks of planning, Al Capone's crew is ready to take revenge on Irish gangster Bugs Moran, by disguising themselves as city cops to catch Moran and his men off guard.

There they are.

(engine idling)

(big band music playing on radio)

(indistinct chattering)

♪ ♪

man: This is a raid!

Everybody, against the wall!

You know the drill.

Move it.

Get over there!

Turn around!

Scum bag.

♪ ♪

Let's go.

♪ ♪

Are you arresting us or not?

Shut your mouth!

(man gasping)

Let's get out of here!

narrator: On February 14th, 1929, at 10:30 a.m., Al Capone's assassins g*n down seven of Bugs Moran's men... f*ring 70 rounds of amm*nit*on in less than ten seconds in the biggest gangland hit in American history that will come to be known as The St. Valentine's Day m*ssacre.

man: Two or three men went in there dressed as police officers.

Had they not gone in that way, the people would have resisted, but they saw they were in police uniform, they all were put up against the wall.

And then they were just m*rder*d, every one of them.

narrator: It's only a matter of hours before news of the brutal execution makes national headlines.

Jonathan: Tabloid newspapers were publishing the photos from this crime on the front page, and people were seeing the blood and the... the brains lying on the floor.

Seven people dead at one time was a lot for, um, Americans to bear.

And it horrified people.

You're talking about a mass execution.

This isn't a hit on somebody.

It isn't just k*lling a boss.

This is a bunch of guys, seven guys, getting sh*t, and to a lot of people, this is going too far.

♪ ♪

narrator: Not included in those k*lled is Bugs Moran, who, through a stroke of luck, avoids the m*ssacre.

David: Bugs Moran, who was running late, saw those cops, or what he thought were the cops, go into the warehouse, he figures, all right, I'll just let my guys take the fall, get arrested, I'll bail them out.

And then the sh**ting starts.

So, it was almost perfect, except they didn't get the main target, which was Bugs Moran.

narrator: But while Moran may have survived, he knows he's been defeated.

T.J.: All the people that were near and dear to him, friends, business associates, fellow gangsters, had been systematically m*rder*d, and now he's been stripped of his own organization, and he really has nothing.

There is no longer a role for him to play in the Chicago underworld.

narrator: Only a couple weeks later, Capone returns to Chicago.

T.J.: The St. Valentine's Day m*ssacre had the effect of, for all intents and purposes, ending the g*ng w*r in Chicago with Capone being declared the winner, because it wiped out what was left of the O'Banion-Weiss-Moran faction of the north side g*ng.

narrator: After five years of battles and countless lives lost, Capone has finally defeated the Irish.

But the victory comes at a cost, as the m*ssacre's press brings unwanted scrutiny not just to Capone's organization, but to the entire Mafia.

Robert: He was told by members of his own organization, you're just too hot. The public is centering on you as the cause of this, and it's bad for business, so you need to lay low.

♪ ♪

(snorting and laughter)

narrator: Capone ignores the warnings, convinced that no one can stop him.

♪ ♪

David: Capone owns the town, I mean, he controls the town.

He's got political connections all throughout the city and the police department.

So, the idea that he would begin to feel as though he was untouchable is not so crazy.

I mean, he was untouchable.

narrator: Fueled by a growing drug habit, Capone continues to do what he wants, and soon, even his most trusted associates begin to question his authority.

♪ ♪

I think we got a problem with two of the guys we used to take out Moran's crew.

Scalise and Anselmi.

What kind of a problem?

Word is, they been talking to a lot of people.

About what?

They think there should be new leadership.

Al had a problem with betrayal.

He had a big problem with betrayal.

And he had a problem with anybody trying to come and take what was Al Capone's.

♪ ♪

narrator: As Capone's ego continues to grow, two of his gunmen, Albert Anselmi and John Scalise, begin forming alliances with other gangsters to get rid of him.

♪ ♪

John: Scalise and Anselmi were getting a little bit too big for their shoes.

They thought that they could get bigger than Al Capone and reportedly they were plotting against him.

We know his whole operation from the inside out.

We know where Capone's gonna be, and we know when he's gonna be there.

That information don't come cheap.

Salute.

men, in unison: Salute.

I just want to take a moment to thank you all for joining me here this evening.

It means a lot having you all here.

'Cause to me... we're family.

The most important thing in family... is loyalty.

We've been through a lot lately.

We've emerged stronger than ever before.

Because we've stuck together.

So when I find out two of my men have been disloyal... gone behind my back talking to my enemies...

♪ ♪

This is what happens.

No! Please. (grunts)

(thudding, glass shattering)

(grunting)

(g*n cocks)

No!

Because nothing is more important... than loyalty!

(thudding)

(thudding, dishes clanking)

(bat thuds)

Get them out of my sight.

Please... eat.

♪ ♪

Laurence: Al Capone let his dirty work be done by others, but when in front of everybody else, he b*at the brains out of two perceived enemies, he struck terror in the hearts of all the gangsters who realized that Capone was capable of far greater personal v*olence than they had given him credit for.

narrator: News of the brutal killings spreads quickly within the underworld.

And now, Mafia leaders from back east are fed up with Capone's antics.

♪ ♪

(chatter, laughter)

In order to rein him in, New York crime boss Lucky Luciano organizes a top-secret meeting in Atlantic City, inviting mob bosses from across the country to decide how to deal with Al Capone.

All right...

I want to get this started.

Take your seats.

"Nucky": The way I see it, Al's made it impossible for us to do business.

My gambling is down.

My rackets are down.

Every one of my clubs has been raided twice.

We all know what needs to happen.

narrator: While most mobsters favor eliminating Capone, Luciano sees another way.

