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Al Capone — Part 8

70 pages · May 23, 2026 · Broad topic: Organized Crime · Topic: Al Capone · 69 pages OCR'd
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~¥ who KILLED MSWIGGIN: The scene now shifts to the West Side where “Klondike” O'Donnell and his horde of homicidal hoodlums, inspired by their elimination of Eddi Tancl, have been continuing @ sporadic but ruthless warfare against the growing power of King Capone in Cicero, To the “Big Fellow” it is appar- ent that drastic action must be taken against these enemies who are now reported to be trying to rob him, not only of his liquor customers, but of his political protection. At this time police were confronted with what the news- papers called the Beauty Shop Mystery. This institution of beautification at 2208 S. Austin Ave. in Cicero was bathed in machine-gun fire on April 24, 1926, and Miss Pear] Wilson, the proprietress, could not, for the life of her, explain to the police why such a thing could have happened. The police wondered whether or not a new racket had started, say a beauty shop war, when their attention was attracted to an automobile which was parked around the corner. On tracing its license it was learned that it had been registerd by one John Burns. This was one of the numerous aliases em- ployed by James “Fur” Sammons, and so a hunt for him was made but without success. It was even rumored that “Fur” had been terribly wounded in the machine-gun fire and either dead or in the hands of one of Gangiand’s physi- cians—men who treat wounded gangsters for a price and ry Fittem “iondixe” O-Donzel ooking Pleasant befe Before s camera at the Detective Bureau. yailding in which was located a beauty shop which tended for “ar” Sammons, one of "Elondixes” henchmen. (3) “© Sphreefager” ‘Jack White, enother “Klondike” 0'D (27] do not notify police. If their Patient dies a} gant ean diss ses of the body. But “Fur” could not be and nally the police ceased to ack for him and the incident of the Beauty Hie Ter bts was abandoned as insolvable. During were rumors that political Bro tection in Cicero was about to shift from Capone to the "Donnell gang, a rumor which was worked for all it was worth by jtlondive® in his sales talks to the roadhouse owners and dive keepers. To some of them the rumor took on the aspect of truth when it was reported that William McSwiggin, ace prosecutor, in the office of State’s Attorney Robert E. Crowe had been seen frequently in Cicero in company with members of the O'Donnell wang, two of whom, curiously enough, he had unsuccessfully pro- secuted for the murder of Eddie Tancl. Other old-timers in Cicero scoffed at this however and pointed to the fact that MeSwiggi in was merely out in Cicero having a time, some or the O’Donnell gangsters had been mates in high school. Anyway it was strange that a public official should chum around with the underworld 'y and it certainly was embarrassing to Al Capone, Fellow whatever the reason for it might be. ‘The m people of Chicago who did not know of these Pe ae a8s0- ciations between hoodlums and prominent public officials, were, therefore profoundly shocked when, in the early street editions, of the morning newspapers they read that Wi Kiam H. McSwiggin was one of ‘ree men killed by machine-; n bullets in front of the saloon of John Madigan at 5613 West Roosevelt road. The other two victims, companions were James Doherty and John Duffy, the men he had tried for the murder of Eddie Tancl. In this murder the public saw a climax to the killings of Gangland, and the question “Who Killed MeSwigein” was on the lips of every strap-hanger for weeks. Indi tion and excitement were intense. Demands for an newer to the question persisted and, in the endless columns of newspaper space devoted to the murder, a vast number of different theories were advanced and discussed in detail. One of the stories related that as “Klondike” O'Donnell, his brother, McSwiggin, Doherty, and Duify rode into Cicero a Sicilian, standing in the shadows of a building ad passed, raced to Ca- one’s headquarters, where the ig Fellow was at dinner. He listened to the messenger’s news as he ate and, when he had finished, he calmly walked to the rear of the hotel, took out the machine guns from & closet, and went out, followed by three men. An eye witness to the mur- der, said that a great automo- bile sped past the four men as they walked out of the road- house and that “fire spit out of what seemed to be a tele phone mouthpiece’ projected through the rear curtain.” McSwiggin fell mortally wounded at the first blast, while Duffy and Doherty walked for some distance be- fore they fel! in pools of their blood. More than two-hundred bullets were fired. “Klondike” ulled McSwiggin’s body into is automobile and had it taken to the O'Donnell home, but later it was again placed in the car and taken and dumped on- to a spot in a street of a suburb adjoining Cicero so, as “Klon- dike” later explained, that no one would know that McSwig- gin was with gangsters: Another story has it that “Klondike” had paid $40,000 to McSwiggin and wanted to get it back again. “T know who killed my son,” said Sergeant Anthony Me- fon bullets believed Swiggin, of the Chicago police _
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