1929 in organized crime
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See also: 1928 in organized crime, other events of 1929, 1930 in organized crime and the list of 'years in Organized Crime'.
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[edit] Events
- Mobster Antonino "Tony," "Joe Batters" Accardo becomes head enforcer for Al Capone's "Chicago Outfit".
- Danny Stanton, a former member of the Valley and Sheldon Gangs, assumes control as interim leader of arch rivals Saltis-McErlane organization.
- January - James Alderman, a prominent Florida bootlegger, is sentenced to hang by US District Court Judge Henry D. Clayton for the 1927 murders of a US Secret Service agent and two US Coast Guard crew members during an arrest at sea. Despite appeals to the US Supreme Court and President Herbert Hoover, Alderman would be hanged later that year on a Coast Guard base near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
- January 8 - Unione Siciliane leader Pasquale Lolordo is killed in his Chicago apartment, supposedly by mobster Joe Aiello and members of the North Side Gang.
- January 12 - Labor racketeer Cornelius Shea died in a hospital in Chicago after an operation for gallstones.
- February 14 - Four unidentified men, two of them dressed as Chicago police officers, storm into a Chicago garage and murder seven members of the North Side Gang, (among them optometrist Rheinhart Schwimmer and mechanic John May). Their primary target, gang leader George "Bugs" Moran, is not there. However, the St. Valentines Day Massacre effectively ends the five-year gang war between The Chicago Outfit and the North Side Gang.
- March 15 - William J. Vercoe, a colorful Chicago criminal noted for reciting poetry, is shot and killed by Westside O'Donnell gamg member George Clifford while at the Pony Inn in Cicero, Illinois.
- April 14 - George Clifford is gunned down along with former Westside O'Donnall's gang gunman Michael Reiley.
- May 9 - Prominent New York mob associate Meyer Lansky marries Anna Citron.
- May 13-15 - The Atlantic Conference is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey by American East Coast and Midwest organized crime leaders. This conference would later result in the formation of the National Crime Syndicate of all Italian-American gangs.
- May 16 - Shortly after leaving the Atlantic City, New Jersey meeting, Chicago mob boss Al Capone is arrested by Philadelphia police and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
- May 27 - Chicago Outfit hitman Albert Anselmi, one of the men suspected in the murder of North Side Gang leader Dean O'Banion, is killed by mob boss Al Capone after a failed attempt to gain leadership of the Chicago Outfit.
- May 29 - Thomas McElligot, a member of the Westside O'Donnell's gang, is killed in a Loop saloon in Chicago.
- June 11 - Salvatore "Black Sam" Todaro, leader of the Cleveland, Ohio, crime family, is shot and killed while approaching a parked car. Todaro would be succeeded by Joe Porello.
- July 2 - Benjamin Evangelista, a religious leader and real estate tycoon, is killed with his wife and four children. It is believed that the killings are related to possible dealings with organized crime.
- August 6 - Pittsburgh mobster Steve Monastero is shot to death at the entrance of Allegheny General Hospital. Following Monastero's death, he would be succeeded by Joseph Siragusa.
- September 4 - Westside O'Donnell gang member Frank Cawley is killed.
- November 17 - John "Bilikens" Rito, a former bootlegger for the Chicago Genna Brothers, is killed shortly after forming a partnership with North Side Gang member Ted Newberry.
- December 29 - Chicago bootlegger James Walsh is killed by Charles Baron after a prize fight.
- December 30 - Stephanie St. Clair, the Harlem, New York numbers game queen, is arrested by New York City police. She would later be sentenced to eight months in prison.
[edit] Arts and literature
- Little Caesar (novel) by William R. Burnett.
[edit] Births
- Donald Angelini (Don Angel) "The Wizard of Odds", Syndicate gambling racketeer
- Frank Chin, Chinese-American author and playwright
- Joseph Lombardo (Joe Padula), Chicago Outfit Capo
- Louis Manna "Bobby", Genovese crime family Capo involved in the New Jersey construction industry, illegal gambling and loansharking
- Frank A. Pugliano "Frankie Pugs", Patriarca crime family associate and West Springfield gambling club owner
- Joseph Ullo, New York mobster and suspected ".22 caliber" hitman
- April 7 - Joe Gallo (Joseph Gallo), New York Mafia leader
- March 8 - Nicky Scarfo (Nicodemo Scarfo), Philadelphia and Atlantic City Mafia Don
- August 9 - Albert Caesar Tocco, Chicago Outfit member involved in extortion and racketeering in Chicago's South Suburbs
[edit] Deaths
- January - James Alderman, Florida bootlegger
- January 8 - Pasquale Lolordo, Unione Siciliane leader
- March 15 - William J. Vercoe "Clown for the Hoodlums", Chicago criminal
- February 14 - James Clark, North Side Gang member involved in bootlegging, bank robbery and victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
- February 14 - Frank Gusenberg, North Side Gang gunman and victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
- February 14 - Peter Gusenberg, North Side Gang gunman and victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
- February 14 - Adam Hyer, North Side Gang member, owner of the S-M-C Cartage Company garage and victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
- February 14 - John May, North Side Gang associate and victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
- February 14 - Rheinhart Schwimmer, North Side Gang associate and victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
- February 14 - Albert Weinshank, North Side Gang bookkeeper, speakeasy owner and victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
- April 14 - George Clifford, Westside O'Donnells member
- May 27 - Albert Anselmi, Chicago Outfit hitman
- May 29 - Thomas McElligot, Westside O'Donnell member
- June 11 - Salvatore Todaro "Black Sam", Cleveland crime family leader
- July 2 - Benjamin Evangelista, Illinois religious leader and real estate tycoon
- August 6 - Steve Monastero, Philadelphia crime family leader
- September 4 - Frank Cawley, Westside O'Donnell member
- November 17 - John Rito "Bilikens", bootlegger for the Genna Brothers and associate of Ted Newberry
- December 29 - James Walsh, Chicago bootlegger
