Some of the previous conversations got me thinking about investigating some old Mob hits, and so I also found one old list which I made awhile ago and later placed some additional infos and in no time created this list of the Outfit’s so-called greatest and most fascinating contract killings. By “greatest” or “most fascinating” I’m thinking about the types of professional contract killings, which were executed in a way that no kind of normal person could ever perform. There are all types of various reasons for this kind of murders but the main thing is that the so-called contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to commit the actual killing, and above all it’s more difficult for law enforcement to connect them with the murder. It’s not an easy job for someone to execute a contract killing for some dangerous individual over another dangerous individual with the possibility to strike back. For example, one of the first steps for one professional contract killer is to take a series of steps in planning the murder and to prepare himself for either the arranging of transportation for the dead target or to prepare himself for fast action such as “hit and run”. The next step should be the killer’s weapon of choice and his skills in using all kinds of guns, since some Mob killings involve the use of small caliber handguns fired at close range and some obviously involve machineguns or rifles fired from far distances. The next step is locating and following the victim, thus learning the every day routines and during the process, the killer should pick the main killing location and around what time the target will be at that same location. And the final step is obviously carrying out of the actual murder contract.
Now, the Chicago Outfit was known for its own brutal way of handling problems, like for example snatching people right off the streets and the way of previously torturing their victims for several days and later they would usually turn up in some car trunk, while being all tied up in ropes and wires. Or maybe even the old infamous drive-bys which mainly occurred during the days of Prohibition, when the blasts of Tommy guns were heard on daily basis. But during that same old period, and even today, there were some murders which were pulled off by different crime syndicates and were almost unbelievable for the ordinary citizen, like for example the infamous hit on the Jewish Mob boss Bugsy Siegel, which occurred from quite a long distance while blasting one of his eyes few meters from his head, or maybe even the contract killing on Dutch Shultz where one or two guys went in some joint while blasting their guns and killing three or four armed guys. So my point is that I somehow managed to pick some of the most professional hits which these so-called street people, mainly from the Chicago Mob, managed to pull off by showing some type of military or any kind of special skills in the details and the logistics of the contract killings, all mainly backed up by some type of corruption, betrayal or “simple” business tactics. Here’s my personal Top Ten:
10. Giuseppe Esposito a.k.a. Diamond Joe was just one of the so-called creators of the infamous Chicago Outfit, who after Jim Colosimo that was killed in 1920, became the most powerful mobster in the Windy City, especially the West Side. Even though Colosimo’s empire was inherited by a different gang, still during Prohibition, Esposito was the most lucrative bootlegger who somehow controlled or was closely connected to most of the local clans, no matter the ethnicity. But by the mid 1920’s or somewhere around 1926, many up and coming bootleggers from the old Colosimo clan began mixing with up and coming members from the Esposito group on daily basis and they sort of began creating their own criminal “world”. Like for example, two Esposito members Tony Volpe and Paul Ricca became quite close with Al Capone, the guy who at the time inherited Colosimo’s old territory. So my personal opinion is that these fellas possibly saw a larger picture rather than the old timers such as Esposito and allegedly created a plan to eliminate the boss, who in turn wasn’t an easy target. On top of that, I believe that Esposito was connected to many underworld clans or crime families from around the country and maybe even further, so my point is that whoever planned his murder, he or she first had to wait for someone’s approval, possibly fro Mafia bosses or high level gangsters. As I already stated that Diamond Joe Esposito was no easy target for two simple reasons including one being his position as top boss and the second was obviously his experience with some of the former bosses, who in turn were his business partners but ended up six feet under the ground. On top of that, many of Esposito’s so-called soldiers and loyalist were being killed all over town, so story goes that the old boss was changing his routines on daily basis and he always had beside him his two loyal bodyguards the Varchetti brothers who were always armed to the teeth. Now I’m about to show you the main reason for which I believe that people from Esposito’s own crew were involved in the assassination. If we look at the situation clearly, there was no other way for killing the old boss except for spraying hundreds of bullets from a drive-by car, with the possibility of hurting innocent pedestrians, since Esposito was known for constantly having people or children from the neighbourhood around him. Who knows, maybe it was simply one of his own ways of protecting himself from any possible assassination. The year of 1928 was an election year and story goes that Esposito was told to back off, which he obviously refused and knowingly ordered his own death sentence in the eyes of his criminal cohorts from his crew and around the country. So the only possible way of getting to Esposito was the so-called corruption of the main individuals who protected him every day, such as the Varchetti brothers. Story goes that “someone” realised or heard that the Varchettis were allegedly tired of Esposito or even maybe they were scared for their own lives, but above all the two brothers knew that Esposito was going to leave them high and dry after the elections since he was obviously going to lost them. So that same “someone” approached the brothers and asked them about Esposito’s plans in the next few days and also advised them about the plot.
