California dreaming

In 1926, twenty-seven year old Dominic Di Ciolla headed from Chicago to L.A. more than two thousand miles all the way. Whether or not he got his kicks on Route 66 or not is unknown but the former Windy City bad man was attempting to get his piece of Los Angeles bootlegging pie. An ambition that cost him his life; his body was found on this date back in 1931.

Di Ciolla, according to law enforcement, sought to be the criminal king of Los Angeles's Italian colony. He was arrested numerous times on "liquor charges" and twice on suspicion of murder. Reconstructing his death, police believe that he was lured to a remote road about five miles outside of Van Nuys. He put his car in park, got out and crossed the street to a waiting car. As he approached the other car he took off one of his gloves, probably to shake someone's hand. Instead of a friendly handshake however he was greeted with a blast from a shotgun that took off a chunk of his head.

Di Ciolla's killers drove off and left him in the road where he was found in the morning. The head lights of his car still burning.

Dominic Di Ciolla

Sam's (Swan) Song

Sam Monastero took precautions. He wasn't naive. His brother was a Pittsburgh Mafia boss who was gunned down. He knew the life, so he took measures to protect himself. His coupe was bullet proof and the glass shatterproof. There was a shot gun strapped to the inside door in case some enemies pulled up along side him. But none of these safeguards are effective when your killers don't come at you on the road, so Sam met a gangsters fate on this date back in 1930.

A witness stated that Sam's car sped his own and a short time later the driver saw two kids flagging him down, and the coupe in a ditch. The rear compartment was on the fire and the driver doused the flames and went to check on Sam who he considered to be an unconscious drunk. Turns out that Sam had been garroted, either in his car, or elsewhere, and his body transferred to the car. Either way before he could be delivered to his final resting spot the driver of coupe crashed and got away unseen.

Sam Monastero

Rocky Mountain Die (Colorado)

On this St. Patrick's Day back in 1932, four of Denver, Colorado's providers of intoxicating spirits were driving about town. At the wheel was Vincent Mortellaro, unknown to police, but assumed to be a bootlegger. In the back were Joe Barry and Roxy Stone, both known gangsters. Riding shotgun was Mortellaro's brother in-law, Frank Mortelli. Speaking of shotguns, as the quartet motored along, a black sedan pulled up along side them and a shotgun barked. The blast instantly killed Mortellaro and, as his car careened into the curb, the black auto pulled up along side and opened fire again. Barry and Stone were slightly wounded as they jumped out and ran. Mortelli was injured by the volley that killed his brother in-law, but not seriously.

Stone was still recovering from a wound he received a week previous and Barry lost two other associates, Sam and Pete Carlino, to gangster bullets a year or so earlier.