During the 1920’s and early 30’s, or should I say during the era of Prohibition, most of the street criminals in Chicago received a chance to get mixed with the high society, mostly because of the illegal services which they provided the rich people with. The gangsters didn’t just made money from bootlegging whiskey and beer, no sir because they were also involved in countless other rackets such as gambling, extortion, prostitution and murder for hire. So we all know that during that period a big portion of the gangster’s illegal cash went into the pockets of many politicians, judges, policemen and priests. But the thing was that you didn’t have to be just a crooked individual to get a piece of that sweet illegal cash, because there were also other more lucrative ways in achieving the goal.
Back in the old days if you crossed the Chicago River, you automatically abandoned Al Capone’s turf and then you entered the North Side which was mostly controlled by rival gangs, and some of the bloodiest episodes in the infamous ''beer wars'' occurred in that area. During the mid 1920's there were a lot of big time gangsters that lurked the streets on the North Side of Chicago, such as Joe Aiello, Dean O'Banion, Vincent Drucci or Hymie Wiess. The North Side faction was having a lot of problems with the South Side faction or the Capone mob and so their conflict became the product of many casualties on the streets of Chicago. You see during that crazy and murderous era a lot of dead bodies pilled up on the streets of Chicago and some of those dead bodies belonged to very wealthy and rich criminals which families and friends used to spend crazy amounts of cash for their funerals. One of the first the first Chicago mob bosses, who was buried as an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, was Giacomo “Big Jim” Colosimo in 1920. To put it simply, it was an astonishing display of street power by the criminal groups, intended to make a point about the hoodlums continuing presence and power. And that was the main reason for which the funeral business became a real “cash cow” for some of the most prominent undertakers in that area, such as the infamous undertaker, state attorney and later a Municipal judge, John Sbarbaro.
The multi-use property in the River North gallery district was once the home and mortuary of the Sbarbaro family. The Sbarbaros abandoned Italy and landed on the shores of the U.S.A. in 1880 and shortly after moved to Chicago to set up the Sbarbaro and Co. at 708 North Wells Street, the city’s first and oldest Italian-American owned funeral business. On January 20, 1890, John A. Sbarbaro was born on Chicago’s North Side to Antonio and Aurelia Sbarbaro. By the age of 20, John Sbarbaro studied medicine and was accompanied by manu high intellectual individuals but he also met people of different kind such as politicians, businessmen and of course gangsters. So I don’t know if he liked it or not, but his family’s parlor became the main “Funeral Home” for the high class people, especially for the underworld. There are some reports that during the early 1910’s, Sbarbaro even supported some of these criminal groups like for example, one of the main crime groups in that area at the time was the Nicolosi gang, known extortionists and kidnappers. On August 6, 1911, the son of a wealthy Italian merchant Antonio Mareno was kidnapped by the Nicolosi crew and later the police arrested Carmelo Nicolosi, his mother-in-law Biagia Cutrona, Giuseppe Nicolosi, Calogero Costandino and Leoluca Macaluso and so Mareno's son was returned on August 11. After that out of nowhere Nicolosi's 10.000$ bail was posted by none other than John Sbarbaro and his friend, a real estate agent and banker, Joseph DeVoney. This so-called “getting criminals out of prison” practice will be presented by John Sbarbaro during his career, more than few times.
By 1921, Sbarbaro stopped studying medicine and switched to practicing law and in a record time, in 1924 he became Assistant State's Attorney. So being in the position that he was during Prohibition, I think that it was very lucrative situation. There were many rumours that his funeral parlor served as a storage unit for illegal liquor and also as a hiding place for some of the most high profile criminals but Sbarbaro successfully built an image of a fearless prosecutor who managed to send few “bad apples” away for good. For example solving the “Leopold and Loeb” murder case in which Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two wealthy University of Chicago law students who kidnapped and murdered 14 year old Bobby Franks by their psychotic desire to commit a perfect crime. The two lunatics, with the help of state attorney John Sbarbaro were convicted and sent to Joliet Prison. Many years later, when Nathan Leopold's record finally came up before the Parole Board, Sbarbaro was one of the first to advocate that Leopold should be set free, on the grounds that he had been completely rehabilitated. The case later became famous in the movie business. But as I previously said that Sbarbaro’s main income did not come from his job as an attorney, neither from his alleged gangland activities, but instead his main income came from his funeral parlor and his big push came that same year.
