Jack McGurn would soon learn that of the seven men killed the morning of Feburary 14, 1929, George “Bugs” Moran was not one of them. Moran and a couple of associates were on their way to the garage when they saw the police car pull in. Believing that a Prohibition raid was about to take place, Moran and his associates did not enter the garage but instead continued their walk down the street.1 Although Moran survived this attempt on his life, it would cause him to go into a sort of early retirement from his life of crime.
As reports from witnesses and tips began to come in, police began to narrow their search of suspects, naming Al Capone as the man who orchestrated what would forever be named the St.Valentine’s Day Massacre. Police looked into Capone, but were unable to find any ties to the crime. Capone was with his family in Florida at the time of the crime, and after checking phone records, police saw that no calls were made to or from Capone several days before or after the massacre.2 Capone was ultimately ruled out as a prime suspect. It may seem that because these were his men who committed this gruesome crime, it would be easy to say it must have been Capone who ordered the hits, but looking closer at the story, it seems that while he may have been involved, it was Jack McGurn who was calling all the shots.
The days and weeks following the massacre churned out rumor after rumor that police had been involved in the incident.3 If McGurn wanted to create confusion in the minds of law enforcement and keep his name out of the spotlight, having his men pose as officers as they gunned down the Moran gang did the job. Law enforcement made attempts to shut down the accusations as quickly as they could, and tried everything in their power to catch the men responsible for the hideous crime. Rewards for the capture and conviction of the criminals were offered $50,000 from the Chicago Association of Commerce, $20,000 from the City Council, $20,000 from the state’s attorney, and $10,000 from public collections.4 It was clear that not only the police, but the entire city of Chicago wanted these men to pay for their crimes.
One of the seven men shot that morning, Frank Gusenberg, had somehow survived the initial attack from McGurn and his men. An officer visited him when he was taken to the hospital, but Gusenberg remained tight lipped and refused to give any names as to who orchestrated the attack. When asked by the officer who had shot him, he simply replied, “No one, nobody shot me.”5 If the police wanted to nail down any leads, they had their work cut out for them. Clues slowly began to come in, and on March 4th, three men were named in the massacre: Joseph Lolodro, James Ray, and Fred Burke.6 Lolodro disappeared off the grid, it is unknown what happened to Ray, and Burke was tried and sentenced to life in prison for an unrelated crime.7
Later, Jack McGurn and John Scalise were taken into custody, but both made bail and were back on the streets of Chicago. Scalise was soon the victim of another gangland assassination, leaving McGurn to fight alone against the charges.8 Forensic science in 1929 was nothing like it is in our current age, so McGurn’s case continued to be pushed back further because of the ongoing investigation. Finally, ten months later, on December 2, 1929, it was decided that there was not enough evidence to convict McGurn or anyone else involved in the case, and the case was ultimately dismissed.9 “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn and his men had gotten away with murder. No one was ever convicted in the St.Valentine’s Day Massacre. Chicago became home to the “most vicious slaughter” in the nation up until then.10 No matter how the case ended, and who was really at fault, the gang wars in the Chicago area had reached an all-time high, and something needed to be done, the violence needed to be stopped. The city of Chicago would forever be changed and tied to gangland violence because of this event. The city would continue to see gang warfare for decades to come, but hopes were that this was the last time such a gruesome attack would occur.
- Fred D. Pasley, Al Capone The Biography of a Self-Made Man (New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1930), 255. ↵
- Laurence Bergreen, Capone The Man and The Era (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994), 314. ↵
- Bergreen, Capone The Man and The Era, 312-313. ↵
- Bergreen, Capone The Man and The Era, 314. ↵
- Pasley, Al Capone The Biography of a Self-Made Man, 256. ↵
- Pasley, Al Capone The Biography of a Self-Made Man, 261. ↵
- Bergreen, Capone The Man and The Era, 317. ↵
- Pasley, Al Capone The Biography of a Self-Made Man, 260. ↵
- Pasley, Al Capone The Biography of a Self-Made Man, 261. ↵
- Bergreen, Capone The Man and The Era, 312. ↵
32 comments
Crystalrose Quintero
The cover picture was really shocking and had me intrigued to understand what the article would be about. Although it was a negative newspaper announcement about a killer, it really had a lot left to say. Another unique aspect was that the article had Al Capone as a suspect. It was interesting to see how notorious people could coincide at moments in their life. I also appreciated that it compared forensics in 1900’s to forensics today and how that may have had negative consequences on such a case.
Samuel Sanchez
This was a great article and I am coming from part one just wondering if they were going to get caught but I guess their plan was perfect. Usually when you have these types of cases you would expect them to get caught. Since it was during the late 1920s there wasn’t enough evidence to convict anyone. Overall great job on telling the story of St.Valentine’s Day Massacre. Keep up the good work.
Marissa Gonzalez
This article was very interesting because it made me realize how just one event can leave a lasting impression of Chicago. You gave a lot of detail about how the killing took place. I found it amusing how people think they could get away with dressing up as police officers. While I was reading this, I thought about how many people think they could get away with murder if investigators and police will start to find out anyway. However, I was surprised no one was was convicted because we are so used to people today being suspected whenever crimes occur. Great article!
Mario Sosa
Frank Gusenberg’s questioning was very surprising to me. Even after surviving the massacre and knowing well who was behind it, he still kept quiet about it. That is an interesting thing to find out about; why would these gang members refuse to rat out their rivals to the police? It is indeed crazy how these mobsters were able to get away with a lot of crime. Once again, great job on the article!
Alyssa Valdez
After reading the first article, I have to say I’m very intrigued that the massacre had nothing to do with Al Capone…From what it seems a least. Either way I guess that’s why Al Capone would have Jack McGurn as a close friend of his. I also would like to point out just how backwards the justice system was back then, so much evidence was thrown out that there wasn’t enough. I find it every suspicious
Teresa Valdez
Coming from the first part of the article, I was so surprised to find that Moran survived the assassination attempt on his life. I admire the way the article does not dismiss Capone’s involvement in the article, but recognizes that McGurn was the mastermind behind the plot. The rumors that spread after the massacre involving the police confirms my assessment that the way these horrific murders took place was clever on McGurn’s part. This was a very shocking, engaging, and well-told conclusion to the story.
Erik Rodriguez
Great article! Very detailed and informative! I can’t believe the massacre only lasted 2 minutes !! Just imagine how long they were planning the whole thing !? That is just crazy.
Very well written article, great job!
Maalik Stansbury
Wow the massacre only lasting two minutes, that is incredible. What the crap was going on in those peoples mind. Great article and great job on the detail. The evidence provided was spectacular and creatively presented. Te methods of how the massacre happened was too much.
Jezel Luna
Throughout the entire article, I was waiting for someone to get convicted. I was surprised that no one secretly turned them in, considering all the thousands of dollars they were offering. I was not aware of this huge St. Valentine’s Day Massacre up until I read your Part 1 and Part 2. It’s unfortunate that because of the lack of evidence they weren’t able to convict anyone. Very detailed article, great work!
Aylin Salinas
Wow, two whole minutes! I can’t imagine how long they were planning the whole thing! It’s very unsettling to know that the case was dismissed due to a lack of forensic evidence. This was a very interesting and very well written article! Great job!