As I’m certain all of our readers are aware, tomorrow is a very special observance. It is the 78th anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day massacre.
On February 14, 1929 members of Al Capone’s gang paid a visit to seven members of rival George "Bugs" Moran. Two of Capone’s men walked into the S.M.C. Cartage garage in North Chicago dressed as police officers. Moran’s men assumed it was a routine sting and so they co-operated when the "officers" told them to line up and face the wall. At that point two more of Capone’s men came in and shot the seven men in the back. One man, Frank Gusenberg, initially survived the attack and was taken to the hospital where police hoped he would recover and give them a statement. However, the only thing he said before he died was, "I’m not gonna talk." Police had to put together the pieces of the puzzle through crime scene investigation and eyewitness testimony. Although, Al Capone was considered to be the only suspect in the case, authorities were unable to find any evidence linking him to the killings. He claimed to have been Florida at the time and he eventually went to his grave without ever confessing to the crime.
The massacre happened during the height of prohibition at which time many gangsters were making a lot of money on the illegal sale and distribution of alcohol. I can’t help but think that maybe if Blue Beaver Beer had been around at that time, the lawmakers might have tried some and decided that anything that tasted that divine must have some redeeming social value. They probably would not have banned alcohol and the gangsters would not have had such an easy revenue source and St. Valentine’s Day 1929 would have ended the way every Feb. 14th is supposed to; with everybody getting drunk and hooking up with a stranger and/or loved one.
If you are intested in know more about what what happened on that fateful day, I would suggest you click here.
