Capone comes swinging

After the Valentine’s Day Massacre, three of Al Capone’s top men were found dead. Legend has it that Capone beat them himself with a baseball bat.

When the bodies were discovered by local police in Hammond, Indiana, in May 1929, they were brutally beaten but still identifiable to investigators as Sicilians. A Chicago news reporter who arrived early on the scene was able to put names to the disfigured faces.^[1] Giuseppe Giunta, Alberto Anselmi, and Giovanni Scalise were high-level gangsters from Capone’s inner circle. Just months after the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre that killed seven men, striking a killing blow to the North Side gang’s leadership, the murders of Capone’s men were initially assumed to be a retaliation from Bugs Moran. But very soon after, a new story was circulating to explain the vicious slaughter. Capone had discovered treachery in his midst and delivered an unforgettable lesson to his men: disloyalty would be punished without mercy.

Of the three victims, Giuseppe (Joseph) Giunta was arguably the most powerful, as the president of the Unione Siciliana in Chicago. Yet others say Giovanni (John) Scalise held the real power in their triumvirate.

Alberto Anselmi was the eldest of the three, and the first to arrive in the United States and Chicago. He was born in 1882 in Marsala: the same hometown as the Genna brothers.^[2] Anselmi worked as a skilled mason like his father, and married in Marsala in 1909.^[3] According to his biography on Find a Grave, Anselmi killed a man in Sicily and fled the country. He entered the United States illegally around 1912 through a southern port.^[4] At first, Anselmi lived in St. Louis, MO; by 1920 he moved to Chicago, where he worked for the Genna brothers.

Like Anselmi, Giovanni Scalise was also reputedly a fugitive from justice in Italy whose entrance to the United States, around 1923, was consequently undocumented. Scalise lost his right eye in an accident shortly before leaving Italy, giving him a terrifying countenance.

The two men were from different comuni in Sicily: Scalise was reputedly born around 1900 in Castelvetrano, though a primary record of his birth has not been found to support this claim.^[5] Scalise stayed with an aunt who lived in Genna territory, and the gangsters soon became his employers. Scalise and Anselmi worked closely together as hitmen for the Genna brothers. They were close friends, too, with the younger, smarter Scalise taking on a mentorship role, reminiscent of Lenny and George in Of Mice and Men.

I’ve attempted to find Scalise’s birthplace by tracking his aunt, who is called Antonia Magnalorde.^[6] She was reportedly Scalise’s closest relative in Chicago, and the one who arranged for his body to be returned to Castelvetrano. The surname “Magnalorde” is not a proper Italian surname; Magnalardo is, but it’s uncommon. I wasn’t able to find anyone with this name living in Chicago.

I suspected that Scalise’s aunt was Antonia Cava, who married Gerardo “George” Migliore in Manhattan in 1878 and moved with him to the Genna territory in Chicago in the early years of their marriage.^[7] They were living just off North Taylor Street in the 1930 census.^[8] However, the Migliores were both born in Sala Consolina, in Salerno province, in Naples, according to their marriage record, far from Castelvetrano, in Trapani, Sicily.^[9] I am sure that Scalise was not born under that name in Castelvetrano, but have not been able to find him anywhere else. There are no records available online for Sala Consolina.

In November 1924, Anselmi and Scalise were the prime suspects in the killing of North Side gang leader Dean O’Banion. The next summer, Anselmi, Scalise, and one of their bosses, Mike Genna, made an unsuccessful attempt on North Side gangster Bugs Moran. They got into a shootout with police, and Genna and two of the police officers were killed in the exchange.

Over the next three years, Anselmi and Scalise would fight and eventually beat the charges. However, Genna’s “twin hitmen,” as they were called, had a secret. They were forming their own faction, separate from the Genna brothers.^[10] After the shootout that killed Mike Genna, Anselmi and Scalise became allies and bodyguards of Al Capone.^[11]

It has been reported that Giuseppe Giunta was summoned to Chicago from New York to serve the Unione Siciliana president there, Tony Lombardo. No evidence of Giunta living in New York has been found. It’s hard to say what Giunta would be summoned to do before 1925, when Torrio retired, Capone replaced him as the new boss of the Outfit, and Lombardo became Capone’s new advisor. But Giunta was already in Chicago by the time his first child was born in 1922.

