Samuzzo Amatuna
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Samuel Samuzzo "Samoots" Amatuna (1899-November 13, 1925) was a Chicago mobster and member of the Genna Brothers, who served as president of the Unione Siciliane.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Pogallo, Sicily in 1899, Amatuna immigrated to the United States in the mid-1900s and eventually arrived in Chicago's Little Italy. Acting as a messenger for the Genna Brothers as a teenager, Amatuna would earn official membership into the organization during the Aldermen's War when, at the age of 17, Amatuna allegedly murdered Frank Lombardi, a known supporter of incumbent Alderman John Powers, as he entered a Taylor Street saloon on February 21, 1916.
[edit] Prohibition & the Bloody Nineteenth Ward
As Prohibition began in 1920, Amatuna had become one of the Gennas leading members as the continued to battle the Powers faction for political control of the Nineteenth Ward committing election fraud. As the Gennas began bootlegging operations, becoming one of the Torrio-Capone gang's main suppliers of homemade liquor, Amatuna was the Gennas main enforcers who oversaw production of the gangs numerous "alky cookers" and would later become the personal bodyguard of "Bloody" Angelo Genna by the end of the year.
On September 28, a bomb exploded on the front porch of the home of Alderman John Powers, and despite causing a great deal of damage there were no injuries. Suspected to have been set by Amatuna on orders from the Gennas, Powers arranged for his house to be guarded by numerous armed guards and private detectives and guarded Powers as he again campaigned against Anthony D'Andrea in the upcoming 1921 elections. Although frequent bombings of supporters occurred between both factions, no one was killed as Powers would eventually would go on to win the election by a narrow 435 lead.
Enraged by his defeat, Angelo Genna blamed Paul Labriola, a municipal court bailiff and a Powers supporter. Convinced Labriola was responsible for convincing Sicilian and other Italian immigrants to support Powers, Amatuna would accompany Genna (along with lieutenant Frank "Don Chick" Gambino who would shoot Labriola to death on March 9, 1921. Although identified by witnesses, only Genna and Gambino would be charged with the murder however they would eventually be released due to lack of evidence. He was later suspected in the murders of Powers supporters Harry Raimondi and Gaetano Esposito.
It was during this time that Amatuna, by the age of twenty five, had already had several bank accounts and held interests in various legitimate businesses. Erning the reputation of a "dandy", Amatuna was seen attending attending operas with Angelo Genna and other gunman of the Nineteenth Ward (often wearing jewelry such as diamond studs and cufflinks valued at $40,000). Buying the Bluebird Cafe, a popular and well known Halsted Street restaurant, Amatuna was said to have a pleasant tenor voice and often engaged in singing for his friends and on occasion play short violin compositions. Confidant in his safety within the cafe, Amatuna never wore his two guns inside the Bluebird Cafe, boasting to reporters during an interview "No one can shoot me in here. This place is full of my friends Any guy who would hurt me here would be torn apart by my patrons".
[edit] Later years
After the murder of Angelo Genna in May 1925, Amatuna struggled to keep the disintergrating Gennas intact. With Goldstein and Zion, Amatuna soon walked into the headquarters of the Unione Sicilane and declared himself the successor of former president Angelo Genna. This brash move however would upset many of Chicago's underworld, particularly long time rival Al Capone.
On the evening of November 23, Amatuna was preparing to attend the opera Aidia at the Auditorium Theater with his girlfriend Rose Picorara (herself a relative of former Unione Siciliane president Mike Merlo). Leaving the house for a few minutes, Amatuna left visit a local barbershop on Roosevelt Road for a shave and manicure, as was his usual habit before going out for the evening. Upon arriving at the shop, the owner Isadore Paul noticed the gang leader was without his bodyguards (who replied he hadn't been able to reach them that day). As the owner applied a hot towel on Amatuna's face, two unidentified men rushed into the barbershop and drew their guns. The barber's screams alerted Amatuna who quickly ducked behind the barberchair however he was shot in the chest twice during the gunfight as the gunman escaped. Taken to a local hospital, Amatuna requested to a priest that he be married to Rosa before his death, however, he died before the ceremony was completed.
Amatuna's elaborate funeral was one of the many which would be seen between rival mobsters and, although many on Little Italy praised his generosity to the local residents, Amatuna was feared for his brutal treatment towards the many Sicilian immigrants, many of them elderly, who worked the Gennas alky boilers (often beating workers unconscious as a result in missing production quotas).
His body was soon dug up and taken back to Sicily, where he was reinterred in his native village of Pogallo by his family. His death was greatly morned in Sicily as much of his income was given to his family and was used to repair a local church, which had long been in ruins.
The identities of the men who killed Amatuna were eventually revealed as North Side Gang members Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci and Jim Doherty (along with Frank Gusenberg as the driver), however no charges were ever brought against them. The noted absence of Goldstein and Zion has also been questioned, however, the question of weither they were paid off to stay away that night or if they had instead defected to the Northsiders, setting Amatuna's murder themselves is still a metter for debate as they were both killed shortly after his death (Zion, returning from Amatuna's funeral, on November 17 and Goldstein, who was killed with a shotgun in a drugstore by two unidentified gunmen on November 25). The remaining Genna Brothers would later comment that Amatuna's death was inevitable after he began hiring non-Sicilian bodyguards disregarding tradition (Mike Merlo was said to have stated "Them Jew boys only work for themselves and they will always side with the Irish in the end.").
It has been claimed that, as a result of Amatuna's death, it has been the practice of barber's to never put a hot towel over the face of a customer and have it always facing the front door so as to easily identify others entering the barbershop.
[edit] Further reading
- Asbury, Herbert. Gem of the Prairie: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld. New York, 1940.
- Burns, Walter N. The One-Way Ride: The Red Train of Chicago Gangland from Prohibition to Jake Lingle. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co., 1931.
- Johnson, Curt and R. Craig Sautter. The Wicked City: Chicago from Kenna to Capone. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
- Kobler, John. Capone: The Life and Times of Al Capone. New York: Da Capo Press, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81285-1
- Landesco, John. Organized Crime in Chicago. Chicago: Illinois Crime Survey, 1931.
- Murray, George. The Legacy of Al Capone: Portraits and Annals of Chicago's Public Enemies. New York: Putnam, 1975.
[edit] References
- Devito, Carlo. Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-8160-4848-7
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
