What Followed the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
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| Reenactment of the killing of seven men on Al Capone's orders. |
Cosa Nostra News is pleased to present the following story by author Chriss Lyon, who wrote the true crime book "A Killing in Capone's Playground."
Everyone has heard of the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the 1929 slaughter of seven associates of the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran during the Prohibition Era.
Not many are aware of the events that followed, however, which exposed small town America to the inner workings of big city brutality.
My background as a public safety professional for the past twenty years provided me with the ability to collect facts and glean details from original documents. The fact that I am also a long-time resident of St. Joseph, Michigan, as well as the unofficial historian of the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department who shares the allure of rural farming communities with tourists from both sides of the law helped further inform my ability to re-create the experiences of the beat cop of the period.
The book will take you on a journey back to when Prohibition was the law of the land and gangsters such as Al Capone controlled everything from illegal vices to politics.
One of the most famous unsolved crimes in our nation’s history is attributed to this era; The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. The crime itself catapulted “Bloody Chicago” and its gangster associations onto the headlines of every newspaper on February 14, 1929, and subsequently, has been investigated, rationalized, theorized, and re-created through novels, television shows, and films ever since.
As a first-time author, I decided to delve into the often overlooked continuation of the infamous story that finally blackened the name of mob boss Al Capone among the Chicagoans who once fawned over him.
My background as a public safety professional for the past twenty years provided me with the ability to collect facts and glean details from original documents. The fact that I am also a long-time resident of St. Joseph, Michigan, as well as the unofficial historian of the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department who shares the allure of rural farming communities with tourists from both sides of the law helped further inform my ability to re-create the experiences of the beat cop of the period.
The book will take you on a journey back to when Prohibition was the law of the land and gangsters such as Al Capone controlled everything from illegal vices to politics.
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| Chriss Lyon |
I pick up where many screenwriters and authors often end.
Using original police reports, witness accounts, court transcripts, and interviews with family members, I expand on the events of February 14, 1929, to include the rarely related story of a fateful meeting between a St. Joseph, Michigan police officer and a highly sought-after suspect in the massacre, some ten months later.
What came of this meeting launched the massacre investigation into overdrive, setting the stage for the refinement and acceptance of the new science of ballistics and forensics. When the massacre investigation had stalled due to lack of leads, it was St. Joseph, Michigan, that breathed new life into the case.
Most people are aware of the gangster occupation of the big cities but few are aware of the doings of these high-profile gangsters within the farming communities of Middle America. As authorities all over the country tirelessly sought to bring the gangsters to justice for their crimes, the residents of “Capone’s Playground" were lulled by images of Al Capone handing out ice-cream cones to young children and offering up $100 tips to waitresses.
Most people are aware of the gangster occupation of the big cities but few are aware of the doings of these high-profile gangsters within the farming communities of Middle America. As authorities all over the country tirelessly sought to bring the gangsters to justice for their crimes, the residents of “Capone’s Playground" were lulled by images of Al Capone handing out ice-cream cones to young children and offering up $100 tips to waitresses.
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| Purchase on Amazon. |
I was able to determine that long before the infamous massacre, gangsters had frequented Southwestern Michigan and Northern Indiana, creating a playground where they could enjoy the amenities of the area without so much as a wrinkle of suspicion. While Chicago and other big cities experienced the violence of bootlegging wars, those responsible for it enjoyed nothing more than escaping the business-end of crime. They would often visit and reside in the rural comforts along Lake Michigan’s east coast, which the press later deemed “Capone’s Playground.”
The book finally links one of America's most well-known unsolved crime with the small-town police officer who had been unjustly overlooked throughout history.
The book finally links one of America's most well-known unsolved crime with the small-town police officer who had been unjustly overlooked throughout history.
Charles Skelly was that officer's name, and he was a true hero who never knew the power that his sacrifice would carry, even some 85 years later.
“A Killing in Capone’s Playground” really begins where the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre left off.
Books can be purchased online through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or through In-Depth Editions.
For more information, contact Chriss Lyon at spinaltap@att.net.
Books can be purchased online through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or through In-Depth Editions.
For more information, contact Chriss Lyon at spinaltap@att.net.