Unsolved case · 1929
Also known as St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The short answer
Seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang were shot dead in a Lincoln Park garage on February 14, 1929, in an attack widely attributed to the rivalry between the North Side Gang and Al Capone's Chicago Outfit; despite multiple investigations, no one was ever charged with the killings.
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Suggest coverage for Saint Valentine's Day MassacreOn the morning of February 14, 1929, seven men associated with Chicago's North Side Gang were gathered at a garage at 2122 North Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Between four and six attackers, two dressed as police officers, entered the garage, lined the men against a wall, and shot them with Thompson submachine guns and a sawed-off shotgun. Seventy rounds were fired from the machine guns and one from the shotgun. Six men died at the scene; a seventh, Frank Gusenberg, survived long enough to be questioned by police but refused to identify his attackers before dying.
The victims were Albert Kachellek (alias James Clark), Adam Heyer, Albert Weinshank, Frank Gusenberg, Peter Gusenberg, and two non-gang associates, Reinhardt H. Schwimmer and John May. The killings occurred amid ongoing violent competition for control of Chicago's Prohibition-era bootlegging trade between the North Side Gang, led by George "Bugs" Moran, and the Chicago Outfit, led by Al Capone. Police and historians have speculated the attack was intended to kill Moran himself, who had not yet arrived at the garage when the shooting began.
Multiple bodies investigated the massacre independently, including Chicago police, the Illinois Attorney General's office, and the Cook County coroner's office under Herman Bundesen. Forensic ballistics pioneer Calvin Goddard was engaged to examine shell casings and weapons. Two vehicles believed linked to the crime were later found destroyed. Several men, including Jack McGurn, John Scalise, and Albert Anselmi, were arrested and some charged, but the charges against them were dropped for lack of evidence. The coroner's inquest was closed in 1931 with the conclusion that "the killings were by persons unknown."
In 1935, Byron Bolton, previously identified as a possible lookout at the scene, was arrested on unrelated charges and told the FBI that the shooters were Fred Goetz, Gus Winkler, Fred Burke, Ray Nugent, and Bob Carey, acting on Capone's orders to kill Moran. This account was corroborated by the memoirs of Winkler's widow, Georgette. Some historians have disputed Bolton's account, proposing alternative suspects including "Three Fingered Jack" White and Tony Accardo. Fred Burke was later linked to weapons used in the massacre after a 1929 raid on his home following the killing of a Michigan police officer; he was convicted of that officer's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, dying in prison in 1940. No one was ever convicted specifically for the Valentine's Day killings.
The massacre contributed to public shock over Prohibition-era gang violence and, along with other Thompson submachine gun-related crimes, influenced the passage of the National Firearms Act of 1934. The garage was demolished in 1967.
Seven men are shot dead at a garage on North Clark Street in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Police find a burnt, partially dismantled Cadillac sedan believed used in the attack.
A second vehicle, believed to be a plant, is found destroyed in Maywood, Illinois.
A federal grand jury convenes in Chicago to hear evidence on bootlegging; Al Capone is subpoenaed.
The bodies of John Scalise, Albert Anselmi, and Joe Giunta are found after their killing by Capone.
Fred Burke shoots and kills a Michigan police officer; a subsequent raid on his home turns up weapons later linked to the massacre.
Fred Burke is captured.
Coroner Herman Bundesen closes his inquest, concluding the killings were by 'persons unknown.'
Byron Bolton is arrested on unrelated charges and confesses to being a lookout, naming alleged shooters to the FBI.
Fred Burke dies in prison.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
North Side Gang bookkeeper and business manager, killed in the massacre[2]
North Side Gang member (alias James Clark), killed in the massacre[2]
Managed cleaning and dyeing operations for the North Side Gang, killed in the massacre[2]
North Side Gang enforcer, killed in the massacre after surviving briefly[2]
Occasional mechanic at the garage, killed in the massacre[2]
North Side Gang enforcer, killed in the massacre[2]
Former optician and gambler present at the garage, killed in the massacre[2]
Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a Michigan police officer; weapons linked to him were forensically tied to the massacre, but he was never charged with the massacre itself[2]
Chicago Outfit gunman arrested and charged in connection with the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre; at the 8 March 1929 arraignment (shared with co-defendant John Scalise), the arresting sergeant admitted under defense questioning that he lacked 'just and reasonable grounds' to believe Anselmi committed the massacre, and the charges were dropped and he was released for lack of evidence. He was never tried or convicted in this case; he was killed (with Scalise and Joseph Giunta) in a separate, unrelated Capone-ordered purge near Hammond, Indiana on 8 May 1929. No charges remain pending against him in this case.[2]
Al Capone bodyguard and suspected mastermind of the 14 February 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre; police charged him, but the charge was dropped and he was never brought to trial after his girlfriend (and later wife) Louise Rolfe, dubbed the 'Blonde Alibi' by the press, claimed they had spent the day together. He was never convicted, and the theory that he masterminded the massacre remains unproven. No charges remain pending against him in this case.[2]
Chicago Outfit gunman arrested and charged in connection with the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre; at his 8 March 1929 arraignment, the arresting sergeant admitted under defense questioning that he lacked 'just and reasonable grounds' to believe Scalise committed the massacre, and the charges were dropped and he was released for lack of evidence. He was never tried or convicted in this case; he was killed (with Albert Anselmi and Joseph Giunta) in a separate, unrelated Capone-ordered purge near Hammond, Indiana on 8 May 1929. No charges remain pending against him in this case.[2]
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