Isn't It Romantic.....

Dion O'Banion was the owner of a florist shop in Chicago. After the passing of the National Prohibition Act, he was also one of the main providers of illegal alcohol in Chicago. In 1926, O'Banion was shot dead outside his shop. His gang was convinced that the murder had been ordered by Al Capone, a rival bootlegger. Soon after O'Banion's death, eight cars filled with gangsters raked Capone's headquarters with machine-gun fire. This heralded the start of Chicago's gang wars. Over the next few years over 500 gangsters were killed in the city. The most notorious case was an event that became known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

At half-past ten on 14th February, 1929, six members of the Bugs Moran gang were sitting in a garage waiting for a consignment of illegal alcohol. Instead, a Cadillac arrived carrying three men dressed as policemen. They were accompanied by two men in civilian clothes. The policemen entered the building and told the six gangsters and John May, a mechanic working in the garage, to stand in a row against the wall with their hands in the air. This was common procedure during a police raid and the men did as they were told. The two civilians then entered the garage and mowed them down with sub-machine gun fire. Although it was assumed that the murders had been ordered by Al Capone, no one was ever convicted of the crime.

Happy Valentines Day!