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...
by Owen Forsyth | Apr 14, 2019 | Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Early Characters, Gangs of New York, New Jersey, New York, Other
Sophie Lyons was called the queen of thieves but while she was under the guidance of Frederika “Marm” Mandelbaum she was known as the princess of thieves. Sophie Lyons was one of Marm’s best and brightest, almost like a daughter to her. Lyons would...
by Owen Forsyth | Mar 31, 2019 | Chicago, Early Characters, Mafia, Notorious, Politicians
Ragen’s Colts were a street gang which dominated the Chicago underworld during the early twentieth century. Made up of mainly Irish gangsters but there were also Italian, Polish and Jewish gangsters in their ranks. By the late 1920s and early ’30s, the...