On March 21, 1928, Esposito was escorted out of his house at 800 South Oakley Boulevard by the Varchetti bros and while walking down the street, in his own style, the old boss met an old lady from the neighbourhood and started having a long conversation. When the old lady passed, the trio continued to walk down the street in formation of left and right bodyguard with Esposito in the middle. Suddenly, according to the bodyguards and their wives who lived right across the street, a car with three armed guys showed up and slowly approached behind them. The two bodyguards noticed the car and without any warning, both of them dropped on the ground while leaving old man Esposito alone in front of the killers. The poor guy was riddled with bullets while hopelessly screaming in despair. His screams and the shootings were heard all around the neighbourhood. So as I previously stated that this information comes from the Varchettis and their wives who lived nearby the shooting, which is quite weird that it occurred right in front of their homes and on top of that they were the main witnesses. The next strange thing was that both bodyguards didn’t receive a scratch which was a detail that became very suspicious in the eyes of some of the Chicago detectives. Plus on that same day, both of them forgot their guns, something which never previously occurred and on top of that, they knew about the life threats which Esposito previously received since they were made public. But the most interesting detail of the murder was when later the coroner reported that Esposito had 58 pellets of shotgun shells and various types of pistol bullets, but the main thing was that there was one bullet hole in his right arm, and Esposito was riddled on his left side by the assassins as he was in position of walking down the street. Plus he also had powder burns on his body which indicates that he was shot from close range, which for me personally raises the question on whether the Varchetti brothers were two of the shooters in the Esposito killing. I personally believe that the Varchettis had a job for making sure that Esposito was dead and also to make sure that there were no innocent pedestrians nearby when the shooting occurred. And as the old saying goes, if you want to find the boss’ killer, look for the one who replace him and those two guys were Tony Volpe and Paul Ricca, who in fact were Esposito’s former “right-hand men”.
9. After the murder of Joe Esposito, the so-called Capone Mob was officially formed and also recognized by the other national crime families. A lot of changes occurred such as high level members being brought into the Mafia and the importation of some New York or mainly Brooklyn mobsters still continued. For example, that same year one infamous Brooklyn gangster known as Louis Campagna was brought to Chicago and was absorbed as new member of the newly formed organization, since he was allegedly involved in this next highly professional contract killing of a high level mobster. I’m talking about one of Capone’s alleged former mentors and also a close friend from Brooklyn, New York; known as Francesco Ioele a.k.a. Frankie Yale. You see, Yale was very similar to the late Esposito since he was also one of the most powerful gangsters at the time who was involved in numerous rackets, such as labor racketeering, gambling, dockside extortion and above all bootlegging booze. So story goes that the relationship between Yale and Capone came to decline during the mid 1920’s, when allegedly some of Capone’s people began turning up dead in New York and also many of Capone’s booze trucks began having problems with hijackings. But my personal opinion is that the main problem was for the control over the Unione Sicilani organization in Chicago, which in fact was a battle between Capone and Joe Aiello from the North Side area. The main thing was that Aiello was problem for Capone but he was also problem for the newly formed West Side faction or the former Esposito group, since Aiello also had operations in that same area, especially Taylor St. after exterminating the previous Sicilian clan from that same territory. So all of those ex-Brooklyners, including Capone, expected to be backed up by their old friend Frankie Yale but that didn’t happened. Story goes that during a 1927 meeting in Chicago, Yale told both warring factions to make peace and split the profits, and in the same style as the late Esposito, instantly signed his own death warrant.
