Vincent Drucci

Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci alias Victor or Ludovico di Ambrosio / Ambrosia (born April 28, 1901 in Chicago , † April 4, 1927 ibid) was a notorious member of organized crime during the time of Prohibition in the United States . He belonged to the North Side Gang of Chicago founded by Dean O'Banion and was the leader of this group together with George Moran .

Life

Early years

In terms of youth is only known that Drucci that actually Victor or Ludovico di Ambrosio / Ambrosia said, as the son of Italian immigrants John and Santa Rosa di Ambrosio and Rose di Ambrosia was born and as a Marine on the part of the United States at the First Participated in World War II . After he was honorably discharged from the army at the end of the war, he went to Chicago, where he initially struggled as a petty criminal by breaking into and looting public payphones . In 1918 he met O'Banion and became a new member of the gang led by the safe cracker Charles "The Ox" Reiser . Later O'Banion began to develop his own authority due to his leadership qualities and his charisma and formed the so-called North Side Gang at the latest with the beginning of Prohibition , within which Drucci soon became subordinate to O'Banion and his closest confidante Hymie Weiss (also a member of the Reiser gang). The fact that the North Side Gang was largely made up of criminals of Irish, Polish and German origins makes this “career” of the Italian-born Drucci within the organization all the more astonishing.

The nickname "The Schemer" (the planner, the schemer) was given to Drucci because of his sometimes crazy plans. In his circle of friends he is said to have thought about removing the government in order to then become President of the United States himself .

Drucci carried out various murders for the North Side Gang in connection with the gang wars that sporadically took place in Chicago because of rivalries over the control of production - as well as smuggling - and the trade in alcoholic beverages that were actually banned flared up.

Confrontation with Al Capone

After the assassination of O'Banion on November 10, 1924 by rival Sicilians Al Capone and Johnny Torrio in the south and the Genna brothers in the west, Drucci, who was seeking revenge along with the rest of the North Side Gang, was both on involved in an attempted murder of both Al Capone and Johnny Torrio. Particularly spectacular was the attempted murder of Johnny Torrio on January 24, 1925, which only failed because the pistol that Bugs Moran , who was also involved in the attack, aimed at Torrio, who was already injured, was shot empty. However, the seriously injured and shocked Torrio Chicago turned his back on after the failed assassination attempt . Capone bought an armored car to protect himself from further attacks .

In the period that followed, there were further violent clashes between the two criminal gangs, especially since Capone wanted to take down the heads of the opposing North Side Gang after the successful murder attempt. Worth mentioning here are two attempted murders of Drucci and Hymie Weiss , O'Banion's successor as leader of the North Side Gang, which occurred in broad daylight in the middle of downtown Chicago. On the occasion of these attacks, there were seemingly bizarre, violent shootings with a large number of people involved, without even the slightest consideration of passers-by and the heavy traffic in the city center.

Both murder attempts failed, however, with no deaths to be reported. When Drucci and an assailant were arrested by the rushing police in one of the shootings, Drucci stated that his wallet was apparently being targeted . The attacker stated that he had just happened to be at the scene of the crime as a passerby and had to use his firearm for the purpose of self-defense. Neither of them could be proven to be involved in a serious crime.

Finally, Hymie Weiss was murdered on October 11, 1926 at Capone's behest. Then Drucci took over the management of the North Side Gang together with Moran.

Since Drucci had in the meantime become a well-known criminal in the city because of the scenes described above, the investigation pressure on the part of the authorities increased. When the police temporarily arrested him on April 4, 1927 for the devastation of a party office he had carried out on behalf of a candidate and he was to be taken in a patrol car for interrogation, the Chicago police officer Dan Healy shot him in the stomach after a violent argument while he was sitting in the back seat of the police vehicle. A short time later, he succumbed to the severe injuries caused by this.

estate

Drucci was one of the few high-ranking members of organized crime to be killed by the police. According to Healy's statement, Drucci is said to have tried to snatch the gun from him in the police car, whereupon he had to make use of it. According to other sources, Healy killed Drucci after he had been enraged by verbal threats.

When Drucci's wife asked to start investigations against Healy after his death, the then police chief of the city of Chicago told her that a medal was being made for Healy. Since Drucci was a World War II veteran , he was buried with military honors in the Mount Carmel Cemetery .

Web links

• Short biography with various photographs on www.myalcaponemuseum.com (English)
• Vincent Drucci in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Short biography on www.crimemagazine.com (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Hymie Weiss	Head of the North Side Gang in Chicago in 1926	George Moran