(In)Famous Mobster of the Week: Dion O’Banion

Dion O’Banion. Born in the Chicago area (there are conflicting reports as to where) in 1892, O’Banion (whose real name was Dean) grew up in Chicago and became a singing waiter at McGovern’s Saloon and Cabaret, a mobster hangout. Fellow Irish-American Gene Geary, a notorious gunman, took O’Banion under his wing and taught him gunplay and racketeering. Soon enough, O’Banion became the leader of the North Side Gang in Chicago during the bootlegging heyday of the 1920s. His chief rival was Johnny Torrio (Capone’s mentor), and after a perceived double-cross at O’Banion’s flower shop (a guise for his bootlegging operation), Torrio was sent to jail. Capone dispatched three underlings to murder O’Banion at that same shop in 1924.

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Al Capone, Fun Facts

As our week of Al Capone comes to a close we wanted to give you all the fun facts we provided for you on our Face Book page once more before we move onto our next (in)famous mobster....

1. Capone’s specially-outfitted, bullet-proof Cadillac was seized by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1932 and later used by the government as Franklin Roosevelt’s limousine.


2. Capone got his “Scarface” nickname after a bar brawl in Coney Island that left him with three large slashes on the left side of his face.


3. Even though “Scarface” was his most well-known nickname, Capone’s closest friends called him “Snorky.”


4. After suffering a mental and physical decline as a result of neurosyphilis (ahem), a Baltimore psychiatrist and Capone’s personal physician performed tests that showed his mental capability had diminished to that of a 12-year-old.

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Famous Mobster of the Week

In honor of our new Mobster inspired murder mystery show, MovEable Mystery Dinners is happy to introduce our "Famous Mobster of the Week". Every week we will bring you information on a famous mobster. And we are happy to launch our new weekly tradition with the most famous mobster, the one and only Al Capone.

Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early 1920s to 1931.Born in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City to Italian immigrants, Capone became involved with gang activity at a young age after being expelled from school at age 14.[1] In his early twenties, he moved to Chicago to take advantage of a new opportunity to make money smuggling illegal alcoholic beverages into the city during Prohibition. He also engaged in various other criminal activities, including bribery of government figures and prostitution. Despite his illegitimate occupation, Capone became a highly visible public figure. He made donations to various charitable endeavors using the money he made from his activities, and was viewed by many to be a "modern-day Robin Hood".Capone's public reputation was damaged in the wake of his supposed involvement in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, when seven rival gang members were executed.[3] Capone was convicted on federal charges of tax evasion, and sentenced to federal prison. His incarceration included a term at the then-new Alcatraz federal prison. In the final years of Capone's life, he suffered mental and physical deterioration due to late-stage neurosyphilis, which he had contracted in his youth. On January 25, 1947, he died from cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.

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