The St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone

by William J. Helmer, Arthur J Bilek, Arthur J. Bilek

Book Overview

The machine-gun murders of seven men on the morning of February 14, 1929, by killers dressed as cops became the gangland crime of the century. Or so the story went. Since then it has been featured in countless histories, biographies, movies, and television specials. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, however, is the first book-length treatment of the subject, and it challenges the commonly held assumption that Al Capone ordered the slayings...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1581825498
• ISBN13: 9781581825497
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.8" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Breaking ground alone is worth five stars

I'll be up front about two things before reviewing this book. The first is that one of the authors, Bill Helmer, is a close friend of long standing. The second is that I am a True Crime author myself, with a first-hand knowledge of the difficulties that accompany the research and writing of this kind of story: inaccurate newspaper coverage, carelessly compiled police reports, and of course the passage of time, which slowly and mercilessly kills off the survivors of the era who could have shed new light on a long-ago event. To cover a 1929 mass murder that the law enforcement agencies of the day chose to downplay for their own reasons is an enormous challenge that Bill Helmer and Art Bilek met with a commendable degree of success. "St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone" is the first book to take a serious crack at the mystery surrounding the killing of seven Bugs Moran followers in a freezing Chicago garage in February 1929. The genesis of the murder plot, the identities of the actual shooters, and their subsequent fates are described in a breezy style that makes the book appeal to the casual reader as well as the more hardcore historian who wants "just the facts, ma'am." One of the more knowledgeable parties who read the book was George 'Bugs' Moran's surviving son, who vividly remembers the day the Massacre took place and recalls the frantic aftermath like it was yesterday. He told me recently that Helmer and Bilek's account of the crime tallies neatly with what his father had to say about the subject over the years. He admitted to enjoying it immensely. A previous reviewer criticized the book for not offering a thorough list of sources. It's only been in the last few years that detailed footnoting and bibliography lists that exceed the content itself in page count have been proper form outside of academic texts and histories approached from a scholarly perspective. When my first book, "Guns and Roses", came out in 2003, I was told that notes weren't really necessary. I insert them as a matter of course now, but my point in all this is that Bill Helmer and Art Bilek made no serious errors of omission in this area. "St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone" is by far the most definitive account of the Massacre that has been published to date. And if that's not enough, it also has the seal of approval from the surviving Morans. That fact in itself should more than compensate for a couple of repeated sentences or anorectic footnoting style.

A new insight to the old story

This book sheds light on to an old subject that has for years had people wondering about the true facts of the St. Valentines Day Massacre, I have enjoyed reading it and I am very glad that I bought the book so that I could at last learn all the true facts about this event. It's a good book and a good read.

A very well written and researched book.

If there is a crime scene that seems frozen in time it is inside a garage in Chicago on an icy cold day with blowing snow, as the 7 victims of the St Valentine's day massacre seem to stand forever up against a wall with their backs to their executioners. This scene has been written about and enacted in films countless times. Now this excellent book comes along to explain the events that lead up to this day, what happened on the day and the ripple effects it caused in the years afterward. The authors have written a convincing, well researched and very enjoyable history book that contains plenty of information about the event and also about the workings of the mafia and other criminal gangs that existed in Chicago during the 1920's and 1930's . The authors contend that evidence about the massacre and what happened on the day itself was known to the FBI and Hoover in particular by 1935, but was deliberately ignored and buried away. Why you may ask but l would suggest you obtain and read this fascinating book to find out for yourself. The book contains some great photos of this era including a smiling Capone, a pensive Moran, around the crime scene itself including crowds that flocked to the massacre scene in its aftermath, a few other notable criminals and police officers plus there is an excellent array of cartoons and newspaper headlines from the various newspapers of 20's and 30's. There is also a very informative and detailed crime and corruption chronology of Chicago at the back of the book which covers the years from 1900 to 1967. The authors have convinced me of their portrayal of what happened on the day and of who the planners, killers and participants in the massacre were. If anybody wishes to read further about the life of Al Capone l would suggest the excellent book "Mr. Capone" by Robert Schoenberg, if George (Bugs) Moran is more your style you can read about his life in the superb book ' The Man Who got Away" by Rose Keefe.

A Culminating Event That Backfired

William Helmer, author of the recent page turner on Baby Face Nelson, along with Arthur Bilek, have provided us with another superb effort on the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre just in time for its 75th anninversary. This brazen event was not pleasing to the New York mob because it drew too much attention to federal authorities and the public in general. Although Al Capone didn't know it at the time his heyday as the Chicago crime czar were on the downswing, with Frank Nitti ready to take his place. Many of the details have remained under wraps for many years, and the authors state the book is largely "the product of the personal memories and cooperative interrogations of Georgette Winkeler" whose husband Gus was involved with "his partners in crime." All the characters of the 1920's and early 1930's Chicago crime era are here in all their infamy. The authors show how ballistic evidence was used to identify two machine guns that Fred "Killer" Burke had in his possession when he was arrested for the murder of a police officer in St. Joseph, Michigan, as being guns used in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The authors relate how J. Edgar Hoover closed his mind to the existence of any organized crime, instead focusing on two bit hoodlums such as Dillinger, Nelson, and Floyd. Hoover comes across as a ego maniac who became disgustingly jealous of the recognition that came agent Melvin Purvis's way following the killing of John Dillinger. Hoover had Purvis "reassigned", and Purvis finallly quit the F.B.I. in frustration. Hoover then made it a point to make sure Purvis could not find any other work in law enforcement. Finally when Purvis died of a gunshot wound in 1960, the F.B.I. made it seem as though it was a suicide, even though evidence showed it to be accidental. Even though you may be well versed in Chicago crime lore you will find new information in this book, and want to make it a permanent part of your personal library. I did find a few spelling errors that got by the editor, but it in no way detracts from the book.

The Truth Unveiled

For over 70 years the traditional story has been told: how Al Capone decided to eliminate his chief rivals in one mass slaughter, using a booze hijack to lure them into their garage headquarters, to be mowed down by machine gunners in police uniforms. Most of this pure fiction. The real story of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre has been largely buried in FBI files since 1935 though evidence pointing to the actual killers was available almost from the beginning. Helmer and Bilek have uncovered the truth about this most infamous gangland slaughter which rather than entrenching Capone as the master of Chicago actually signalled his downfall. A fascinating study of a mass murder no one in authority seems to have really wanted solved. Marvelously written and out just in time for Valentine's Day!