Joseph Nerone was known throughout the Italian underworld as Il Cavaliere. He attained some infamy the previous year when he put Tony Genna on the spot. After his tenure with the Gennas, Nerone ventured into Chicago Heights and became a successful racketeer.
On August 20, 1926 Nerone, now going by Tony Spano, was lured to a barber shop in Chicago. It appears that he was somewhat apprehensive because as he pulled up to the shop in his expensive sedan, he had his gun out. As he stepped from his car, three men stepped out of an alley and opened fire on him.
Nerone managed to get off a few shots before being riddled in the head and belly and dropping dead. In the aftermath of the shooting a couple of the surviving Genna brothers, whom authorities believed were in Italy, were picked up for questioning. It was assumed that they killed him in retaliation for setting up their brother Tony. Another theory was that he may have been bumped off by a Chicago Heights outfit known as the Piazza gang. Other reports have him as a member of that gang.
Joseph Nerone AKA Il Cavaliere
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