Jack McGurn

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Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn actually Vincenzo Antonio Gibaldi or Gebardi (probably he used Gebardi to spare his family the direct association with him in the media) (born July 3, 1903 in Licata on Sicily ; † February 15, 1936 ) was an Italian-American mobster from the Chicago outfit environment . He is considered to be the organizer of the Valentine's Day massacre on February 14, 1929 in Chicago .

Life

Early years

On November 24, 1906, the married couple Tommaso and Josephine Gibaldi arrived on Ellis Island to emigrate to the USA (Tommaso adapted his name to America and from then on called himself Thomas Gibaldi). Vincenzo grew up in the slums of New York City .

His father was murdered in 1908 by the Irish White Hand Gang , who actually targeted Willie "Two Knife" Altieri , a gangster close to Frankie Yale , but mistook him for Gibaldi. The Irish "white hands" were at that time in conflict with the Italian gangs in New York, which they contemptuously called "black hands".

Vincenzo continued to grow up in Brooklyn ; his mother married Angelo DeMora, the owner of a grocery store, in the late 1910s, which is why Vincenzo DeMora also exists as a name variant. The family decided to move to Chicago and Vincenzo began a career as a boxer there . Since Irish boxers received higher fighting fees than Italians, he chose the battle name "Battling Jack McGurn " and began his professional career on November 4, 1921.

Shortly after his 19th birthday in 1922, Gibaldi took a trip to New York City to use a firearm to settle accounts with his father's murderers and the real people behind the “White Hand Gang”. Accordingly, the assassination attempt on "Wild Bill" Lovett , which survived this seriously injured, was carried out by McGurn, who is also said to have killed another man. However, there are also theories that suggest the failed attack on Lovett was carried out by disaffected members of the White Hands .

Chicago

In Chicago, McGurn operated the Speakeasy Green Mill 4802 North Broadway . In fact, he was in the middle of George "Bugs" Moran's North Side Gang . In the mid-1925s he received a 25% stake in the jazz club. Al Capone was also a regular guest at the club.

McGurn was a loyal follower of Capone. When he saw himself betrayed by Frankie Yale , McGurn did the contract killing with a Thompson submachine gun in 1928 . It was this weapon that earned him the nickname " Machine Gun ".

The dispute between the Chicago outfit and the North Side escalated; On February 14, 1929, the Valentine's Day massacre was supposed to end the conflict in favor of Capone, which in principle succeeded. McGurn was considered to be the organizer of this massacre, but was able to show an alibi of his friend Louise Rolfe , who was nicknamed the "Blonde Alibi".

When in April 1930 Frank J. Loesch , the chairman of the Chicago Crime Commission drew up a list of 28 people who were seen as “Public Enemy” of Chicago, McGurn took fifth place on this nationally published list a. This attention increased the pressure on McGurn to prosecute enormously; he was now one of the “usual suspects”, so to speak, and was accordingly arrested or checked frequently.

McGurn therefore withdrew to the Evergreen Golf Club on 91st Street / Western Avenue , of which he had become a silent partner. His excellent hand-eye coordination , which he had demonstrated with the submachine gun, also made him an excellent golfer. McGurn even took part under his maiden name Gibaldi on August 25, 1933 at the Western Open , which was held by the Olympia Fields Country Club on the Olympia Fields (Illinois) . However, the following day he was discovered and the police arrested him.

The end

On February 14, 1936, on the second floor of a house on Avenue Recreation Bowling Alley , 805 N. Milwaukee Avenue on Chicago Avenue, he was submachine gun dead by two killers. The murderers, still unknown to this day, left a message on a piece of paper:

"You've lost your job, You've lost your dough, Your jewels and handsome houses, But things could be worse, you know, You haven't lost your trousers."

"You have lost your job, you have lost your" dough ", your jewels and pretty houses, but you know it could be worse, at least you haven't lost your pants."

- Jack McGurn's murderer

According to one thesis, it is said to have been a late revenge on the north side by George "Bugs" Moran for the Valentine's Day massacre, as the assassination attempt took place almost exactly seven years after the massacre. Others see Frank Nitti as the originator who wanted to switch off the light that the bad press about McGurns threw on the outfit in order to alleviate the persecution pressure that weighed on the entire organization. Also, McGurn was a gifted drunk and was now utterly impoverished, making him a potential courtesy witness.

Jack McGurn was buried in the Mount Carmel Cemetery.

Movie and movie quotes

literature

  • Amanda Jayne Parr: The True And Complete Story Of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn . ISBN 1-90523713-8
  • Richard J. Shmelter: Chicago Assassin. The Life And Legend Of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn And The Chicago Beer Wars Of The Roaring Twenties ; Cumberland House Pub. 2008; ISBN 1-58182-618-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William J. Helmer & Rick Mattix: The Complete Public Enemy Almanac , Cumberland House 2007, p. 63
  2. ↑ Gerbardi was engraved on the tombstone
  3. ↑ Richard J. Shmelter: Chicago Assassin. The Life And Legend Of Machine Gun Jack McGurn And The Chicago Beer Wars Of The Roaring Twenties , Cumberland House 2008, p. 20
  4. ↑ Jack McGurn in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved March 3, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME McGurn, Jack
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McGurn, Machine Gun (nickname); Gibaldi, Vincenzo Antonio (real name); Gebardi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian-American mobster from the Chicago outfit environment
DATE OF BIRTH July 3, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Licata in Sicily
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 1936
Place of death Chicago