Bugs Moran

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Bugs Moran bigraphy, stories - Chicago gangster

Bugs Moran : biography

21 August 1891 – 25 February 1957

George Clarence Moran (August 21, 1891 – February 25, 1957), better known as Bugs Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He moved to the north side of Chicago when he was 19, where he became affiliated with several gangs. He was incarcerated three times before turning 21. On February 14, 1929, in an event which has become known as the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, seven members of his gang were gunned down in a warehouse, supposedly on the orders of Moran’s rival Al Capone.http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/moran_george_bugs.htm He has been credited with popularizing the act of driving by a rival’s hangout and spraying it with gunfire, now referred to as a drive-by shooting.http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Moran+&GSfn=George&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=730&

Battling Al Capone

The bootlegging operation of Earl Weiss and Bugs Moran continued to pose a significant challenge to Capone’s South Side Gang. Moran and Capone then led a turf war with each other that cost both of them their friends and cost Capone his freedom. Moran’s hatred of Capone was apparent even to the public: he told the press that "Capone is a lowlife." Moran was also disgusted that Capone engaged in prostitution. Believing himself a better Catholic than Capone, Moran refused to run brothels.

Moran and his gang made two attempts to strike back at Al Capone. The first was an attempt on Capone’s life. Moran (possibly with Drucci and Weiss) was driving around town searching for Capone. They found his car parked alongside the curb and saw Capone getting out. They let loose a volley of shots. Capone and his men jumped to the ground while their driver was injured and the car pelted with bullets. Although startled, Capone survived the attack and was driven around in an armored car after that. Second, Moran would himself eliminate Capone’s personal security. He kidnapped one of Capone’s most trusted bodyguards. He then tortured him with wire and cigarettes before finally executing him and dumping the body. On September 20, 1926, Moran again attempted to kill Capone, this time in Cicero, Illinois, the base of Capone’s operations. A fleet of cars, with Moran in personal command, drove by the lobby of Capone’s hotel. Capone and his bodyguard were drinking downstairs when the Moran gang began shooting into the lobby with their Thompson submachine guns. The attack left Capone unhurt but badly frightened, and his restaurant was reduced to shreds. Although Capone escaped unharmed, the hotel attack traumatized him: he called for a truce. However, the truce did not last long.

Weiss was then gunned down weeks later after the Hawthorne attack. The two sides then traded more murderous violence before everyone decided enough was enough. A peace conference was held to hopefully sort everything out. Moran appeared grudgingly, along with Capone and the rest of the gang bosses. Capone stated "they were making a shooting gallery of a great business" and Chicago "should be seen as pie and each gang gets an individual slice." Everybody agreed and peace had finally arrived. For the first time in years, there was no gang warfare. Drucci himself was killed as a result of an altercation with the police. Both Capone and Moran attended his funeral. Moran now realized that his friends (O’Banion, Weiss, and Drucci) were gone and he was the sole commander of the gang. Capone realized this too, which is why he didn’t attack first; he knew a war with Moran would result in great bloodshed. Both sides kept a close watch on each other after that. Moran regularly annoyed Capone by having his shipments hijacked and selling them for profit. Capone retaliated by burning Moran’s dog track. Moran had one of Capone’s clubs burned soon after.

Moran also killed numerous friends and gang members of Capone, which both angered and saddened him. It also frightened him into having 15 (or more) bodyguards around him. Moran further wore down Capone, both physically and mentally, by agreeing to truces, only to break them within hours. Capone eventually stated that he regretted he ever came to Chicago, remarking "If I knew I was gonna deal with this, I’d never would’ve left Five Points".