Adelard Cunin, better known as George 'Bugs' Moran, was a Chicago
Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before turning
21. On February 14, 1929, in an event that has become known as the Saint
Valentine's Day Massacre, seven members of his gang were gunned down in a
warehouse, supposedly on the orders of Moran's rival Al Capone.
Early life and career Moran was born Adelard Cunin to Jules
and Marie Diana Gobeil Cunin, French Canadian immigrants, in St. Paul,
Minnesota. While attending Creighton, a private school, he joined a local
juvenile gang. Moran left school at the age of 18 and was later caught robbing a
store. He was then sent to the state juvenile correctional facility. Moran
escaped and fled to Chicago where he was later caught trying to rob a warehouse,
taking part in a horse-stealing ring, taking part in robbery involving the
death of a police officer, and robbing a freight car for which he received a
variety of prison and jail term sentences. He married twice during his
career as a gangster, divorcing his first wife who was not comfortable with
his life style. Moran joined a gang in Chicago led by Charles “the Ox” Reiser
with other prominent members including Dean O'Banion, Hymie Weiss, and Vincent
Drucci; all of whom became well known members.
Prohibition Prohibition was established in 1920 with
the enactment of the 18th Amendment, which banned the distribution of
alcoholic beverages. Subsequently, criminal enterprises sprang up to
smuggle liquor. They imported it, manufactured it, stole it and sold it as
a scarce commodity for great profit. The popularity of alcohol and lack of legal
competition ensured an endless supply of customers. This smuggling of alcohol was
called bootlegging. Soon, the criminals and gangsters were enjoying profits
beyond anything the basic rackets had ever provided. Among them were Dean
O'Banion and his group of mostly Irish thugs, including Bugs Moran, who became
known as the North Side Gang. Al Capone succeeded Johnny Torrio as the leader of
the Italian mob on the South Side. These two rivals fought violently resulting in
what is known as, “The Bootleg Battle of the Marne.”
Battling Al Capone The bootlegging operation of Earl Weiss
and Bugs Moran continued to pose a significant challenge to Capone's South
Side Gang. Moran and Capone then led a turf war with each other that cost them
both. Moran's hatred of Capone was apparent even to the public. Moran was
disgusted that Capone engaged in prostitution. He would not increase
profits himself by engaging in prostitution rings due to his Catholic
religion. Torrio’s gang killed Dean O’Banion and in an attempt to avenge
him, Bugs Moran and Earl “Hymie” Weiss made an attempt on Torrios’ life. They
went on to make a failed attempt on Al Capone’s life at his headquarters the
Hawthorne Inn in Cairo, Illinois. More than one thousand shots were fired at
the inn and at a nearby restaurant in their attempts to kill Capone. In
retaliation Weiss’s life was taken by Al Capone’s gang and Bugs Moran became head
man of the North Side Gang. Responding to Weiss’s death, Moran tried to kill a
member of Capone’s gang resulting in an attack, allegedly from Capone, known as
the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. St. Valentine's Day Massacre
On February 14, 1929, Capone tried to strike a decisive blow against Moran
with the notorious Saint Valentine's Day massacre. On February 13, 1929, a
tempting phone call to Moran told him that a truckload of whisky had just
arrived from Detroit and he could have it at a bargain price. He ordered the
whiskey to be delivered at 10:30 the next morning at the garage of the S.M.C.
Cartage Company on North Clark Street, where he kept his bootlegging trucks.
Two gunmen dressed as police, and two others in plain clothes, lined up seven
of Moran’s people against the wall in the warehouse and slaughtered them.
However, the main target of the "hit", Moran, narrowly eluded death. Moran
spotted the “police car” outside the warehouse and, believing a raid was in
progress, doubled back to a coffee shop with his bodyguards. Another North
Sider, Al Weinshank, was misidentified as Moran by one of Capone's lookouts who
signaled for the attack to begin. The men were lined up against the wall and
shot repeatedly. Responders were late to the scene due to the lack of reporting
by neighbors who thought that whatever had occurred had been taken care of when
they saw the two “police officers” exit the area from which the gunshots were
heard. Six of the men were killed and another was near death when police
officers arrived on the scene. The 7th man, Frank Gusenberg, was taken to a
hospital where he refused to identify his killers following the gangster’s
code of silence and later died. When Moran saw the carnage, he broke the
gangster code accusing Capone of the murders. No one was convicted of the
crime and Capone denied all involvement in regards to the massacre.
After Prohibition Moran managed to keep control of his
territory and what remained of his gang through the end of Prohibition and
through the early 1930s. The North Side gang never fully recovered to its full
power and Moran eventually left the area and the gang. After losing power he
reverted to his earlier life and resumed committing common crimes like mail fraud
and robbery. On April 30, 1939, Moran was convicted of conspiracy to make and
cash $62,000 worth of American Express checks. Freed on appeal when he posted a
bond, he fled but was captured and not released until December 21, 1943. Moran
was later arrested for robbery in 1945 getting a sentence of 20 years after
being found guilty. After being released from his twenty-year sentence in Ohio
State Prison he was tried for robbery once again and found guilty in 1957. By
the 1940s, only 17 years after being one of the richest gangsters in Chicago,
Moran was almost penniless. Death in prison
After being tried for robbery in 1957, he was found guilty and sentenced to
five years. Moran died one month later of lung cancer at Leavenworth Prison in
Kansas on February 25, 1957. He was 63 years of age at the time of his death.
In popular culture References
Boyle, William. "Valentine's Day Massacre." Salem Press
EncyclopediaResearch Starters. Accessed March 22, 2015. EBSCOhost
Britannica Online. "Moran, George." Britannica Online Accessed March 22,
2015.EBSCOhost. George "Bugs" Moran, head-and-shoulders
portrait, facing left. 1957. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper
Photograph Collection, whereabouts unknown. Accessed 22 Mar. 2015.
http:www.loc.govitem George "Bug" Moran, head-and-shoulders
portrait, facing front. 1930. Library of Congress, whereabouts unknown. Accessed
22 Mar. 2015. http:www.loc.govitem "FEB 14 1929: The St Valentine's Day
Massacre in Chicago." History Today 59, no. 2: 10. Corporate ResourceNet,
Accessed March 23, 2015. EBSCOhost. Salem Press. American Villains.
Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press, 2008. 386-389. Accessed March 22, 2015.
EBSCOhost. External links
BugsMoran.net George "Bugs" Moran at Find a Grave