Chicago Italians

The St. Valentines Day Massacre.


Probably the most publicized and talked about Mob event ever is the St. Valentines Day Massacre. Several movies have been made about it and numerous books have been published.



The North Side gang, led at the time by George 'Bugs' Moran, were being a major thorn in Al Capone's side. Capone finally decided he had had enough and, with the help of 'Machine Gun' Jack McGurn and others, hatched the plot that was to make murder history.
Capone had a gangster from Detroit set up a deal with Moran for a quantity of liquor that had been recently hijacked. Moran accepted the deal and arranged to take possession at a garage at 2122 North Clark Street on February 14th, 1929. Capone's friends from Detroit informed him of the arrangements and phase two of the plan went into effect. Capone's team acquired a police paddy wagon, either by theft or bribery, and police uniforms and proceeded to the garage on the morning of the 14th. Two of the hit team dressed in the police uniforms, the others wore long coats and presumably looked like the detectives of the group. They pulled up to the front of the garage and all charged out and in to the building just as the police would have in a routine raid. Inside the garage were six members of Moran's gang (the old O'Banion gang) - Adam Meyer, John May, James Clark, Al Weinshank, the Gusenburg brothers, Frank and Pete and an optometrist Dr. Reinhardt Schwimmer who picked a bad day to visit. The hit team had all seven men stand up and face the wall. The seven complied, expecting a pat down search for weapons and identification. Then two of Capone's men opened up with Thompson submachine guns, peppering each victim with numerous rounds from the .45 caliber weapon. The hoods disguised as cops then took the guns and marched the plain clothed gun men out of the garage with their hands raised as if they were under arrest. They all got into the police wagon and drove off.

The hit was only a partial success, however. The main target, Bugs Moran, was late getting up that morning and he and two others, Willy Marks and Ted Newbury, were just rounding the corner when the police wagon rolled up. Figuring the police were there for just a routine bust, Moran and Co. stayed just out of sight waiting for the police to leave. When the machine guns opened up, Bugs and his friends took off. He was later picked up by the police department for questioning about the incident. Bugs was quoted as saying "Only Capone kills like that."

Al Capone, of course, denied all knowledge of the hit. He was actually in Florida at his beach front condo soaking up the sun and sipping martinis. The members of the hit team never were identified. In fact, the news papers the next day carried the story that it actually was the police that had performed the murders as a reprisal for the theft of the booze from crooked cops some weeks earlier. No one in Chicago at that time found such a claim unusual since the corruption in the police force was so absolute. A forensic scientist from New York , Calvin Goddard, was actually called in to test all the machine guns in the police forces possession to rule out such a scenario. Goddard could not match up any weapon in the police arsenal to the bullets found at the scene.



About a year after the murders, the police raided the home of Fred Burke, a professional killer who sometimes had been hired by Capone. In his possession the came across the tommy guns used in the St. Valentines Day Massacre. Burke was never brought to Illinois to be tried for the massacre though. He was, instead, convicted for the killing of a police man in Michigan and sentenced to life. The rumors surrounding the find were that Burke was never brought to Chicago since his testimony would implicate the police in the planting of the weapons and cause police suspicion all over again.



It is not known who actually participated in the killings at 2122 North Clark but some of the more likely suspects were : Machine Gun McGurn, Tony 'Joe Batters' Accardo, George 'Shotgun' Ziegler, Claude Maddox, Gus Winkler and 'Crane Neck' Nugent, the last four being members of the elite hit squad Murder Inc. from Brooklyn.

IF BOTH of your parents are/were ITALIAN this is a nice reflection back to the way things used to be...

Per tutta la Mia famiglia e gli amici it amo oggi, domani e sempre

To all my family and friends I love you today, tomorrow and always

42 Things In The Life Of An Italian American Child


01. You have at least one relative who wore a black dress every day for an entire year after a funeral.

02. You spent your entire childhood thinking what you ate for lunch was pronounced 'sangwich.'

03. Your family dog understood Italian.

04. Every Sunday afternoon of your childhood was spent visiting your grandparents and extended family.




05. You've experienced the phenomena of 150 people fitting into 50 square feet of yard during a family cookout

06. You were surprised to discover the FDA recommends you eat three meals a day, not seven.

07. You thought killing the pig each year and having salami, capacollo, pancetta and prosciutto hanging out to dry from your shed ceiling was absolutely normal. (Wow, that's really Italian!)

08. You ate pasta for dinner at least three times a week, and every Sunday, and laughed at the commercial for Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti day.

09. You grew up thinking no fruit or vegetable had a fixed price and that the price of everything was negotiable through haggling.