Although his birth year is widely reported as 1887, Giunta was born in 1890 in Cinisi, the son of “country nobility.”^[12] He married in 1921 to Anna Alesi, according to her 1943 naturalization petition, but it’s not known where they wed.^[13] Their marriage was not found in New York City, Chicago, or Cinisi.

Alesi does not appear to be from the same comune as her husband. She became a US citizen when her father naturalized on the first of May, 1909. The family was living in Chicago, in the territory of the mafioso Mariano Zagone, who was mortally wounded in his son-in-law’s saloon the same week Giovanni Alesi was naturalized. Anna lost her citizenship when she married the Italian national Giuseppe Giunta. He was killed in 1929, and she remarried in 1934, but Anna was widowed again soon after.^[14] According to the 1940 census, when she lived with her parents and sons in Chicago, all of the family members were living there in 1935.^[15]

It’s not clear how Giunta teamed up with the former Genna hitmen, but they were already fast friends by the summer of 1927, when Anselmi and Scalise were acquitted of charges stemming from the police shootout two years earlier.^[16] That winter, Giunta was acting as Tony Lombardo’s bodyguard when they were arrested with another man for carrying concealed weapons.^[17] The charges were eventually dismissed because it was determined that police had no right to search them.^[18]

In September 1928, Lombardo was killed. He’d been supported by both Capone and by Frankie Yale, who led the Unione in New York. The brother of Lombardo’s bodyguard, Pasquale Lolordo, took over the presidency in Chicago. Lolordo and Giunta were among 28 gangsters arrested at the Cleveland Conference in December.^[19] Giunta told police he lived in Gary, Indiana.

In January, Lolordo was killed. In both cases, Lombardo and Lolordo, Capone blamed an alliance of Bugs Moran and Joe Aiello. Aiello wanted the Unione presidency, and he wanted Capone dead. Whether and how Aiello was in cahoots with Giunta, Anselmi, and Scalise depends on who’s telling the story. Allan May suggests that Capone put up Giunta for the Unione presidency at the urging of the hitmen, who for their part were only doing what Aiello told them.

On the 14th of February, six North Side gangsters and a hanger-on were killed in a targeted attack by Capone operatives: the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. The “twin hitmen” were allegedly among the shooters. Afterward, Scalise began to behave differently. In some tellings, when Giunta was made president of the Unione, he made Scalise his VP; some said Scalise was the one who called the shots. Now, with the massive hit on Capone’s enemies under Scalise’s belt, he appeared to be setting his sights higher.

In March, Scalise and Giunta were taken in for questioning regarding the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.^[20] Giunta was seen by most as a Capone figurehead, though he reportedly resisted the boss’ efforts to dominate the Unione. There wasn’t enough evidence to link the men to the event, so they were never charged.

Thomas Hunt tells us that by spring, Giunta was the leader of a conspiracy against Capone, drawing in the hitmen.^[21] Capone was living most of the time in Florida — this was his alibi on Valentine’s Day — but according to the most pervasive legend surrounding the triple homicide in May, Capone returned to the Windy City to deal with the situation personally.

The most common version of the legend credits Capone’s bodyguard, Frankie Rio, for recognizing that Scalise and Anselmi were plotting against him. At Rio’s suggestion, Capone staged a fight in front of them between himself and his bodyguard, ending with Capone striking Rio, and Rio leaving, visibly upset. Believing Rio to be receptive, the hitmen found Capone’s bodyguard and offered to bring him into their plan to kill Capone and split his empire. For days, they plied him with details, and Rio took those plans back to Capone.^[22]

In another brilliant move, this one attributed to Frank Nitti, Capone threw a banquet on the outskirts of Chicago, in honor of his “reconciliation” with Frank Rio.^[23] Rio played his part by “apologizing” to Capone. Among the guests of honor were Giuseppe Giunta, Alberto Anselmi, and Giovanni Scalise. Another fight was staged for their benefit, and this one turned into a mob attack on the doomed trio. They were reportedly tied to chairs, whereupon Capone took a baseball bat and used it to break every bone in their bodies. His men finished the terrible job with pistols.

