Feb 14th 1929

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

Prohibition brought celebrity, riches, and violence to Chicago gangland bosses like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, whose rival factions controlled the city's booze traffic, brothels, and casinos. With its conspiracy theories, complicit cops, and suspects who went uncharged, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of nine mob associates created an archetype of organized crime. Pitting North Side against South Side and one ethnicity against another, the event’s brutality echoes in the gang violence Chicago still confronts today.