Most importantly was that the year of 1928 was also the year when Al Capone literally controlled hundreds of professional shooters and killers from all around the country and had the power to kill anyone around the world, including mayors and presidents, but still Yale was different since he was one of their own and was also a killer in his own right, who controlled his own small army and generated a fortune. In plane words, Capone possibly needed again an approval or assistance from other higher ups within the New York Mafia so he can execute the contract on Yale’s life and again he also needed and inside info regarding Yale’s activities. As any other high profile mobster, Yale always had a couple of armed bodyguards beside him and often stayed at his headquarters which was the Sunrise Club, located at 14th Avenue and 65th Street, New York. So this particular contract killing was a little different from the previous one, since it supposed to occur in a different city instead of their “hometown”. Even though Capone and the West Side faction had close connections in New York, still they controlled a different territory and obviously weren’t aware of Yale’s everyday routines and my personal belief is that the main person who provided the Capone Mob with the needed information was Louis Campagna. As I previously stated that during those days, Capone controlled many hit teams but his main guys regarding the “murder racket” were Tony Capezio, Vincenzo Gibaldi a.k.a. Jack McGurn, John Moore a.k.a. Claude Maddox and William Heeney. You see, Capezio and Gibaldi were both fearless and murderous gangsters and as for Heeney and Maddox, well these two fellas had connections to many professional killers from around the Midwest, who in turn were labelled by the media and press as the “American Boys”. Obviously since Yale was no easy target, the boys decided to use out of town killers and called one of their most skilful associates such as former St. Louis gangster Fred Burke, who in turn supplied the guns and became a member of the hit team, which by now allegedly also included Maddox, Heeney and Campagna. No one knew Burke, Maddox or Heeney around the New York which made them the perfect executioners for the job.
In June that same year, the hit team arrived in the Big Apple and they took an apartment somewhere in Brooklyn and stalked Yale for almost a month, just to learn his everyday routines and to possibly confirm Campagna’s inside info. The main info was that Yale had a new young wife by the name of Lucy and together they had 1 year old daughter. They allegedly knew that Yale was very sensitive and carrying towards Lucy so the hit team decided to take an advantage of his weakness. One Sunday afternoon, on July 1, 1928, Yale was playing cards at his Sunrise Club, located at 14th Avenue and 65th Street, when suddenly he received a cryptic phone call. The caller said something was wrong with Lucy and his daughter and that he should come home fast. In a panic moment, Yale took off with his brown colored Lincoln coupe without his bodyguards. Yale drove up to New Utrecht Avenue, where the hit men in their Buick sedan drove next to him. Yale noticed the hit squad and took off west onto 44th Street, with the Buick close behind him. The chase continued but Yale's car was soon overtaken by the Buick, whose occupants riddled Yale with bullets. Yale lost control of his car and crashed into a stoop of a brownstone at No. 923. He opened the door of his car and fell to ground. One of the hit men got out of their car and pumped few more bullets into Yale’s body. The job was done and the assassins left the scene and drove nearly three blocks away where they abandoned their car and left on foot. Later the cops found the abandoned Buick and inside they found a .38 caliber revolver, a .45 automatic, a sawed-off pump shotgun, and a Thompson submachine gun. Also the cops managed to trace the submachine gun to a Chicago sporting goods dealer named Peter von Frantzius, who in turn was Chicago’s most famous legal guns supplier at the time so it was very hard to tell who bought the gun from him. Later the cops repeatedly questioned Capone and some of his gang associates about the Yale murder, but nothing came of the inquiries.
