Crowds gather outside of Schofields Flowershop located at 738 North State Street in Chicago, Illinois, its legitimate owner was William S. Schofield but was a front for mobster Dean O’Banion who had just been murdered there minutes previously. Dean O’Banion had been inside Schofields arranging flowers for the funeral of another high ranking mobster, Mike Merlo who was also president of the Unione Sciliana organization. Three men entered the flowershop and O’Banion had approached them saying “Hello boys, you here for Merlo’s flowers, O’Banion extended his hand for a handshake. An employee in the store and best witness William Crutchfield, seen the three men enter and described them as two Italian men “who were short, stocky and looked rough” and the third man as “tall, well built, well dressed, smooth shaven, wore a brown overcoat and brown hat. He might have been a Jew or a Greek”. The employee, assuming O’Banion knew the men went into the backroom and around 15 minutes later he heard shots fired. Outside the shop three boys who were going home from school for lunch, had stopped outside when the door burst open and three men ran out, one boy was pushed onto the ground by the first man to leave the shop, who he described as wearing a blue suit and blue hat and another of the boys was also pushed over by the third man who was wearing a brown overcoat and brown hat who looked older than the other two men. The boys got on their feet and ran back to the school to get help, while the other boy followed the men who were running away and turning onto Superior Street, the boy said “When I got to the corner, I saw them get into an automobile that was parked at an alley on State Street. A woman was at the wheel of the car, with the doors open for the men” He described the woman as wearing a black veil with a brown coat and fur collar. Back in Schofields Father O’Brien and Father Morrison had arrived, having been alerted by the two boys who had ran back to the school. However Dean O’Banion was dead having been shot five times in the head, neck and chest, the priests gave the last rites. Dean O’Banion’s death would be described as the opening shots of the Bootleg Battle of Marne that would leave bullet riddled gangsters being found for months and years to come If you would like to contribute to funding future projects or if you like the content please consider becoming a subscriber https://www.subscribestar.com/the-irish-mob If you are interested in learning more about The Irish Mob, check out the links in the link tree for stories, profiles and images on the website and social media - https://linktr.ee/irishmob ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMqdVzYdoYw

Traditionally, it was thought and written about that there was a battle for control of Brooklyn's docks and rackets between the Irish and Italians, that the Italians won and wiped out the Irish gangs on the docks. That hitmen from Cleveland travelled to Brooklyn and killed the leader in his sleep However, in recent years further research has brought to light that it was pretty much fiction and sensationalized. The truth may not be as sensational and less dramatic. The White Hand Gang was in fact a collection of smaller gangs under one umbrella, the main factions being the Warren Street Red Onion Gang and the Jay Street Gang, who fought among themselves for control of the rackets and docks. In this video, part one, I will have a look at its most famous leaders, Dennis "Dinny" Meehan and "Wild" Bill Lovett, leading up to Lovett taking control of the gang. As this is my first attempt at making this kind of video, it would be helpful if you could leave some feedback if you find it useful or if I have left anything out. As the Brooklyn Irish community was notoriously secretive about talking to authority, it made it difficult to piece this together. I have tried to gather as many newspaper clippings and articles in order to shed some light on the subject. Some photos have been used for informational purposes. If you are interested in knowing more about the Irish Mob, stories, profiles and content, you will find links to all our social media and website in the link tree https://linktr.ee/irishmob #irish #irishmob #whitehandgang #gangsters #brooklyn #crime #criminal #brooklyndocks #dinnymeehan #billlovett #wildbilllovett #newyork ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GFLFHHdB28