John Scalise

John Scalise (* 1900 in Castelvetrano , Sicily , † May 7, 1929 ) was an American hit man . He was a member of the American organized crime syndicate Chicago Outfit . He and his partner Albert Anselmi were very successful hit men during the Chicago prohibition era .

The early years

Scalise was born in Castelvetrano in Sicily in 1900 and was drawn into the gang business at a young age. When he was around twenty, he lost his right eye in an attack, which was replaced by a glass eye . A short time after this incident, Scalise traveled to America illegally. He found his new home in Chicago's Little Italy, known as "The Patch". Scalise was a cousin of Francesco Scalice who became head of the Gambino family in New York City.

Prohibition Wars

While working for the Genna brothers , he met Albert Anselmi , who later became his friend and mentor . Although he was younger than Anselmi, he was considered more dangerous and more intelligent than Anselmi. Soon after, he became the leading force in that partnership. Both are to this day the prime suspects in the murder of Dean O'Banion , head of Chicago's North Side Gang .

Shortly after the murder of O'Banion, Scalise and Anselmi of the Genna brothers came under the command of Al Capone, the head of the " Chicago Outfit ". During the fighting with the North Siders, Scalise and Anselmi played an important role; on June 13, 1925, together with Mike Genna , they ambushed the "Northsiders" George Moran and Vincent Drucci on the street from an ambush. They shot Moran and Drucci's car with shotguns, injuring the latter in the process.

About an hour later, Scalise, Genna, and Anselmi sped south on Chicago's Western Avenue. You were followed by a police force and passed on the corner of Western Street and 60th Street . After the vehicles came to a standstill, the criminals opened fire. Chicago police officers Charles Walsh and Harold Olsen were killed during the shooting. Michael Conway was seriously wounded. The fourth policeman, William Sweeney, chased the escapees towards a block. Genna was shot while trying to escape. Scalise and Anselmi were caught and arrested by the police and tried.

Prosecutor Bob Crowe swore he would dump both men for what they did. During a strange trial, Scalise and Anselmi's lawyers attempted to convince the jury that they were only defending themselves against unauthorized police assault. Anselmi and Scalise were found guilty of manslaughter against Charles Walsh and received a 14-year prison sentence.

In the meantime, they sent allies to the "patch" to raise money for defense in court. The wealthy Italians who had already donated to a trial were not as generous this time around. Wealthy men like Henry Spignola, Agostino and Antonio Morici were murdered in the ensuing period. One of the main allies, Orazio Tropea, kept most of the money raised for himself. He was shot dead on Halstead Street on February 15, 1926 . More deaths followed before Scalise and Anselmi were acquitted of Harold Olsen's murder.

The war between Al Capone and Hymie Weiss , O'Banion's successor, reached its climax in the fall of 1926. During a peace conference, Weiss offered Capone peace if his friend's murderers (ie Scalise and Anselmi) would be killed. Capone refused, Weiss was murdered within the next two weeks.

In December 1926, Scalise and Anselmi's trial for manslaughter of Charles Walsh was resumed. Both were released from prison in January 1927. In June 1927, both were acquitted of the manslaughter of Charles Walsh. Al Capone held a grand celebration in honor of the release.

Due to the fact that Scalise and Anselmi were acquitted and they were of Sicilian descent, both were often suspected when one of Al Capone's enemies was found dead.

St. Valentines massacre

After the murder of Pasqualino Lolordo, president of the " Unione Siciliana ", John Scalise was elected vice-president under Joseph Giunta . Shortly after the St. Valentine's massacre, John Scalise boasted, "I'm the most powerful man in Chicago." Most observers saw this as an admission of guilt in relation to the carnage, but in fact it was believed to mean the position of Vice President; new studies show that Scalise and Anselmi couldn't have been the shooters.

The last days

Because of their reputations, John Scalise and Albert Anselmi were also questioned about the bloodbath. But only Scalise was indicted along with Jack McGurn . Shortly after the indictment, in the early hours of May 8, 1929, Scalise, Anselmi, and Joseph Giunta were found dead on a street near Hammond, Indiana . All three were brutally beaten and then shot. One of Scalise's numerous wounds was a shot in his glass eye with fragments of glass scattered across his face. The examining magistrate announced that he had never seen bodies as disfigured as this before.

Within a few days, reporters said that the three men had been lured to a banquet with their Sicilian friends. The three of them were killed while trying to settle a staged argument. Years later, a much more popular story emerged that said that Al Capone had discovered that Scalise and Anselmi had decided to cheat on him. At the climax of a dinner given in their honor, Al Capone brutally beat the three of them with a baseball bat. Two or three armed men did the rest. Although no one knew exactly how Scalise and Anselmi died, no one mourned them. The body of Scalise was transferred to Castelvetrano in Sicily and buried there.

Movie and TV

2017: Portrayed in the film Gangster Land (In the Absence of Good Men) by Drake Andrew .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Scalise, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American hit man
DATE OF BIRTH	1900
PLACE OF BIRTH	Castelvetrano in Sicily
DATE OF DEATH	May 7, 1929
Place of death	Chicago