8. As you can see, the previous examples mostly relayed on good logistics and professional shooters, but above all, the plots mostly relayed on betrayal, which is the main reason on why I placed them on the last two positions. I mean in both contract killings, the victims were betrayed by someone who knew their everyday routes but still they were professionally sprayed with bullets in the right time, and at the right location. So now I want to show you another example in which we can see that the Outfit’s murder tactics took a step further and received some sort of military details by killing their victims from a distant range with the help of some kind of submachine gun, which in reality is quite hard situation to hit your target without killing any innocent people. Well that kind of situation occurred during the early 1930’s, when the days of Prohibition were coming to an end and every possible crime syndicate or Mafia clan was fighting for its spot in the underworld, since their main money supply was about to be finished forever. So my point is that during Prohibition, Al Capone’s main racket was always bootlegging booze and that’s how in fact he went up the ranks in the world of the Mafia. The thing was that many of his non-Italian allies were already being involved in other rackets such as gambling, vending machines or union racketeering, so when the booze racket was coming to an end, Capone wanted in and to tell you the truth in most cases he was obviously welcomed with open arms. So the main problem was that some of those racketeers or mobsters simply wanted to stay as the main overseers of their own rackets, but we all know that’s a “no, no” in the world of the Mafia and that is why many gangsters had to go. One of those fellas was the infamous union racketeer and long-time Capone ally known as George “Red”: Barker, who was deeply involved in the union racketeering business and on top of that, he was a ruthless killer and kidnapper and quite feared member of Chicago’s underworld. Barker was also very close to the rising top administration, such as Paul Ricca but the thing was that Barker had a problem with another rising Capone faction, which was also mostly formed by non-Italians but had way more closer relationship to the Capone administration. In plane words, Barker had problem with Murray Humphreys, the Outfit’s future mastermind and main adviser and also one of Capone’s favourite soldiers at the time. The problem was that they kidnapped some union guy for ransom cash, and after finishing their job, Barker allegedly refused to give his cut to the higher ups within the Capone Mob, which obviously was his ticket to the graveyard. But above all, Barker’s real problem with the Caponites was his close association with one of their enemies in the union and vending machine rackets, known as Roger Touhy.
On June 6, 1932, the boys sent one couple to act as newly married lovers on a second floor apartment at 1502 North Crawford Av., which in fact was an area often visited by Barker since there were many gambling joints and also athletic clubs nearby who paid their street taxes to him. Since the married couple was only a front for the owners, I believe that some of the boys also stayed in that same apartment from time to time and watched Barker’s everyday movements and waited for the right moment. On June 17, Barker was walking along that same street with a couple of friends after watching a boxing match in one the nearby athletic clubs, when suddenly from across the street hundreds of bullets bursted into Barker’s body while miraculously leaving the rest of his friends untouched. I mean it was an unbelievable situation in which from 10 or 20 meters across the street, from a second floor apartment, someone managed to riddle Barker’s body with bullets, while the people, two men and one woman, who stood only centimetres from him, remained unharmed. While Barker’s friends lay on the ground, a car with three men pulled over and one of those guys came out of the auto and pulled out a huge stack of cash from one Barker’s pockets, returned into the car and the trio sped off in unknown direction. After that, Barker’s friends dragged him into their car and took him to the nearest hospital but obviously it was too late. Later the cops obviously checked the apartment from across and managed to only one Thompson machinegun, which after the ballistic tests showed that it was the same weapon used in the killing. Later some of the investigators also found a makeshift target range close to a drainage canal near the Stickney area and according to many witnesses, a couple of men were seen there shooting a Thompson at a 12 inch post the very same day before Barker was killed. The gun was later traced to the Haber Screw machine company who purchased the gun at Von Lengerke & Antoine sporting goods, located at 33 South Wabash. They also checked the names of the alleged married couple and they were not surprised and they found out that they were false. In reality, Barker was a very smart racketeer but he was also very reckless in the eyes of the Capone Mob and so there was little mystery behind his execution, since even the rats in the sewers speculated that the Capone Mob was behind it. In no time, the newspapers declared that, according to “underground rumours”, for some months before his murder, Barker often hung around with William ”Three Fingers Jack” White and Murray Humphreys, and allegedly formed a triumvirate with the intention of taking over extensive liquor and gambling territories held by the Touhy gang, or in other words they tried to blame Barker as if he betrayed his own clan. It was all lies since years later Humphreys unknowingly talked about the Barker situation in front of a hidden wiretap and confirmed that the Capone Mob was involved in the hit, since the guys who were in the car and took Barker’s money were in fact Claude Maddox, William White and Sam Alex.
