Double-crossing and death-dealing in St. Louis
Standing in front of a poolroom at 1006 North Tenth Street, Alphonse Palazzolo watched as a large Chrysler sped by. The sedan continued a short distance, reaching Carr Street, and then quickly turned around to make another pass. At 10:15 a.m. on September 9, 1927, fate had come for Palazzolo in the form of four gun-wielding mystery men. An injured bystander, Emanuel Capraro, recalled what happened: “A man jumped out of the car and ran towards Palazzolo. The man had a pistol. Palazzolo stepped back, but the man shot at him.” Palazzolo became another statistic in a seemingly endless series of ...
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The ‘Gulf Stream Pirate’ – Rumrunning leads to shooting in Prohibition Era
The Prohibition Era is at times characterized by the speakeasy, with men in suits and women in gowns drinking free-flowing…
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Don’t dare call him ‘Three Finger Brown’
The 1960s marked the end of an era for some of America’s underworld leaders. The forward-thinking, Prohibition-era architects of New…
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Ten years ago, epic ‘Family Secrets’ trial crippled the Chicago Outfit
The historic “Family Secrets” trial began 10 years ago in Chicago, finally bringing to justice several top Midwestern mobsters responsible…
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Seventy years ago today, Bugsy Siegel’s storied Mob life came to an abrupt end
It is important to our Museum and to me as the resident historian that criminals and their criminal acts are…
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New York indictments allege Georgian mafia activities in four U.S. states
The country of Georgia, wedged between Russia and Turkey with the Black Sea forming its western border, gained its independence…
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The hit that could have sunk Las Vegas
On May 2, 1957, Frank Costello thought he had problems, but he had no idea. He was appealing a five-year…
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Organized crime runs rampant in Latin America
In the United States, organized crime groups steal about $66 billion from retail, cargo, auto and jewelry businesses each year….
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