by Owen Forsyth | Jan 14, 2020 | Chicago, Cops, Early Characters, Mafia, Neighborhoods, Notorious
For about a hundred years, the Maxwell Street District or better known as Bloody Maxwell on the Near West Side of Chicago, was the toughest neighborhood in town from the 1850s through the 1950s. Named after Dr. Philip Maxwell, who had served in the military, was the...
by Owen Forsyth | Dec 8, 2019 | Chicago, Mafia, Notorious, Prohibition
The Fox Lake Massacre was an event when Prohibition Era violence spilled over into Lake County, northeastern Illinois on June 1, 1930. Gangsters from Terry “Machine Gun” Druggan & Frankie Lake’s gang were gunned down at Manning’s Hotel in...
by Owen Forsyth | Aug 25, 2019 | Chicago, Notorious, Prohibition
Frankie Lake and Terry Druggan were leaders of The Valley Gang from Chicago, the were one of the most successful bootleggers of their time, amassing a fortune from bootlegging and rum-running. Its said they were making so much money that even the lowest gang member...
by Owen Forsyth | Jul 25, 2019 | Chicago, Notorious, Prohibition
The Sheltons were once described as Americas bloodiest gang and for good reason, they were locked in a war with their main rival who was once an ally, Charlie Birger. The Agnes & Ben Shelton raised 10 children on a farm near Fairfield, in Wayne County, Illinois....
by Owen Forsyth | Jul 14, 2019 | Chicago, Notorious, Prohibition
James Edward O’Donnell or better known as “Spike” O’Donnell he was born on November 29,1889, O’Donnell was one of the few gangsters from the Capone era to retire from the rackets, pioneer the Chicago paving of streets, maintain his political clout and die of natural...
by Owen Forsyth | Jun 15, 2019 | Chicago, Mafia, Notorious
Billy McCarthy was a stick up man and a members of Frank Cullotta’s burglary crew in Chicago, Illinois. McCarthy wouldnt be a household name but a series of events would lead him to be remembered in a scene in Martin Scorsese’s classic Casino. One night...
