1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: a show whose love of history makes everyone uncomfortable. I'm 4 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,639 Speaker 1: Gabe Louizier, and today we're looking at an anti love 5 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: story from the tail end of American Prohibition, the time 6 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: when one gangster made his feelings known to another in 7 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 1: the least romantic wave Constile Quick Morning. Today's episode contains 8 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: descriptions of gun violence and maybe upsetting to some listeners. 9 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: The day was February nine. Seven members of Bugs Moran's 10 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: gang were shot dead at a garage in Chicago. The 11 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: grizzly event, later the Saint Valentine's Day massacre, is believed 12 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: to have been orchestrated by rival gangster al Capone. He 13 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: was never definitively linked to the murders, though, and officially 14 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: the crime remains unsolved. During the Prohibition era of the 15 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties, large American cities became breeding grounds for organized crime. 16 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: Gangs of bootleggers would carve up a city between themselves, 17 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: each operating their own distilleries, speakeasies, brothels, and gambling joints 18 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: on their respective turf. By the late nineteen twenties, Chicago 19 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: was home to more gang activity than just about anywhere 20 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: else in the country. Territory changed hands as different crime 21 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: bosses rose and fell from power, but in nineteen twenty 22 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: nine most of the city was split between two rival factions, 23 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: Al Capone's gang in the South Side and George bugs 24 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: Moran's gang in the North Side. The two lead gangsters 25 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: had budded heads for years, with both having survived assassination 26 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: attempts led by the other. In the months leading up 27 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: to the massacre, Moran began to move against Capone harder 28 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: than ever. His gang hijack Capone's shipments of illicit booze, 29 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: muscled in on his dog track operation and even killed 30 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: a few of his allies. In early nineteen twenty nine, 31 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: Capone had had enough and began bank rolling yet another 32 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: assassination attempt. He hired an associate named Jack machine Gun 33 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: mcgern to organize the hit, which was set to take 34 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: place on the morning of February fourteenth. The plan was 35 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: to stage a phony police raid on a warehouse slash 36 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: auto garage where Moran was known to store his liquor 37 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: and bootlegging trucks. That way, civilians wouldn't think a mob 38 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: hit was going on next door, and Moran's gang wouldn't 39 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: open fire on what would appear to be a police force. 40 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: To ensure the biggest body count possible, Capone's men called 41 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: Moran the day before the massacre with an offer they 42 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,519 Speaker 1: knew he wouldn't refuse. They told him that a truckload 43 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: of whiskey had just come in from Detroit and that 44 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: he could have it for cheap if he could take 45 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 1: possession of it by morning. Moran jumped at the chance 46 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: and arranged to have the whiskey delivered to his garage 47 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: on North Clark Street at ten thirty am on Valentine's Day. 48 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: There Moran would be waiting with the money for the 49 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: booze and with a crew big enough to unload it. 50 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: The following morning, a Cadillac looking very much like a 51 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: police car pulled up to Moran's garage a little before eleven. 52 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: Five men stepped out of the vehicle, though some witnesses 53 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: claimed to see six. Two were dressed in police uniforms 54 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: and the rest were wearing plain clothes, suits and overcoats. 55 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: The men in uniform rushed into the garage and ordered 56 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: the seven men inside to line up with their faces 57 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: toward the wall. The bootleggers did as they were told, 58 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: still assuming they'd been caught up in a routine raid. 59 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: A minute later, though, the gunmen were joined by their 60 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: colleagues dressed as civilians, at which point they all drew 61 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: their guns and opened fire. Their arsenal included two submachine guns, 62 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: a sawed off shotgun, and a forty five pistol. Within moments, 63 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: all seven men against the wall were dead or dying 64 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,039 Speaker 1: on the floor, each having been struck by no less 65 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: than fifteen bullets, mostly in the head and torso. The 66 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: killers maintained their ruse as they exited the blood soaked garage. 67 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: The men in plain clothes walked out first with their 68 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: hands in the air, and the two dressed as cops 69 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: came out behind them with guns drawn. Two witnesses, it 70 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: didn't look like a getaway at all. It just looked 71 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: like some men were being arrested after a raid. By 72 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: the time the real police got to the crime scene, 73 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: only one of the victims was still alive. His name 74 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: was Frank Hawk Goussenberg, and he refused to reveal anything 75 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: about his a ailants when asked directly who had shot him. 76 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: The man replied, no one. No one shot me. Three 77 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: hours later he died from his injuries. The real target 78 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: that day was, of course, Bugs Moran himself. In fact, 79 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: lookouts had made sure that Moran was inside before the 80 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: gunmen moved on the building. However, it later turned out 81 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: they weren't as sure as they had thought. The person 82 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: they identified as Bugs Moran was actually one of his men, 83 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: Albert Weinshank, who just happened to look and dress like 84 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: his boss. As for the real Moran, he had arrived 85 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: late to his own meeting, and when he spotted what 86 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: looked like a police car outside the garage, he assumed 87 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: it was being raided and stayed away. News of the 88 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: massacre broke later that day, and Moran was quick to 89 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: say what everyone else was thinking, quote only Capone kills 90 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,599 Speaker 1: like that. The public and the police were all but 91 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,679 Speaker 1: certain Capone's gang was responsible, but the crime boss himself 92 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: had an airtight alibi. He was in Florida at the time, 93 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 1: and when he heard Moran's allegation, he turned it around, saying, quote, 94 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,359 Speaker 1: the only man who kills like that is Bugs Moran. 95 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: Of course, no one believed Moran had ordered a hit 96 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: on his own men, so Capone remained the only real suspect. However, 97 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: due to a lack of hard evidence, neither he nor 98 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: anyone else was ever charged with the crime. It did 99 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: bring Capone a lot more unwanted attention, though. Federal authorities 100 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: monitored his every move after the massacre, and two years 101 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: later they finally arrested him, not for murder but for 102 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: tax evasion. The Saint Valentine's Day massacre didn't kill bugs Moran, 103 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: but it did diminish his standing in the criminal underworld 104 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: and had him looking over his shoulder for the rest 105 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: of his life. In the end, it wasn't a bullet 106 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: that did him in. Instead, Moran was arrested years later 107 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: for a string of small time robberies in Ohio, and 108 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: then died of lung cancer while serving his sentence. By 109 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: that point, al Capone had been dead for ten years, 110 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: having died from cardiac arrest a few years after his 111 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: own release from prison. The massacre had been the last 112 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: confrontation between the two men's gangs. It remains the most 113 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: notorious gangster killing of the Prohibition era and the bloodiest 114 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: balantine in American history. I'm Gabe Louzier and hopefully you 115 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you 116 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you want to keep up with the show, 117 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 118 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: t d i HC Show, and if you have any 119 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, you can always send him my way 120 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: by writing to this Day at I heeart media dot com. 121 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Amazed for producing the show, and thanks 122 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 123 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class.