In Chicago, notorious gangster Al Capone had wanted to teach a similar lesson to his rival – Bugs Moran. Mobsters s2e7: Mob’s Greatest Hits
Al Scarface Capone rose to power in the 1920s. ibid.
Capone had had enough: he decided to end the war once and for all. ibid.
Valentine’s Day 10.30 a.m. ... The Moran crew was waiting for their leader to arrive ... Men dressed in police uniforms arrived at the garage and walked into the building. ibid.
No-one was ever arrested in connection with the St Valentine’s Day Massacre. ibid.
Frank Calabrese senior was born on March 17th 1937 in a tough neighbourhood called The Patch on Chicago’s west side. Mobsters s4e2: Family Secrets
The bosses of Chicago’s underworld were pleased with the Calabrese loan sharking business. Frank and Nick were good earners. ibid.
He looked to take his eldest son along with him. ibid.
On June 14th 1986 Anthony Spilotro and his brother Michael arrived at a house in suburban Chicago. ibid.
Frank junior was determined to break free. ibid.
Frank Calabrese junior types a letter and mails it to the FBI. ibid.
Nick Calabrese the first made man from the Outfit ever to flip. ibid.
The Mob would never be the same. ibid.
August 1961: a hot summer night on Chicago’s south-west side, outside a meat-packing plant … Mobsters Tony Spilotro and Mario DeStefano dragged Jackson inside the warehouse: Mad Sam was waiting. Mobsters s4e3: Mad Sam DeStefano
The [42] Gang gave Sam junior the opportunity he had been looking for to make real money. ibid.
Sam DeStefano began his juice-loan racket. ibid.
While DeStefano amused the public, his outfit bosses were not laughing. ibid.
The Mobster who had killed a brother he didn’t trust was undone by the one he did. ibid.
America 2016: a country that’s become increasingly plagued by gun violence. And allegations of police brutality. Forces that are tearing the country apart. One of the worst afflicted places: Chicago. America’s third city. And President Obama’s adopted home town. Gun violence in the city is spiralling out of control. Reggie Yates: Life and Death in Chicago, BBC 2016
2015: 306 African-Americans were killed by police in America, 8 in Chicago alone. ibid.
African-Americans account for a third of the city’s residents. ibid.
Last year, 23 people were shot by police, 9 fatally. At the same time were were almost 2,500 black on black shootings, of which over 350 were fatal. ibid.
For over 150 years, the Chicago trading floors have been home to the most primal method of buying and selling. In 1997 more than 10,000 people traded on the floors. Later that year, computer trading emerged. Today, about 10% remain. Floored, 2009
‘Chicago: it’s physical’ … ‘You saw the worst in everyone’ … ‘The physicality in the pit was ridiculous’ … ibid.
Futures Trading 101: ‘for buyers and sellers to manage the risk against unpredictable price fluctuations.’ ibid.
Many traders trade with their own money. ibid.
‘There’s a gambling mentality to what we do down there.’ ibid. trader
‘95% now of all global markets are electronic.’ ibid. Linda Raschke, LBR Group
Chicago Illinois: last memorial weekend 64 people were shot. At the heart of the violence: drugs. Dope s2e4: Is It Dangerous? Absolutely It’s Dangerous, Netflix 2018
1,862 people were shot on the west side in 2016. 226 died. ibid.
ARRESTED: US: Blagojevich tried to sell Senate seat in ‘political corruption crime spree.’ Trial by Media s1e6: Blago! Chicago Tribune headline Netflix 2020
Kerner: 7 months; Walker: 1.5 years; Ryan: 6.5 years … ‘Illinois is probably the heavyweight champion of corruption in that sense; we’ve had five governors who have been indicted in this state.’ ibid. John Drummond, WBBM-TV CBS2 Chicago reporter
‘The arrogance of Governor Blagojevich is beyond the pale.’ ibid. critic
‘Guilty of only one count in the corruption trial. Deadlock on twenty-three other charges.’ ibid. television news
Blago: The Sequel: Ex-governor gears up for Round 2 of corruption trial. ibid. newspaper article
Guilty: 17 charges of corruption. ibid. television news
Towards the end of August Chicago would erupt in violence as anti-war and anti-establishment demonstrations clashed with police at the Democratic Convention. 1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond, Kate Williams, Sky Arts 2018
A series of unexplained deaths near Chicago in 1982 starts a nationwide panic. The victims are connected by one frightening detail: ‘It looks like all these people took Tylenol and died that day.’ History’s Greatest Mysteries s3e12: The Chicago Tylenol Murders
Who actually committed the Chicago Tylenol murders? ibid.
Tests performed on capsules confirmed the investigators’ fears: Cyanide. ibid.
1982: Media coverage of the Chicago Tylenol murders is constant and frenzied.
Investigators finally receive … ‘a ransom letter at the Johnson and Johnson offices.’ ibid.
Police have a potential suspect: James William Lewis in custody. But can they prove he is the killer? … ‘His alibi says he was in New York’ … In October of 1983, one year after the Tylenol killings, Lewis is tried for extortion and convicted. He serves 13 years of his 20 year sentence. ibid.
In the early ’80s some madman turned ordinary bottles of Tylenol into lethal weapons. It was one of the most horrifying mass murders you’ve probably never heard of. And no-one has ever been caught and convicted for it. True Crime Recaps: Unsolved Tylenol Mass Murder, Youtube 17.38, 2022
September 1982, Chicago: Mary Kellerman … died in the ambulance on the way to hospital. ibid.
Other Chicago residents started dying under oddly similar circumstances. ibid.
The test results came back … the lethal contaminant was indeed cyanide. ibid.
There were poisoned bottles in pharmacies all over Greater Chicago. ibid.