A stolen car, with plates taken from a different vehicle, was at the ready: the back seat removed to accommodate the three bodies. They were driven across the state line into a quiet part of Hammond, Indiana. Scalise’s body was dragged by his ankles some distance from the car. Initially, reporters assumed the killings of such high-ranking Capone gangsters must be a retaliation for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.^[24]

The beating that Capone allegedly delivered is debated. Allan May doubts the account from Lawrence Bergreen in which Capone stages a gruesome triple murder before dozens of witnesses.^[25] Some of the early news reports describe the bodies as being badly beaten, but in at least one case, Anselmi’s, the coroner describes only gunshots and no other injuries leading to his death.^[26] One writer claims that it was the bullets that broke the gangsters’ bones, shattering Scalise’s jaw and exploding his glass eye.

The symbols of Mafia murders were examined for clues as to what had truly occurred. All told, the treatment of Anselmi’s body was regarded as the most brutal, suggesting he was considered the ringleader. Giunta was treated with the most courtesy by his killers, suggesting that whatever his crime, it was forgiven, even though its sentence was carried out in full. Anselmi and Scalise’s bodies were embalmed and sent to family funeral homes from which they would be shipped to their home comuni in Sicily.^[27] Giunta was buried near Chicago next to a son who died in infancy. While Giunta’s funeral was lavish and many expensive floral tributes were sent by his colleagues, neither Anselmi nor Scalise received any such honors.^[28]

In Chicago, Joe Aiello got the coveted leadership role in the Unione Siciliana. Later that month, Capone arranged to be arrested in Philadelphia on a weapons charge, and spent a year in jail. In June a Hammond, Indiana druggist mistaken for Aiello was abducted and tortured.^[29] The war between Capone and Aiello ended with Joe Aiello’s assassination in October 1930. His last challenger was dead, but Capone’s reign was coming to its end. The following spring, Al Capone was sentenced to federal prison for tax evasion and Volstead Act violations. The rest of his life was spent in prison, in institutions, or rendered helpless by tertiary syphilis. He died in 1947.

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[1] Mose Lamson, who reported the news, dies. (1942, April 16). Chicago Daily Tribune. Fultonhistory.com.

[2] There is no matching birth record in Marsala for 1883, the year of birth usually reported for Anselmi. Index of registered births. (1883). Archivio di Stato di Trapani > Stato civile italiano > Marsala > 1883 > Nati https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua16203447/0JR8KGG Img 294 of 302

[3] Atto di nascita, Alberto Anselmi. (1882, July 16). Record no. 901. Archivio di Stato di Trapani > Stato civile italiano > Marsala > 1882 > Nati suppl. 2 https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua16203444/wEr4We7 Img 42 of 285; Atto di matrimonio, Alberto Anselmi and Vita Chirco. (1909, February 20). Record no. 74. Archivio di Stato di Trapani > Stato civile italiano > Marsala > 1909 > Matrimoni https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua16184106/Lo4vNjA Img 47 of 244

[4] My Al Capone Museum website claims Anselmi entered the US illegally around September 1924. https://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id132.htm

[5] Index of registered births. (1900). Archivio di Stato di Trapani > Stato civile italiano > Castelvetrano > 1900 > Nati https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua16129454/LymYQxK Img 563 of 565.

[6] Alberto Anselmi and Giovanni Scalise. (2009, June). My Al Capone Museum [website]. https://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id132.htm Accessed on 27 December 2024.

[7] “New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CN-Y4CJ : Fri Mar 08 21:26:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Gerardo Migliore and Antonia Casa, 20 August 1878; “Illinois, Births and Christenings, 1824-1940”, , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V22K-YV9 : 13 February 2020), Francesco Migliore, 1882; “United States, Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DHX3-KC6?cc=1325221&wc=9B7N-J4H%3A1030552601%2C1031967101%2C1034383501 : 5 August 2014), Illinois > Cook > ED 614 Precinct 31 Chicago city Ward 19 > image 7 of 32; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

[8] “United States, Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRH3-8WS?cc=1810731&wc=QZF3-4JH%3A648807601%2C648807602%2C649525001%2C1589291661 : 8 December 2015), Illinois > Cook > Chicago (Districts 2377-2626) > ED 2587 > image 1 of 20; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).