7. The seventh place goes for the “clean and neat” type of contract killing in which the victim’s attention is turned by some kind of diversion, while someone places a gun behind the head of that same victim and pulls the trigger. For example, this kind of style is often used when the victim or the target is also quite skilful or quite dangerous and if something goes wrong, he or she can easily retaliate in a matter of seconds. You see, sometimes there are type of targets who can easily duck and simply escape a hale of bullets since they already have been in the same kind of situations and lived by the minute and are always ready. According to some stories, the previously mentioned Jack McGurn was one those skilful fellas who allegedly never achieved the real sense for making the big buck but instead he was a pure strong-arm guy and professional killer and logistician. The problem was that McGurn was completely destroyed by the media and press after the infamous St. Valentines Day Massacre since every possible newspaper man around the country connected McGurn’s name to the whole situation but that’s not the point of this story. The main point is that McGurn had the investigators all over him all day long, since at the time they mainly relayed on information from the newspapers. In plane words, this completely destroyed McGurn’s ambitious criminal career and placed him in a position, similar to a soldier for some of the non-Italian big shots such as Willie Heeney and Claude Maddox, who by now were part from the Cicero crew under Ralph Capone. According to some reports, Heeney placed McGurn as one of his operators around the South Side to mingle with the African-American population regarding the numbers and narcotics rackets. Obviously Heeney had some “soft spot” for McGurn since he really gave him two of the most future lucrative operations, but story goes that McGurn was a degenerate gambler and lost a lot of cash and owed money and top of that, he allegedly consumed drugs which was a huge “no, no” regarding the Outfit’s membership, no matter if that same individual was shelved or ousted from the Mob, since in reality a member always stays a member. As I already stated that some reports say that McGurn was completely ousted from the Mob and was left on his own but no matter what was the truth, in 1936, the boys decided to end the problem once and for all.
So as I previously stated that even though McGurn looked like a bum, still he had the skills for murder or retaliation. One time he even admitted to the reporters that if he was really involved in some current kidnapping which occurred during that same time, he would’ve collected the cash in a matter of few hours. This time the hit team had less chances in killing McGurn from a long distance or from a drive-by shooting, since he always packed a couple of revolvers and was known fast shooter. So the boys devised a plan by previously relaxing McGurn and then to suddenly confuse him with a diversion so he would loose his guard and the killers could finish their job. On February 15, 1936, McGurn made a deal with Claude Maddox and William White to go bowling, have a few drinks and spend some good time. “Coincidentally” it was the evening right before St. Valentine’s Day, or in other words the massacre’s seventh anniversary, which possibly was the main reason for their gathering. The boys went bowling at the second floor of the Avenue Recreation Rooms on 805 North Milwaukee Av, which was owned by one Outfit member or possibly associate at the time known as Willie “Smokes” Aloisio. The three men entered the bowling alley and began having good time, and McGurn became relaxed like never before. According to witnesses, 15 or 20 minutes later three men with bandanas on their faces walked in and yelled “Stick ’em up!” like it was a robbery. One of the three men fired a warning shot in ceiling and everyone in the establishment has hit the floor. During the whole confusion, one of McGurn’s bowling buddies approached him and whispered “This is for you, you son of a bitch!” and than shot McGurn behind his right ear. McGurn fell to the ground and the assassin fired few more shots. The three stick up men fled the scene while White and Maddox, before leaving, one of them turned around and walked back to the table where McGurn had been sitting and took the tally sheet which had their names on it, shoved it in his pocket and walked away. Years later an FBI wiretap confirmed Maddox’s and White’s involvement in the hit.
