What was Dean O Banion's first name?
Dean O'Banion. Charles Dean O'Banion (July 8, 1892 – November 10, 1924) was an American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s. The newspapers of his day made him better known as Dion O'Banion, although he never went by that first name.
What happened at Schofield's Flower Shop?
The Chicago North Side Gang transformed Schofield's into the florist of choice for mob funerals, all of the North State Street Gang's weddings, holidays and special occasions, like providing the wreaths for the victims of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre . Dean O'Banion was murdered at the flower shop on November 10, 1924, at the age of 32. [2]
Why did Frankie Yale visit O'Banion's flower shop?
Using the Merlo funeral as a cover story, over the next few days Brooklyn gangster Frankie Yale and others visited Schofield's, O'Banion's flower shop, to discuss floral arrangements. However, the real purpose of these visits was to memorize the store layout for the hit on O'Banion.
What happened to Dean O’Banion’s leg?
Dean O’Banion was always known as a wild child taking chances like riding on the back bumper of the street cars. One time the street car stopped suddenly and Dean was thrown to the ground and the car ran over his leg.
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Who was Charles Dean O'Banion?
1910–1924. Known for. Founder and leader of the North Side Gang during Prohibition. Charles Dean O'Banion (July 8, 1892 – November 10, 1924) was an American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s.
What happened to Dean O'Banion and Angelo Genna?
On November 3, 1924, Dean O'Banion made a telephone call to arch-rival Angelo Genna that became heated. Their disagreement concerned a debt Genna had incurred at The Ship, the casino that the North Side gang boss owned along with the Torrio Syndicate. As O'Banion had sat in with Al Capone, Frank Nitti, Frank Rio, and others to tally the week's profits, it was mentioned that Angelo Genna had bet a large amount of cash, plus a sizable marker. Capone recommended that they cancel the marker as a professional courtesy. O'Banion, instead, spoke to Genna on the telephone and abusively demanded that he pay his debt within a week. With this insult, Angelo Genna and his family could no longer be restrained. Until then, Mike Merlo and the Unione Siciliana had refused to sanction a hit on O'Banion. However, Merlo had terminal cancer and died on November 8, 1924. With Merlo gone, the Gennas and South Siders were free to move on O'Banion.
Why did O'Banion refuse to drink?
O'Banion angrily refused, as he abhorred prostitution . Meanwhile, the Genna Brothers, who controlled Little Italy west of The Loop (Chicago's downtown region), began marketing their whiskey in the North Side, O'Banion's territory. O'Banion complained about the Gennas to Torrio, but Torrio did nothing.
What did Torrio grant O'Banion?
To placate him, Torrio granted O'Banion some of Cicero's beer rights and a quarter-interest in a casino called The Ship. The enterprising O'Banion then convinced a number of speakeasies in other Chicago territories to move to his strip in Cicero. This move had the potential to start a bootleg war.
How much money did O'Banion make?
At the height of his power, O'Banion was supposedly making about $1 million a year from liquor.
Where did Duffy meet O'Banion?
He was soon contacted by O'Banion, who agreed to help him. He told Duffy to meet him at the Four Deuces, a South Wabash club run by the Torrio-Capone organization. At the club, several eyewitnesses reported seeing Duffy being picked up around 8:00 pm in a Studebaker by O'Banion and an unidentified man.
Where did William Schofield's flower shop in Chicago?
In 1921, O'Banion married Viola Kaniff and bought an interest in William Schofield's flower shop in the River North area, near the corner of West Chicago Avenue and North State Street (now a parking lot). He needed a legitimate front for his criminal operations; in addition, he was fond of flowers and was an excellent arranger. Schofield's became the florist of choice for mob funerals. The shop happened to be directly across the street from Holy Name Cathedral, where he and Weiss attended Mass. The rooms above Schofield's were used as the headquarters for the North Side Gang.
Where did O'Banion live in Chicago?
O’Banion not only kept the North Side and the Gold Coast, a wealthy neighborhood on Lake Michigan, but he even got a slice of Cicero, a suburb controlled by Torrio and Capone on the South Side of Chicago, and they all shared profits from a lakefront casino called The Ship. But eventually the peace broke down.