[9] Certificate of marriage, Gerardo Migliore and Antonia Cava. (1989, August 20). Cert. no. 4413. Manhattan. DORIS. https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/7964556 

[10] Hunt, T. (2021). Albert Anselmi (1883-1929). the American Mafia [Website]. https://mob-who.blogspot.com/2011/04/anselmi-albert-1883-1929.html

[11] Scalisi, Capone bodyguard, held in gang killing. (1929, March 7). The Chicago Tribune. P. 3. https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-john-scalise-arrested-in/120078475/; Hunt, T. (2021). Albert Anselmi (1883-1929). the American Mafia [Website]. https://mob-who.blogspot.com/2011/04/anselmi-albert-1883-1929.html

[12] Baptism of Joseph Giunta. (1890, August 25). P. 238. “Italia, Palermo, Diocesi di Monreale, Registri Parrocchiali, 1531-1998,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-D1C9-ZYV?cc=2046915&wc=MG3C-HZ3%3A351040701%2C351040702%2C351062001 : 20 May 2014), Cinisi > Santa Fara Vergine > Battesimi 1882-1891 > image 300 of 328; Archivio di Arcidiocesi di Palermo (Palermo ArchDiocese Archives, Palermo).

[13] Petition for naturalization, Anna Sorce. (1943, June 22). Number 257845. District Court of the US at Chicago, IL. National Archives at Chicago; Chicago, Illinois; ARC Title: Petitions For Naturalization, 1906-1991; NAI Number: M1285; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: Rg 21 Description: Petitions, V· 1042-1044, No· 257477-258150, 1942 Ancestry.com. Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

[14] “Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1969”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q212-7429 : Fri Mar 08 00:52:34 UTC 2024), Entry for Joseph Sorce and Anna Guinta, 11 Apr 1934.

[15] “United States, Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MB-V643?cc=2000219&wc=QZXT-QN3%3A790104501%2C791862901%2C801592301%2C801627201 : accessed 26 December 2024), Illinois > Cook > Chicago City, Chicago, Ward 42 > 103-2654 Chicago City Ward 42 (Tract 128 – part) > image 14 of 81; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.

[16] May, A.R. (2000, November 13). Chicago’s Unione Siciliana 1920 A decade of slaughter (part eight – final). AmericanMafia.com [Website]. https://www.americanmafia.com/Allan_May_11-13-00.html

[17] Scalisi, Capone bodyguard, held in gang killing. (1929, March 7). The Chicago Tribune. P. 3. https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-john-scalise-arrested-in/120078475/

[18] Lombardo and aids freed in gun toting case. (1928, January 7). Chicago Daily Tribune. Fultonhistory.com.

[19] Deitche, S. M. (2018, December 18). Hoodlums at the Statler. The Mob Museum [Website]. https://themobmuseum.org/blog/hoodlums-at-the-statler/

[20] Associate of Genna taken in gang hunt. (1929, March 7). The Washington Post. P. 3. Fultonhistory.com.

[21] Hunt, T. (2021). Guinta, Giuseppe (1887-1929). The American Mafia [Website]. http://mob-who.blogspot.com/2011/05/guinta-giuseppe-1929.html retrieved 21 November 2022

[22] John Scalise. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scalise Accessed 27 December 2024.

[23] Allan May credits George Meyer. https://www.americanmafia.com/Allan_May_11-13-00.html

[24] 3 slain; Scalisi, Anselmi? (1929, May 8). Chicago Daily Tribune. P. 1. Fultonhistory.com.

[25] May, A.R. (2000, November 13). Chicago’s Unione Siciliana 1920 A decade of slaughter (part eight – final). AmericanMafia.com [Website]. https://www.americanmafia.com/Allan_May_11-13-00.html

[26] Death of Albert Anselmi. (1929, May 8). Cert. no. 17116. Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011; Year: 1929; Roll: 07 Roll Number: 07 Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

[27] Alberto Anselmi and Giovanni Scalise. (2009, June). My Al Capone Museum [website]. https://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id132.htm Accessed on 27 December 2024.

[28] Bodies of two gang murder victims to be sent to Italy. (1929, May 10). The Troy Times (Troy, NY). P. 1. Fultonhistory.com.

[29] New gang rift seen in kidnap torture story. (1929, June 3). Chicago Daily Tribune. Fultonhistory.com.