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A Brieg Biography of Dion O'Banion

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Rival gangsters killed the notorious Chicago gunman, Dion O’Banion, On Monday morning. Frankie Yale, John Scalise, and Albert Anselmi walked into O’Banion’s floral shop and Yale clasped O’Banion’s hand tightly as Scalise and Anselmi shot him in the chest, cheeks and throat. O’Banion was dead immediately. His full name was Charles Dean O’Banion. As all of you know he was a very highly regarded Irish American Mobster. He was born in a town called Maroa in Central Illinois but moved with his father and brother, after the death of his mother, to the North Side of Chicago which was the decision that got him on the wrong track. The North Side of Chicago is VERY, very notorious for the high numbers in crime. Deanie, as he was known as, with friends Earl Weiss, known as “Hymie”, and George Moran, known as “Bugs”, all joined the Market street gang. The market street gang was known for theft and robbery, but they were “sluggers” for newsstands to beat up the rival newsstands for not selling their paper. So, they are starting pretty low but they do get much higher in the gang. O’Banion was very good at his job. He was arrested twice for safe cracking and assault in 1909 but that was the only time he spent. He took a bit of a break from the big game and was a waiter at a hotel, where he would entertain patrons while his friends would pickpocket the coat room. He would also slip a Mickey Finn to rob the patrons once they were incapacitated.

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