Meyer: They'd just had the St. Valentine's Day m*ssacre, and the public was in outrage about that.

So, Lucky Luciano decided that, uh, Al would go to jail on a minor offense, but nevertheless the public would be okay with that and it would take the focus off the outfit at the time.

narrator: With the rest of the Mafia turning against him, Capone knows he has no choice but to take the fall.

♪ ♪

Robert: He was afraid there could be some retaliation, and allegedly, he actually created a situation where he'd get arrested in Philadelphia and spend a year in jail out there, allegedly, again, for his own protection.

(old-timey music playing)

(woman chuckles)

narrator: But even a prison sentence can't stop Chicago's Mafia kingpin from living the high life while his men run his business from the outside.

Cheers.

(laughter)

♪ ♪

(snorts)

narrator: But while Capone continues to keep up his lavish lifestyle in jail, the world outside is changing, and the man once admired for his wealth and power is about to become a prime target of the most powerful man in the country.

♪ ♪

narrator: After spending just ten months in prison, Al Capone returns to Chicago, eager to keep his empire running, but he faces a changed world.

Following the public outrage from the St. Valentine's Day m*ssacre and the recent onset of the Great Depression in 1929, President Herbert Hoover declares w*r on America's most notorious gangster.

Jonathan: Capone was making this laughingstock out of American law that you could be a criminal and you could... you could flaunt it, and that was completely unacceptable to Hoover.

Hoover ordered his cabinet members to look at all the different ways that they could go about taking down Al Capone.

narrator: One approach Hoover uses is to go after Capone for Prohibition violations.

(phone ringing)

Leading the operation is an ambitious young agent just three years out of college who's already distinguished himself as an undercover operative.

His name is Eliot Ness.

This morning we were tipped off to three new locations supposedly housing breweries run by Capone.

Divide yourselves up into pairs.

You're gonna be running surveillance for the next week.

I want the description and plates of every vehicle going in and out.

Yes, sir.

Get out there.

♪ ♪

Jonathan: Eliot Ness was different from most law enforcement officers.

He was a University of Chicago graduate.

He was an intellectual.

Ness was more of an elitist, he was a little bit more of an outsider, and he took his job seriously.

When the president of the United States says "Go get this guy," that is an order, and everybody knows if Capone is the most famous gangster in the world, if I'm the guy who gets the guy, that's gonna make my career.

(rain pattering)

narrator: As Ness takes charge of the operation, he uses surveillance, anonymous tips, and wiretaps to build his understanding of Capone's operations.

"Al": The bars, the clubs, everything's under control?

"Paul": Just talked to Jimmy the other day.

Everything's smooth.

Very nice.

Yeah.

I want to talk to you about something.

What's up, Al?

Got a bit of a situation.

You tell me, I'll take care of it.

man: When the first bugs and wiretaps went in, there is reason to believe that the mob did not know that they were being taped.

Whatever was picked up was absolutely golden.

"Al": Bust his head open, I don't give a sh*t.

We need these trucks moving out a lot faster than what they have been.

I think we got him, boys.

(laughs)

♪ ♪

"Eliot": Prohibition Bureau!

(distant shouting)

This is a raid!

(handcuffs clicking)

narrator: On June 13th, 1930, Ness raids one of Capone's breweries, arresting five men and confiscating over 20,000 gallons of beer.

Jonathan: Eliot Ness was trying to... harass Capone as much as possible.

If he went after Capone and took him down, then it would send the message that the laws were to be taken seriously, including the law of Prohibition.

"Al": So, what do we know about this Ness?

Not a lot.

He's a hard ass.

This guy is a problem.

So, what's his price?

I don't think you can buy this guy.

Everyone has a price.

I don't care what it costs, okay?

Get it done.

♪ ♪

man: Capone thought he was untouchable.

They were really letting Al just run his city.

But when Eliot Ness came in, that's when it started to fall apart.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

(distant phone ringing)

A donation.

From Capone.

2,000.

An identical envelope will make its way to your desk every week.

I want you to take this envelope back to Capone.

Jonathan: Eliot Ness took his job seriously.

He wasn't... He wasn't bribable, and that made him very unusual.

narrator: After he refuses Al Capone's bribe, Eliot Ness and his team come to be known... as The Untouchables, and now he's more determined than ever to destroy Capone's bootlegging empire.

Frank: Over the years, I've seen some cat-and-mouse games between law enforcement and organized crime.

Sometimes it becomes personal.

It almost becomes a game.

They're gonna think all day and night about how to get you.

narrator: Over the coming months, Ness's team of agents raid Capone's breweries and also target his trucks, destroying or seizing upwards of 200,000 gallons worth of beer.

Jonathan: Ness was good at interrupting Capone's cash flow.

He was good at making life harder for Al Capone.

Capone was definitely starting to feel the pressure.

Ness raided another one of our breweries this morning.

That brings his total to five this week.

I'm not gonna let one little sh*t-heel Prohibition agent take down our entire organization.

If we can't buy him, fine.

We'll just have to k*ll him.

Come on, Al.

This guy's a government agent.

You can't just k*ll him.

Don't you ever tell me what I can and can't do.

I run this city.

Not the mayor, not the cops.

Me.

So if I tell you to k*ll someone, you do it.

You don't ask questions.

You understand?

Sure, Al.

Laurence: As Capone got older and more successful, he needed to be more and more ruthless in order to survive.

David: Al Capone saw Eliot Ness as a problem because he was not corruptible.

If you couldn't pay him off and you couldn't intimidate him, uh, then k*lling him is... is the last resort.

We'll make it look like an accident.

Just get it done.

(birds chirping)

(crash)

(crash)

♪ ♪

(tires screeching)