6. As it was already mentioned in one of the previous examples that some of the non-Italian gangsters understood the real nature of the Mafia and few of those guys even managed to bring themselves into actual membership into the Capone Mob, not Cosa Nostra, but instead they were like barons who controlled parts of the city of Chicago for the Mob. We already heard regarding faces such as Humphreys, Maddox or Heeney but there were also some other quite violent and powerful racketeers such as the infamous Danny Stanton. This guy was a real hot head and started to muscle in on every possible union in the Chicago area for the Mob and became a real lucrative connection. He was one of those fellas who mingled with allies or members from the Capone gang since the days of Prohibition and according to some reports Stanton enjoyed many years of wealth from his close connections to the Outfit and entered the 1940’s as one of the prime racketeers in the union business. Story goes that Stanton’s prime “fuel” for his racketeering skills were his ruthless tactics but above all, his endless greed which made him even more ruthless in the eyes of the victims. It was ok until he kept his violent tactics only for his victims who did not belong to the Mob, but it became a huge problem when Stanton started using those same tactics on some of his peers in the Chicago Outfit. You see, general knowledge is that in 1943, the Outfit’s top leadership was imprisoned because of the infamous Hollywood extortion scandal and so it was “natural” for some of the powerful and above all, most greedy racketeers to try and take over some of the rackets. So blinded by his own greed, Stanton started making problems for the Outfit in general, like for example quarrelling with Claude Maddox over the Restaurant and Bartenders union scheme because he wanted a bigger share and he also started to muscle in on another prominent racket and that’s was the numbers scheme which by now was controlled by Sam “Golf Bag” Hunt. So obviously Stanton figured out that with the big shots already going away for good, his chance to climb to the top was now or never. But like most “rebels” from that decade, Stanton also became a marked man by some of the Outfit’s deadliest hit teams.
In this next example, or at number six, we are going to see a victim who represents an armed and extremely dangerous individual, who’s active on the streets and spills other people’s blood on daily basis and is always prepared for action. Since he was quite aware of his numerous enemies, Stanton was known for always keeping two revolvers on him, while being in the constant company of one his associates known as Louis Dorman, who in turn was also armed. On top of that, in a true gangster style, when Stanton visited some of the local joints for a drink, he usually sat with his back against the wall and his face and hands towards the door. That same situation occurred on May 5, 1943, just before midnight, when Stanton and Dorman were having drinks in a bar at 6500 May Street, while being seated with their faces towards the entering door. So that same night, the hit team which included one Outfit killer known as William Block and another unknown individual, probably Lenny Patrick or Dave Yaras, circled on foot around the bar so they can see the exact location of their target and to devise a plan right there on the spot. It was a quite difficult situation since as I already stated that both targets were armed with their faces towards the entering door but the assassins noticed one “small” detail. The thing was that there was no empty wall behind Stanton’s back, but instead there was some kind of small backdoor which also led into the bar. Suddenly the two assassins kicked the whole backdoor, including small parts from the side walls, and immediately blasted three shots with their shotguns. Dorman got one in the back and Stanton also got one but in the back of his head. After the shooting the killers ran back out and made their way to the front door and fired three more shots from a revolver through the glass panels of the front door before making their getaway. Stanton and Dorman both lay dead on the floor which obviously represented their end. The “venture” continued when one young beautiful blonde by the name of Cecelia Ashley became one of the witnesses who was sitting next to the dead gangsters and saw the killers’ faces. Her friends allegedly advised her about going to the police but still she decided to go for it, and so on May 8, that same year, Miss Ashley was walking down to the Englewood Police Station but never managed to reach the place because she disappeared from the face of the earth. Later from various sources the cops were seeking for Claude Maddox and Sam Hunt in connection with the double murder and the missing woman. They were both arrested and questioned about the killings but as usual everything ended with no results. For me personally this was one of the most professional contract killings, since the victim somehow “barricaded” himself in a small bar together with his bodyguard, both armed to the teeth, while being faced at the only entering door, or at least that’s what they thought. It was a dangerous situation in which the assassins had to find another way to get in and finish their job. I mean it wasn’t in open space or from a second floor apartment while overlooking a whole street, but instead it was a face to face situation in which the assassins came out to be more focused and killed their targets from the back and in the end fired few shots in empty space as a warning so no one would follow them.
