Big sleep for the leader of the Pillow Gang

Carmelo Fresina was the leader of what the St. Louis police had dubbed the Pillow gang. Why the Pillow gang? A few years previous Fresina was involved in a shootout and received a wound in the back side. Since then he took to carrying a pillow around to cushion himself when sitting.

Fresina was involved in extortion and bootlegging. He had some rum running trials approaching and on the evening of May 7, 1931, told his wife that he was leaving for a few days to "Fix those liquor cases against me."

The following morning a sedan was found on a roadside in Edwardsville, Illinois. On the rear floor was Fresina with two bullets in back of his head.

Carmelo Fresina