found out three men were rats, beat them to a pulp with a baseball bat’
THE MOST FAMOUS NAME OF ALL...
died, six instantly and Frank Gusenberg later that day.
But the original target, Bugs Moran, was never injured.
In fact, he had never even made it to the warehouse.
The assassins had made a mistake when Albert Weinshank, roughly the same height and build as Moran, arrived dressed in an identical outfit to the man.
It wasn’t until after the massacre, when Bugs made a public statement condemning Capone, that it was realised that he was still alive.
The ensuing investigation focused primarily on Capone and his affiliate, the Purple Gang.
Despite two eyewitnesses and several identifications, most of the public believed what the killers wanted them to – that the attack had been carried out by the police as a scare tactic.
One man, Fred Burke, a known associate of Capone’s, was arrested years later for a separate crime and found to be in possession of the guns that were used in the massacre.
Burke denied involvement with the crime.
Capone was later arrested for his many other crimes and spent 11 years in prison.
Killed
Even then, however, he never took credit for the St Valentine’s Day Massacre – and to this day, the actual perpetrators are still unknown.
No matter the case, there’s no doubt that the hit carried Capone’s distinct style.
He once infamously killed three of his own associates after learning they were planning to betray him.
During a charade concocted for their benefit, Capone staged an argument with a trusted bodyguard in front of two of his wise guys and then slapped the guard, who ran from the room.
Both of the men tracked him down and fatally offered to bring him in on their plans.
After confirmation of the treachery, an elaborate ruse was developed to get rid of the plotters.
At the climax of a dinner thrown in their honour, Capone produced a baseball bat and beat the three men within an inch of their lives, before two or three gunmen stepped in to finish the job.
Capone was public enemy number one, but because of his corrupt ties to police and politicians, authorities struggled to pin him down.
Finally, in 1931, two years after the massacre, he was prosecuted for tax evasion.
During a highly publicised case, the judge admitted as evidence Capone’s admissions of his income and unpaid taxes during prior negotiations to pay the government taxes he owed.
He was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
After conviction, he replaced his defence team with experts in tax law, and his grounds for appeal were strengthened by a Supreme Court ruling, but his appeal ultimately failed.
Dementia
Capone showed signs of syphilitic dementia early in his sentence and became increasingly debilitated before being released after eight years of incarceration.
On January 25, 1947, aged just 48, Capone died of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.
He took the truth about the St Valentine’s Day massacre to his grave.