The first big prominent face that visited Sbarbaro’s funeral parlor was former labourer, political boss and head of the Unione Siciliani Michele “Mike” Merlo. Merlo died of cancer on November 8, 1924, and his funeral was financied by none other than Al Capone and one of Merlo’s closest friends Carmen Vacca. So Sbarbaro made one of the most spectacular funerals in Chicago's mob history by placing a $100,000 (or $1,300,000 in today’s money) flower bouquets which were transported from the funeral home to the cemetery with the help of more than 30 cars. Also Sbarbaro made a $5,000 wax statue of Merlo and covered all of the black cars, which followed the coffin, in all kinds of flowers. More than one thousand cars were in the procession through the Loop area and held the traffic blocked for more than an hour. Merlo's funeral was attended by more than 10.000 people, including bankers, aldermen, judges, police officers, gangsters, fruit vendors and balloon makers and they all pushed their way into the home on Diversey parkway. Few of the most prominent faces that attended the wake were Mayor William E. Dever, State Attorney Robert E. Crowe, Chicago Police Chief Morgan A. Collins and the Cook County Board President and future Mayor Anton J. Cermak. Now I believe that many of the murderous gangsters in Chicago and around the country wished for a funeral like that and they surely knew where to arrange it.
Mike Merlo
Merlo's funeral with his wax statue in front
Merlo’s tomb
Little did Sbarbaro know that Merlo’s death was in fact the beginning of an endless cash flow through his funeral business. By the time of his death, Merlo was a commission broker, a real estate dealer, had a large personal fortune and was the head of ten different business concerns, which made him the most powerful Italian in Chicago. But the most important thing was that Merlo was also the main “peace keeper” between the hot-headed gangs and so with him gone, war was inevitable. The gangsters fought for control over the liquor business and used the services of Sbarbaro very often. In fact, Merlo’s death started off the big time gangster funeral era, in which big funerals were considered proper and fitting.
So two days later after Merlo’s death, on November 10 1924, North Side criminal big shot Dean O’Banion got whacked, allegedly by the Capone mob. Young prosecutors John Sbarbaro and William McSwiggin started "questioning" some of the Capone gang members and they made a conclusion that Capone wasn’t involved so when Sbarbaro's law enforcement duties finished, he saw a chance to show his true funeral arranging values again. One of the attendees at O’Banion’s wake explained the situation in few simple words and that person was Municipal Court Judge John Lyle. He said that this was “the most nauseating thing” that had occurred in his life experience. Also one Chicago newspaper commented that “Presidents are buried with less to-do.”
The remains of the late O’Banion were exhibited for three days at the undertaking establishment of John Sbarbaro and his funeral services were explained by many witnesses. Silver angels stood at the head and feet with their heads bowed in the light of ten candles that burned in solid golden candlesticks they held in their hands. Beneath the casket that was made from sliver and gold, on the marble slab that supports its glory, was the inscription “Suffer little children to come unto me”. There were also 26 truckloads of flowers, 50.000$ worth and a casket with a price over 10.000$. Also featured were many more floral displays but one of the most notables was labelled "From AL". Sbarbaro also placed musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to play soft and sad music in the back ground while O'Banion's family cried over the casket. There was also police escort and more than 10.000 mourners, including O’Banion’s alleged killers John Torrio and Al Capone who for obvious reasons were accompanied by many bodyguards. Only a few feet separated them from Hymie Weiss, George Moran, Louis Alterie and others of the O'Banion legion. No words were exchanged between the south rival gangs but I believe that everybody felt the stronger than the cold and deadly air of hatred.
O’Banion’s funeral
O’Banion’s tomb
The newspapers also published the names of many congressmen, judges, state legislators, aldermen and other public officials who were among the rest of the mourners. When a Catholic priest defied the cardinal and prayed at the grave site, he was promptly reassigned to Central America for his insubordination. By the end of the proceedings, reporters had seen many of the detectives talking earnestly with the gangsters. The hoodlums were observed turning revolvers over to henchmen, evidently there was an understanding that a truce would be in effect during the services. After O'Banion's body had been lowered into the ground, the newsmen saw the gun bearers return the weapons to their superiors. O’Banion’s funeral became national attention and fascination and Sbarbaro quickly reached for material success and felt very proud.
But in reality Sbarbaro’s “funeral parties” had more sinister purpose because the connection between the politicians and gangsters became more and more strong and significant during every gangland funeral. The wakes of the great underworld cheiftains clearly revealed the nature of the friendly and human relations out of which the alliance of crime and vice with politics developed. In the hour of death, personal ties were disclosed, which in life were concealed. All of the professional politicians have always recognized the importance, even though they were not moved by real sentiment, of participating on all ceremonies such as christenings, marriages and funerals. In the great gangland funerals, the presence of the most powerful political boss attests the sincerity and the personal character of his friendship towards the deceased, and this marks him as an intimate in life and death.
