On 14th February 1929, the SMC Cartage Company garage in Lincoln Park, Chicago, came to the nation’s attention as the scene for the brutal execution of six mobsters and one mechanic in what became known as the St. Valentine’s Day massacre.

It was one of the most cold-blooded mass killings during the prohibition mob wars in Chicago. The elimination of six mobsters and one mechanic, who just happened to be in the garage when the execution squad arrived, took place after they were lined up against the wall and machine-gunned in the back.

The execution was ordered by the notorious Al Capone, leader of the South Side Italian which was engaged in a protracted dispute with the North Side Irish/ German gang, fronted by George ‘Bugs’ Moran, the target of the St. Valentine killing. Tensions had been running high for some time as the rival gangs disputed the rights to Chicago bootlegging and control of local dog tracks. As the rivalry escalated, so did the violence leading to murders and many failed attempts to kill members of each other’s gangs.

The enmity between Moran and Capone had simmered for many years and this was Capone’s attempt to finally rid himself of his troublesome rival. His grudge had been harboured for three years when Moran had previously tried to murder Capone at the gang boss’ hotel in Chicago and ever since Capone had vowed to get even.

Posing as policemen in full uniform, two gangsters inflicted the coup de grace on the six mobsters and unfortunate mechanic, but Moran – the real target of the attack – was late getting there and so escaped death. But, even though he lived, the massacre effectively put an end to Moran’s gangland escapades in Chicago. Although he outlived Capone, he was later jailed twice for robbery and died of lung cancer aged 63, ironically riddled by cancer and not bullets, as many had predicted.

With the Chicago police unable to pin any of the murders or extensive racketeering laid at Capone’s door, the mobster was eventually jailed for 11 years for tax evasion served mostly at Alcatraz, but was released after just six years, out early for good behaviour. However, his health has seriously deteriorated and soon after he died of a heart attack at the age of 48.

The garage where the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre took place was demolished in 1967 and ironically is now a landscaped parking lot for a nursing home.