On this day, Feb. 14, in 1929, Al Capone tried to strike a decisive blow against Chicago gangland rival Bugs Moran in what became known as the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. On orders from Capone, mobsters disguised as police officers entered Moran’s headquarters, lined seven of his henchmen against a wall, and gunned them down.
Capone was in Miami at the time of the killings and no one was ever tried for them.
The cold-blooded carnage angered the public and attracted the spotlight of the federal government to Capone and his criminal activities.
In 1931, Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and imprisoned for 11 years. Moran’s control waned after the repeal of the Volstead Act, which outlawed liquor and was the very thing that put the gangsters into power.
