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DRUCCI af No Ane S why AL “WS WaAaaA ~ Af rey. = Serew jena C ROWN The artistically efficient homicide of Hymie Weiss drove home to every ambitious hoodlum in Chicago the grim lenson that the man of destiny among them was Alphonse Capone, and that the best possible life insurance was a reserved seat on his band wagon. The prestige of the North Side gang vanished like puffs of smoke in a wind- storm when news of his demise was blazoned across the town. Vincent “Schemer” Drucci bowed apparently to the inevitable for when King Al suggested that another truce be held he was smart enough to acquiesce. But the Schemer had mental reservations as we shall see. The meeting tock place in the Morrison Hotel on October 21, 1926, and the size of the representation was in itself a tribute to Capone. The Big Fellow himself was not there, but the terms which were laid down by Anthony Lombardo and Maxie Eisen, the eminent Jewish racketeer, had come from him, and you may be sure that no stipulations were made this time. Even “Kiondike” O'Donnell was represented. His delerate was instructed to say yes to everything and not to sit around with his fingers ecressed either. Unfortunately Joe Saltis, still in jail awaiting the verdict on the charge of murdering Mitters Foley, could not get a leave of absence, but he was represented by the Schemer and George Moran. Ralph Sheldon was there, and so was Edward “Spike” O'Donnell. Tony Lombardo, a big shot in the Unione Siciliane, an important Italian political organization, represented Ca- pone as did axie Eisen, the eminent Jewish racketeer and stink bomb thrower. Lom- bardo laid down the territorial lines. Drucci and Moran were resented with the entire North Bide, limited on the south and west by the Chicago river, on the east by Lake Michigan but extending north as far as the Arctic Circle, The South Side waa ally divided between “Spike,” Sheldon and Saltis, but don’t you believe a word of it. No peace pact in history has ever stifled a congenital homicidal impulse, nor did this one. The League of Nations itself could not alleviate the sad condition of affairs along the South Side beer front where, incidentally, a few days before the confer- ence, Mr. Saltis had ordered the dynamiting of one of his customer's saloons because the proprietor, Mr. Joseph Kepka d refused to help Joe pay W. W. O’Brien’s lega! bill. Another swell homicidal! imnules wearing aemiles and SNPS, Whereis stiles caste aaying yes all over the ban- quet hall, was Schemer Drucci, but it was destined never to be given another good play. On November 9 the terror- ized jurors announced that Saltis and Lefty Koncil were not guilty of murdering Mit- ters Foley and Big Joe went bome to fall into numerous photograph 5 : cee . house lobby, when, Tincent “Schemer” DBrucel, sucessscr to of the opera-loving hoodlam, taken after he had spent a tough night in a jell cell 134] ( hoddjes with John “Dingbs. Oberta, as well as to read his mail, There was an interesting letter from relatives of Hillary Clements, the Sheldon gangster, who had been missing several months, and Joe was implored to mark the spot where he had left the body so t it might be iven a decent burial. But it was not until five weeks later at the body was found and, would you believe it, the Snot was = verant lot behind the house where Hillarv’s Spel en Ny RAN WER FERRO | TTS RO FSF survivors lived. Gangland ushered in the new year, 1926, by removing one John Costenare, a Sheldon beer customer, from the scene and, so far as this reporter can determine Mr. Cos- tenaro has not yet been found. Efforts to completely do away with Theodore Anton were not so successful. Theo- dore, known as “The Greek,” owned the Hawthorne Arma, headquarters of the Big Fellow. Theodcre had been a pretty tough guy in his day and had come to the Capone gang with a creditable career in the prize ring to recom- mend him, but as the years rolled on something happened to him, and he made a big nuisance of himself by de- veloping the evil of his ways and the ways of his com- panions and tenants. Anton carried sweetness and light to the point of hinting that he was through with sin and vice and that Capone’s lease on the building would not be renewed. And so Anton the Greek was soon missing roll-call around the Hawthorne Arms Hotel, and, a long, long time afterward his body, or what was left of it, was removed from a hole of quick-lime in a vacant jot in Burnham, Indiana, near the backyard of Johnny Patton, Burnham’s boy mayor and a good friend of Al Capone. On the South Side, believe it or not, Edward “Spike” O'Donnell was accused of having designs on Joe Saltis, Lefty Koncil and their blue-eyed boy, John “Dingbat” Oberta, the eminent ward committeeman. Whether true or not, Koncil and Charles “Big Hays” Hrubec, were fired at on March 11 as they were touring in “Spike” O’Donnell’s territory. “Lefty” and Hrubec jumped out of the car and were running at top speed for shelter in an apartment overburdened by bullets, they collapsed in death, “Spike” O'Donnell did this foul murder,” Joe Saltis to newspaper reporters, “I am not in the beer racket.” On the day of his re- lease from the county jail, “Lefty,” who was a4 rather hasty~tempered little fellow, snarled on page one that he had been pushed around fong enough by certain persons on the South Side and that he himself intended to go in for pushing in a big way. Meanwhile Vincent Drucci, as leader of the North Side gangsters, had not been com-~ etely paralyzed by the peace vonfeserice. He had, indeed, been quite busy following Al Capone around, a privilege he had reserved mentally during the meeting and everywhere the Big Fellow went the Schemer was sure to follow, When he went to Hot Springs, Arkansas with a large body guard to rest up for the ap- roaching mayoralty eiection in Chicago he did not know it, but the Schemer went along, too, taking with him numerous sawed off shut-guns, auto- matics and other instruments of warfare. In Hot Springs the “Schemer” made an unsuccess- ful attempt to murder the Big Fellow, but it was done so quietly that news of the affray reached the newspapers only by leakage. When King Al returned to Chicago late in March the at- mosphere was considerably mixed with gunpowder and ae | “Little Mymie” Woeles as leader of the Morth Side Gang. This is an early Sb