How did O'Banion die?
A few minutes later, O’Banion was dead of gunshot wounds in his flower shop. His funeral was the biggest anyone could remember, and among those attending were Al Capone and members of the South Side Gang. But there soon would be other funerals. The Beer Wars, as they became known, were just beginning.
What gang was O'Banion allied with?
But eventually the peace broke down. O’Banion was enraged by efforts of a third gang, the Genna brothers’ West Side Gang, to expand its bootlegging and rackets operations into his territory. The Gennas were allied with Torrio’s South Side gang.
What did O'Banion refuse to forgive?
O’Banion sealed his fate when he refused to forgive a gambling debt that one of the Gennas had racked up at The Ship. O’Banion was in his North Side flower shop, a front for his Mob activities, when a Torrio associate from New York, Frankie Yale, visited, hand outstretched in friendship.
What was the name of the newspaper that O’Banion was a slugger for?
The violence extended to the press. O’Banion and his friends were “sluggers” for, first, the Chicago Tribune and later for the Tribune’s rival, the Chicago Examiner. Sluggers would intimidate sellers and readers of the wrong newspaper.
What was the name of the crime that O'Banion was arrested for?
In 1909, O’Banion was arrested and convicted for robbery and assault.
Who was the conspirator that tried to kill O'Banion?
O’Banion’s friend and conspirator Hymie Weiss, who was fingered as one of those who tried to kill Torrio, was gunned down in 1926.
How did Schofield die?
On September 3, 1974, Schofield Sr. died of a massive heart attack. Again Schofield's Flowers supplied one of the biggest funerals for one of their own Irish sons. Local dignitaries Mayor Daley, Eddie Kelley, head of the 47th Ward and the Chicago Park District, and George Dunn, head of the 42nd Ward and Cook County Commissioner joined ...
What was the economic downturn in Schofield's Flowers?
After Prohibition, like the whole country, Schofield's Flowers experienced financial hardship during the Great Depression, (1929–39), the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world.
What was the name of the gang that transformed Schofield's into a florist?
They became "business" partners. The Chicago North Side Gang transformed Schofield's into the florist of choice for mob funerals, all of the North State Street Gang's weddings, holidays and special occasions, like providing the wreaths for the victims of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre .
When was Schofield's Flowers in business?
Schofield's Flowers was a Chicago flower shop that was in business from 1896 to 1976. In its heyday it provided flowers to some of Chicago's most prominent and infamous citizens.
Who was the wife of the Schofield family?
Schofield, Sr.’s wife Gwen took over the flower shop while she continued to raise their two children, Steven (Scof, Jr.) and Sandra.
Who owns Schofield's Flowers?
Schofield's Flowers was established just before the turn of the last century in 1896 by William F. Schofield, A.K.A. "Big Bill". It was located at 738 North State Street, directly across the street from Holy Name Cathedral, on the corner of State Street and Superior Avenue on the north side of the city of Chicago . Owned and operated by William F. Schofield, better known as "Big Bill", a young Irishman who came to America with his wife, Nellie Malloy. Schofield's Flowers flourished in the hardscrabble neighborhood, a family-run business became infamous.
Who was Dion O'Banion?
Charles Dean O'Banion was an Irish-American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s. Those who first met Dion O'Banion in his flower shop or on the streets of his Near North Side stomping grounds found an amiable, good-natured young gentleman who would doff his hat ...
Where was O'Banion born?
O'Banion was born to Irish Catholic parents in Aurora, Illinois. He spent his early boyhood in the small town of Maroa in southern Illinois before moving to Chicago in 1901 with his father and brother after his mother's death (a sister, Ruth, remained in Maroa). The family settled in Kilgubbin, a once heavily Irish area on the North Side of Chicago that was notorious citywide for its crime; it was known as "Little Hell".
How did O'Banion influence the election of Cicero?