5. Under number five we’re going to see one less professional contract murder, but the main reason for that was the power and strength which some of the hit squads felt at the time. During the mid 1940’s, the Chicago Outfit was still unstable because of the imprisoned top leadership but this was all regarding their hierarchy, meaning the rackets were still there and murders continued with even faster flow. Besides murdering their associates and members, the Outfit was also known for killing even more sophisticated targets such as cops and politicians. So if a guy kills some high profile politician and got away clean, I believe that same fella had no problem in killing a boss for example, and during the process, to make a whole circle around the block and to return to see if he has finished the job. Yes, that kind of hit occurred in 1944, when another Outfit big shot decided that he deserved more power rather than the limit which was already given to him. The individual for which I’m talking about was known as Lawrence “Dago” Mangano, an old time Mafioso, one time Public Enemy #1, and also known around the city of Chicago as the “King of the West Side”, since he literally controlled a large territory because most of the imprisoned top leaders also came from that same area. It was the same time period, when the Outfit’s acting top leadership, which did not include Mangano, was having problems with one faction from the North Side and Northwest areas. And so story goes that in the same style of the late Danny Stanton, old man Mangano allegedly decided to force and also show his superior authority over some of the younger and up and coming members such Tony Accardo. You see, at the same time Accardo was allegedly groomed for the chief executive position by the acting top leadership which included Charles Fischetti, Tony Capezio, Murray Humphreys and Jake Guzik. So if Mangano had a problem with Accardos position, he had to take it to the previously mentioned fellas and maybe really he did, but obviously he was rejected since one day he decided to hijack some of Accardo’s illegal operations, which in fact became his instant death sentence.
As I previously stated that during this period Mangano might’ve been one of the most powerful and at the same time, dangerous members of the Chicago Outfit, which in fact was the main reason for which he freely moved around Chicago with only one bodyguard who in turn wasn’t a real ruthless killer at all. There’s often one point in the life time of one high level mobster, when he feels invincible and untouchable out of obvious reasons, but that’s also the same moment when they make their fatal mistake. One night on August 3, 1944, Mangano together with his friend and bodyguard Michael “Big Mike” Pontillo and a young girl named Rita Reyes, visited a bar in Cicero named the Paddock Lounge for relaxation and a couple of drinks. After more than a few drinks, at 4:00 am they left the club, climbed into Mangano's shiny maroon 1941 Mercury and headed home. Now this is one proof that Mangano felt completely comfortable in Chicago’s underworld since he the one who was behind the wheel driving along Blue Island Avenue on the West Side, while his companions were having a drunken conversation. Now this is the only moment where we can witness a pure professionalism by the murder squad, since they could’ve not picked a more perfect time and situation rather than this one for executing their main target. Suddenly old man Mangano spotted a black sedan following them, and at first he thought that these were cops and so he stopped the car and got out to talk to them, which is the second proof that Mangano looked himself as the top guy in Chicago’s underworld and no one dared to touch him. But as the black sedan rolled towards him, it suddenly stopped and one gunman pulled a shotgun and blasted at Mangano while fatally hitting him in the chest. Mangano fell in the street as the sedan raced away, screeched around a corner and was gone. Pontillo and Reyes got out of the car and managed to drag Mangano to the sidewalk. Mangano was somehow barely alive and now this is the right moment in which we can see the real ruthlessness by the assassins, which is a pure sign for the Outfit’s power on the streets at the time. The killers made one quite arrogant move by making one huge circle around the whole block and went for a second attack. This time Pontillo saw them and pushed Reyes down to safety, while hundreds of shotgun pellets went through his flesh and fell right beside Mangano, who was behind their car. Now if you look at the situation more clearly, the assassins gave their target a mortal shotgun wound from a very close range and that should’ve been enough for the day. On top of that, with the help of his bodyguard, the target was dragged behind their car out of the assassins’ reach, and while all of the police sirens were closing down on the scene, the hit squad decided to make one whole circle around the block and finish off the bodyguard and girl. Luckily the girl remained unharmed. So with over 200 shotgun pellets in his body, Mangano managed to remain alive for at least an hour and when the cops asked the old timer on who shot him, he replied “If I knew I’d tell you”, and so he was quickly rushed to the hospital where he screamed in pain and begged the doctors to put him to sleep. He died at 5:48 a.m. and Pontillo followed him in death five hours later. Questioned about the Mangano murder were Dominic Nuccio, Dominick DiBella and Dominic Brancato, the main suspects who were known as the main hit squad for the Outfit at the time. There were only family relatives at Mangano’s funeral who embraced each other tearfully, since none of his Mob associates and alleged friends showed up which shows it was a pure sign of disrespect and that he was ousted from their organization.