Political power in a democracy rests upon friendship. A man is your friend, not merely because he’s kind to you, but because you can depend on him, because you know he will stick and he will keep his word, or in reality it means, he better keep his word or else. You see, politics on Chicago’s North Side, and among common people elsewhere as well, is a feudal relationship. The feudal system is based not on law but on personal loyalties and so politics is in fact a feudal system. Criminal gangs like the Capone mob are also organized on feudal basis such as loyalties, friendships and above all dependability. This is the main reason on why politicians and gangsters understand one another so well and frequently enter into alliances with each other against the more remote common good. Proof for that is in this next case.
After O'Banion's funeral, another North Side gangster known as Hymie Wiess took over control over the faction and kept fighting against the Capone clan. One day, Weiss and one of his close associates Vincent Drucci, walked toward the Standard Oil Building, where they were supposed to meet with Sanitary District Trustee Morris Eller and John Sbarbaro. Eller was also the corrupt boss of the Twentieth Ward, who pretended to be a politician. On their way to the meeting, Drucci was arrested and the cops found $13,000 on him. Drucci claimed that the rival criminals were after his money and so he decided to get it out of his house but some sources claim that the cash was bribe money for the North Side gang’s sponsors such as Eller, Sbarbaro and the rest of the higher ups in the Twentieth Ward.
On Saturday, January 24, 1925, allegedly in retaliation for the O'Banion hit, Torrio as he was driving back to his apartment at 7106 South Clyde Avenue, a couple of gun blasts greeted his car, while hitting the old man in the jaw, lungs, groin, legs, and abdomen. With God’s help obviously, old man Torrio managed to survive. At the hospital Torrio was questioned by none other than John Sbarbaro and in fact he was the lead prosecutor investigating the shooting of Torrio. "Who did it, don't you know who they were" asked Sbarbaro and Torrio replied "Of course I know, will tell you later", but he never did and neither Sbarbaro ever bothered to ask again.
But the problem was that the new Capone gang members were no fools because they knew on who was the real protection for the North Side faction. Sbarbaro’s partner William McSwiggin was also involved in shady deals with the criminal underworld, even though he was named the ``hangman prosecutor`` for his feat of obtaining seven death penalties in eight months. But on the evening on April 27, 1926, McSwiggin was shot to death while in the company of other criminal hoods. Now everybody in Chicago wanted to know on who was responsible for the murder and as usual Al Capone was arrested but released three days later, thanks to John Sbarbaro, because of insufficient evidence. I also believe that by this time Sbarbaro saw the writing on the wall and so he was also on Capone’s payroll or in other words, he began playing both sides, which is the main characteristic of a corrupt politician.
The conflict continued on October 11, 1926, when Hymie Wiess was riddled with bullets by several shooters with machine guns and so Sbarbaro’s services were needed again but this time it was going to be different. Since these so-called gangster funerals attracted more audience than the second coming of Jesus Christ, Sbarbaro thought of another idea. By now he had big ambition for becoming a Municipal Judge and election days were nearby so he thought to advertise himself during the funeral services for Weiss. During the spectacular and also very expensive funeral, many of the funeral cars bore huge posters saying "John Sbarbaro for Municipal Judge". Some of the more sane people couldn’t believe their eyes that Morris Eller and John Sbarbaro placed their placards to Weiss's hearse to advertise themselves. The whole affair looked like one big circus. Also during the proceedings, Sbarbaro again showed his loyalty towards the underworld by organizing Weiss’ last rites, since he was previously denied by the Catholic Church because he was a known gangster.
Weiss’ coffin is pulled out of Sbarbaro’s funeral parlor
After Wiess or should I say, the next in line as leader of the North Side faction and also as new potential costumer of Sbarbaro’s funeral services, was Vincent Drucci. Some sources say that Drucci gave envelopes filled with dirty cash to Morris Eller on daily basis who in turn took what he needed and then passed the envelopes to John Sbarbaro. Sbarbaro would also take his share and then hand the envelopes to someone else and no one ever discussed who that someone else was.