Despite their enmity, he did lend a hand to Torrio and Capone when they attempted to influence the results of the mayoral election of Cicero on 1 April by supplying some of his own thugs for their use. In return for the use of his men, Torrio allotted him some of Cicero's beer rights and a quarter-interest in a casino called The Ship. O'Banion then cheated Torrio by moving some Cicero speakeasies into his North Side territory , thus increasing his own profits. When Capone protested, Torrio attempted to convince O'Banion to abandon his plan in exchange for some South Side brothel proceeds. O'Banion angrily refused, as he abhorred prostitution.
What was the job of the O'Banion boys?
The boys then met the political bosses of the 42nd and 43rd wards through Annenberg; their job was to help steer the outcome of elections through violence.
Who did O'Banion marry?
However, O'Banion continued lifting South Side freight, angering Torrio and Al Capone . O'Banion married Viola Kaniff in 1921, and bought an interest in William Schofield's Flower Shop on North State Street as a legitimate front and an outlet for his fondness for flowers. Schofield's became the florist for mob funerals.
What was the purpose of the rooms above Schofield's?
The rooms above Schofield's were used as a headquarters by the gang. In February 1924, O'Banion sought to one-up his South Side rivals by framing Torrio and Capone for the murder of North Side hanger-on John Duffy.
Overview
Life as a bootlegger
In December 1919, shortly before Prohibition came into effect, O'Banion was walking down Chicago Street when he came across a parked liquor truck. O'Banion took a roll of nickels out of his pocket, approached the driver and knocked him out. O'Banion proceeded to drive off with the liquor. He sold the whiskey in the back to saloon keepers for a total of $15,000 ($235,574 in 2021).
With the onset of Prohibition in 1920, O'Banion started a bootlegging operation. He arranged for beer
Early life
O'Banion was born to Irish Catholic parents in the small town of Maroa in Central Illinois. The O'Banion family moved to Aurora, Illinois, when Dean was a small child. In 1901, after his mother's death, he moved to Chicago with his father and older brother (a sister, Ruth, remained in Maroa). The family settled in Kilgubbin, otherwise known as, "Little Hell," a heavily Irish area on the North Side of Chicago that was notorious citywide for its crime.
Bootleggers divide Chicago
In 1920, "Papa" Johnny Torrio, the head of the predominantly Italian South Side mob (later known as the Chicago Outfit), and his lieutenant, Al Capone, met with all the Chicago bootleggers to work out a system of territories. It was beneficial to everyone to avoid bloody turf battles. In addition, the gangsters were able to pool their political power and their soldiers in the streets. O'Banion accepted the agreement and was ceded control of the North Side, including the desirable Gold …
Murder of John Duffy
Meanwhile, O'Banion continued on the offensive. In February 1924, he moved against his South Side rivals by unsuccessfully trying to frame Torrio and Capone for the murder of North Side hanger-on John Duffy, a gun for hire from Philadelphia.
Duffy, following a violent drunken argument, had smothered his bride Maybelle Exley with a pillow while she slept (although other sources claim Duffy shot her twice in the head). When he awoke …
The Sieben Brewery Raid
The last straw for Torrio was O'Banion's treachery in the Sieben Brewery raid. Both O'Banion and Torrio held large stakes in the Sieben brewery in Chicago. In May, 1924, O'Banion learned that the police were planning to raid the brewery on a particular night. Before the raid, O'Banion approached Torrio and told him he wanted to sell his share in the brewery, claiming that the Gennas scared him and he wanted to leave the rackets. Torrio agreed to buy O'Banion's share …
O'Banion and the Tommy Gun
During the summer of 1924, O'Banion and his wife Viola took a long vacation at the Colorado dude ranch of his henchman Louis Alterie. On his way back to Chicago, O'Banion purchased a large supply of weapons in Denver, including three Thompson submachine guns, or "baby machine guns", as they were referred to in a local newspaper. (At the time, the manufacturer, the Auto-Ordnance Company, was advertising the weapon to ranchers as a means of dealing with anima…
Death
On November 3, 1924, Dean O'Banion made a telephone call to arch-rival Angelo Genna that became heated. Their disagreement concerned a debt Genna had incurred at The Ship, the casino that the North Side gang boss owned a piece of along with the Chicago Outfit. As O'Banion had sat in with Al Capone, Frank Nitti, Frank Rio, and others to tally the week's profits, it was mentioned t…