Should've Sent Flowers

Stephen Monastero was the top mobster of Pittsburgh's North Side. In addition to bootlegging he was a supplier of corn sugar and the needed hardware to produce alcohol. His position was precarious as was evident by his bullet proof car and bodyguards. 

One of Monastero's confederates, Charles Spallino, was in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy and Monsastero, his brother Sam in tow, were paying him a visit in the early evening of August 6, 1929. The Monstero brothers pulled up in front of the hospital in Stephen's bullet proof car and parked behind a large sedan. The brothers got out of their car as Stephen's body guards, in another car, drove by planning to park closer to the hospital. 

As the Monasteros passed the sedan parked in front of them, sawed off shotguns protruded from behind curtains and let go. Stephen fell to the ground wounded. A man with a pistol jumped out of the sedan and ran up to the wounded gangster. As Monastero writhed in pain, the gunman fired a number of shots into his head, finishing the job.

By this time, Sam had his gun out and fired off a few shots before turning and running into the hospital. The gunmen in the sedan, fired a shot at the bodyguard car and sent a number of rounds into Spallino's hospital room.

Sam Monestero made it inside the hospital and ran out a side door. He was picked up a few blocks away. While investigating the shooting police found a trail of blood suggesting that Sam had hit the gunman who finished off his brother. The trail led to some bushes and then the trail was lost. The car containing the hit men took off leaving their wounded comrade behind. 

Stephen Monastero