On April 4, 1927, the Chicago P.D. shot to death crazy Vincent Drucci and again Sbarbaro made the funeral arrangements. Three days later on April 7, Drucci’s body was placed in a $10,000, flag draped, aluminum and silver casket at the Sbarbaro & Company funeral home. The place was surrounded by $30,000 worth of flowers, many of the arrangements arriving from William J. Schofield, O’Banion’s partner in the flower business. Drucci was buried the following day after a funeral service held at Sbarbaro’s. A crowd of at least 1,000 mourners milled around Sbarbaro’s chapel. There was no priest, but family members and several close friends recited prayers led by the undertaker John Brizzolam. The hearse was draped with an American flag and was also preceded to the cemetery by 12 carloads of flowers. Drucci’s body was interred at Mount Carmel Cemetery and the funeral was surely comparable in lavish expenditures to the one of Dean O’Banion because it had the added dignity of an armed escort or rifle squad from Forth Sheridan, which fired a 21 gun salute and a bugler played taps, while the mourners bowed their heads. The reason was that Drucci served two years in the navy during World War I and was honorably discharged. In the long line of followers there were such notables as George Moran, Joe Saltis, James Sammons, John Oberta, Maxie Eisen, the Gusenberg brothers and their worst enemy Al Capone. In the old days, the ones who probably ordered the murder usually attended the victim’s funeral. Drucci’s pretty blond widow, about to inherit a $400,000 estate, turned to a reporter as she left and said, "A policeman murdered him. But we sure gave him a grand funeral." There was also a rumour that the cop was in fact linked to the Capone gang.
Drucci’s funeral with a huge floral piece which had his initials
That same faithful day when Drucci got shot, Sbarbaro also won his judgeship for Municipal Judge and made his dream come true. But as some say, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. At the beginning of the year 1928, there was a political war between corrupt candidates and the conflict was named “The Pineapple Primary”, because of the type of bombs which were used during the battle. In just six months prior to the primary election, 62 bombings took place in the city of Chicago, and at least 15 people died, including two politicians. The primary election began with the bombing of John Sbarbaro’s property by blowing to pieces the backroom that he used to store bootleg liquor. Now I believe that this wasn’t a coincidence but instead it was an underworld message but some sources claim that it was a mistake, a story in which I hardly believe. Suspects were arrested at 4747 North Robey, including Joseph Caminiti, Dominic Lanza, Oliver Clemente, Tony Scalofora and Joe Greco, all under the rulership of North Side Mafia leader Joe Aiello, who were later released for the lack of evidences. Bombs exploding at night became a Chicago tradition.
Back to business, in the early morning hours of May 8, 1929, the mutilated bodies of former Capone associates, John Scalise and Albert Anselmi, and also North Side Mafia associate Joseph Giunta, were discovered along the road near Hammond, Indiana. All three had been severely beaten and shot to death.The remains of Anselmi and Scalise were returned to their families in Italy, except for Guinta who was taken to the funeral parlor of John Sbarbaro. And again, Sbarbaro made another spectacular gangster funeral by making beautiful and quite expensive tombstones for Giunta’s grave and a $10,000 bronze casket.
Guinta’s tombstone
By 1930, the old North Side mob was quite finished and was quckly replaced by members of the most powerful gang in the city which was the Capone mob and now all of the crooked politicians belonged to only one group. With the imprisonment of Al Capone in 1932 and the end of Prohibiton in 1933, the Mob’s finances were cut short and so were their lavish lifestyles. Later they even realized that those same mob funerals can be quite a problem for their underground organizations, since everybody knew on who was who. In fact the funerals attracted the kind of wide attention, which was very bad for business since the newly formed La Cosa Nostra organization known as the Chicago Outfit, very much hated the spotlight. A decade later, the new representative for the Chicago mob, Tony Accardo strongly advised his underlings to avoid any huge funeral gatherings, especially if it looked like a parade.
This meant that Sbarbaro’s glory days as the city’s best funeral organizer for the underworld, were coming to an end. I also think that with the end of the old North Side gang, the Capone mob and with the birth of the new Chicago Outfit, Sbarbaro did not hold any significant position as associate within the “new criminal order”, which I believe was the main reason that turned his attention towards his career and family. But in those days if you lacked for underworld backing, you had tough chances to win any election and so that same year Sbarbaro was defeated for re-election in the Municipal Court. The bar committee said there was a division of opinion among lawyers of his service, but the committee believed he was qualified for office.
During this period some former bootleggers ended their criminal carriers and lived long rich lives with the money they stashed, some ended up as legitimate businessmen or others as politicians and government people. The old political guard was threatened by the new up and coming younger league which was fully backed by the Chicago Outfit. So Sbarbaro shortly cut off from his connections to the underworld, mostly because of the previous reason, and dedicated his life to charity work for the Italian community. He was quite interested in the history of Italian people and ancient Rome, and also had connections to Italy’s top administration. On July 15, 1934, a 4 ton marble column, which was found at Ostia, ancient Rome's seaport, has been sent to Chicago by Italy’s Premier Mussolini as a commemoration of General Balbo’s Atlantic flight, which occurred the previous year.