10. You were as tall as your grandmother by the age of seven.

11. You thought everyone's last name ended in a vowel.

12. You thought nylons were supposed to be worn rolled to the ankles.





13. Your mom's main hobby is cleaning.

14. You were surprised to find out that wine was actually sold in stores.

15. You thought that everyone made their own tomato sauce.

16. You never ate meat on Christmas Eve or any Friday for that matter.






17. You ate your salad after the main course.

18. You thought Catholic was the only religion in the world.


19. You were beaten at least once with a wooden spoon or broom.

20. You thought every meal had to be eaten with a hunk of bread in your hand






21. You can understand Italian but you can't speak it.
22. You have at least one relative who came over on the boat.

23. All of your uncles fought in a World War.



24. You have at least six male relatives named
Tony, Frank, Joe or Louie.

25. You have relatives who aren't really your relatives.

26. You have relatives you don't speak to. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

27. You drank wine before you were a teenager.

28. You relate on some level, admit it, to the Godfather and the Sopranos. I maka a meata ball you can't refuse!.
Forrgetttabbboutit! Badda bing!






29. You grew up in a house with a yard that didn't have one patch of dirt that didn't have a flower or a vegetable growing out of it.

30. Your grandparent's furniture was as comfortable as sitting on plastic. Wait!!!! You were sitting on plastic.

31. You thought that talking loud was normal.


32. You thought sugared almonds and the Tarantella were common at all weddings.

33. You thought everyone got pinched on the cheeks and money stuffed in their pockets by their relatives.

34. Your mother is overly protective of the males in the family no matter what their age.

35. There was a crucifix in every room of the house.

36. Wakes would be held in someone's living room.

37. You couldn't date a boy without getting approval from your father. (Oh, and he had to be Italian)

38. You called pasta 'macaroni'.

39. You dreaded taking out your lunch at school
40. Going out for a cup of coffee usually meant going out for a cup of coffee over Zia's house.

41 Every condition, ailment, misfortune, memory loss and accident was attributed to the fact that you didn't eat something.

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How they celebrate New Years in Italy

Rome
Rome's traditional New Year's Eve celebrations are centered in Piazza del Popolo. Huge crowds celebrate with rock and classical music and dancing and of course, fireworks. The celebrations last well into the night. On New Year's day (while the adults are sleeping), children will be entertained in the square by performers and acrobats.
Next to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, you can still see the exhibit of traditional nativity scenes (through January 8) from 100 regions of Italy and other countries of the world.

Rome has a classical music concert outdoors on the square in front of the Quirinale, off Via Nazionale, around 11:00 followed by fireworks at midnight.

Rimini
Rimini, on the Adriatic coast, is one of Italy's most popular nightlife spots. Besides celebrations in numerous nightclubs and bars, Rimini holds a huge New Year's Eve festival in Piazzale Fellini starting at 9:00. There's music, dancing, and entertainment and a spectacular fireworks display. The Rimini New Year's Eve festival will be televised in Italy.
Naples and Capri
Naples is known as having one of the best New Year's Eve fireworks displays. They also have huge outdoor music events and in some parts of Naples, people still throw their old things out of their windows.

A tradition called Lo Sciuscio originated in Naples. Although it has pretty much died out there, it still exists in some smaller towns nearby. Groups of amateur musicians (now mainly children) go from house to house playing and singing on New Year's Eve. A small gift of money or sweets is given to them to bring good luck in the new year and turning them away may bring bad luck.

Near Naples, local folkloric groups perform in the Piazzetta in Capri and Piazza Diaz in Anacapri on January 1.

Bologna
Bologna traditionally celebrates New Year's Eve with the Fiera del Bue Grasso (fat ox fair). The ox is decorated from horns to tail with flowers and ribbons. The church bells are rung, spectators light candles and of course, fireworks are set off. At the end, a special lottery is held with the winner getting to keep the ox. The procession ends just before midnight in Piazza San Petronio.
Venice
Many restaurants in Venice go all out with huge feasts on New Year's Eve, starting around 9:00 and lasting until midnight. Although expensive, they tend to be very good with many courses and lots of wine. Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time. Many restaurants will be closed on New Year's day, however. You can usually expect pizza places, hotel restaurants, and Chinese restaurants to be open.
St Mark's Square has a huge celebration with music, a giant fireworks display, bellini brindisi (toast), and a huge group kiss at midnight. The group kiss will also be held in Piazza Ferretto in Mestre Venice New Year program.

On New Year's Day, many bathers take a chilling dip in the waters of Venice's Lido Beach. That's one way to get over your hangover!

Florence
Many restaurants in Florence will have extravagent meals, too. Be sure to reserve early. Fireworks will be set off at midnight and a good place to see them would be on one of the bridges on the Arno. There will be many private fireworks celebrations all over town, too.
One of the most popular clubs in Florence, Tenax, holds a New Year's Eve party. Here are more nightclubs and places to party