"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." - Chicago Gangster Ted Newberry. Rubbed out January 7, 1933

Monday, August 25, 2008

Bill O

There was an upper west side feud on between the “Midway Mob” and the “White Roses” the latter being an uptown faction of the Gophers and ninety-five years ago tonight the boys of the “Midway Mob” were holding a dance at the Midway clubhouse with about one hundred couples in attendance. After a while a bouncer noticed that two members of the “White Roses” were in attendance and he and some “Midway Mob” boys threw them out of the club house in a less than polite manner. The “White Roses” pledged vengeance as they walked away.
A few hours later the two gangsters returned with five friends in a large touring sedan. The driver dropped them off and then drove away as the seven gangsters pushed the doorman aside and entered the clubhouse. When they reached the dance floor they whipped out their shooting irons and blasted away. A “Midway Mobster” quickly doused the lights and everyone scattered whilst a gunfight erupted. When the lights came back on William O’Shaughnessy was lying on the dance floor and while the rest of the “White Roses” covered the crowd two of them grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside just as another car was pulling up. They tossed the dead or dying gangster into the car, which then took off leaving two of the gang members stranded. The car proceeded to Roosevelt Hospital where the gansters propped O’Shaughnessy’s body up in sitting position against the door and beeped the horn until a doctor came out and stumbled over the corpse.

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