In 1940, John Sbarbaro was elected as Chief Justice of the Superior Court and now the ex-undertaker was back in the game. On February 3, 1943, Chicago Outfit member William Aloisio was subjected to a lie detector test in connection with the Christmas morning gang ride slaying of Robert E. McLaughlin. Aloisio was a known tavern owner and reputed gambler, but was freed by Chief Justice John Sbarbaro on a $100 cash bond. Justice Sbarbaro allegedly acted on the recommendation of James Cunningham, assistant state’s attorney, who reported that the police had placed no charge against Aloisio although investigators asserted that his replies under the lie detector were quite unsatisfactory. But there was a problem because that same year most of the Outfit’s top administration was sent to jail and now the government wanted to show its ability to chase down the corrupted people and began massive arrests of many government officials and so Sbarbaro knew that he had to lay low for some time until the “smoke cleared.”
Besides his “adventurous” career, Judge Sbarbaro was also very fond of sports especially baseball and basketball and so in 1944, he acquried control of the Chicago franchise of the newly formed Basketball Association of America. He has been known for sponsoring the basketball programs at the Chicago Stadium for many years later. But by 1946, all of the so-called alleged arrests of corrupted officials stopped, and the machine of corruption was back in full effect.
Press photo of Judge John Sbarbaro (left) having conversation with White Sox coach
On April 2, 1947, former police detectives William Drury and Connelly appealed their firings to the courts and the discharge was overruled in Superior court by Judge Sbarbaro, who in turn was overruled by the Appellate court, when the city appealed. The Appellate court decision was upheld by the State Supreme Court and so the United States Supreme court refused the detectives a hearing. Later in an unusual twist Sbarbaro also overturned his decision by discharging the detectives. The same month, Chicago Outfit big shots William and Edward Vogel, Tony Fragassi and Skokie's village president and its trustees were indicted and convicted on operating slot machines in Skokie, Illinois. So on May 13, 1947, Judge Sbarbaro overturned the conviction on the Vogel brothers and all of the indicted in the conspiracy.
Even though sometimes Sbarbaro released the bad guys, he also knew how to keep the balance by being the “citizen’s man”. In 1950, Sbarbaro the Crawford business group sued the city, indicating they had a petition signed by owners on Pulaski Rd frontage supporting a return to the Crawford name. In 1951, Superior Court judge Sbarbaro did just that, and so, after 18 years, Pulaski Rd. became once again Crawford Ave. Also in 1956, Sbarbaro was preparing to become one of the candidates for the incoming elections for becoming a Republican president but the only problem was that by now Sbarbaro was 67 years old or in other words he was an old man.
On March 10, 1960, Sbarbaro’s wife Mable flew to Miami, Florida to have a check on her back injury, and so a week later, on March 17, her husband John took the Miami bound Northwest Airlines turbo-prop plane, which later exploded high over Ohio River bottom lands and spewed wreckage over a five mile area, killing all 63 aboard. At least 75 farmers and sportsmen in the rugged terrain below heard the double blasts, separated by a few seconds, and saw the tumbling pieces. One wing and an engine fell away from the cabin and were found three miles from the main structure. Farmers and police said they viewed a scene of horror. Clothing, bits of flesh, and fragments of metal had showered a field and were clinging to trees and bushes. A crater estimated 50 feet across and more than 20 feet deep in mixed mud and snow marked the grave, of all aboard. Government air experts were summoned with the first word of the accident, and they were quick to point out that this accident was almost exactly like an earlier still unexplained Electra in-flight explosion. The earlier accident occurred October 29, 1959, at Waco, Texas, when a new Electra plane blew up, killing 34 aboard. I believe this was one of the main reasons for which Sbarabro’s family filled up a $250,000 damage suit against Northwest Airlines for the death of the Judge and later they won. John Sbarbaro’s life ended at the age of 70 and besides his widow, he was survived by his brother Anthony and his sister Anhelina.
The late John Sbarbaro remains in history as one Chicago’s jurist who made major contributions to society both as a public official and as a private citizen. As a man of law he is warmly remembered for his many acts of judicial enlightenment and compassion. But during one period he also, intentionally or unintentionally, contributed in strengthening the connection between organized crime and politics, a connection which I strongly believe lasts even today.
