They Didn't Kill Him For Nothing

"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." This was the response that Chicago gangster Ted Newberry gave to police whenever questioned about a gangland murder.

Like those he discussed before him, Newberry too went for a one-way ride; his took place on January 7, 1933.  A product of Chicago's Northside, Newberry got involved with bootlegging in the early days of Prohibition. He muscled his away into the taxi racket and was pals with fellow racketeer Eugene Red McLaughlin during the days of the taxicab wars.

As the Roaring Twenties came to an end, Newberry was allied with George Bugs Moran and his Northside gang. In fact, Newberry narrowly missed being a victim of the St. Valentine's Day massacre as he was with Moran that morning. When they saw the rival gangsters (dressed as police) enter the gangs' headquarters, they dodged into a coffee shop assuming that it was a raid.

"He must have done something."

So what did Newberry do? In the early 1930s Moran was out of the picture and Newberry was allied with Al Capone. After Capone was sent to prison however, Newberry's relationship with Frank Nitti began to fall apart, his response was to have Nitti bumped off. A raid was set up in the latter's office in December of 1932 and Nitti was shot by a cop, but survived. After a few weeks recovery, Nitti figured out who was behind the botched raid and Newberry was removed. His body was found on a lonely stretch of road in Indiana.

Ted Newberry

Roadhouse Blues

With all the killings and what not, being a labor leader in Prohibition era Chicago was a stressful occupation. Looking for a bit of R&R, Patrick "Paddy" Berrell, vice-president of the Teamsters journeyed north to the resort town of Showano, Wisconsin. 

As a union head, one of Berrell's headaches was gangster George "Red" Barker, who attempted to unite all the Teamster unions under his leadership. Berrell fought him at each turn until a machine-gunner took care of Barker the previous June 17. A few weeks later Berrell headed for the peaceful seclusion of the Wisconsin woods. Could just be a coincidence that Berrell felt the need to leave Chicago after Barker's death or maybe...

On Wednesday July 20, 1932, former North Side gangster Willie Marks and his brother in-law drove up to visit Berrell. Marks was said to be Berrell's bodyguard. Willie's claim to fame was that he was with Bugs Moran on the morning of February 14, 1929 when the two men saw what they believed to be a police raid on the gangs' headquarters. Marks and Moran ducked into a coffee shop believing that they had avoided a raid when in fact it was rival gangsters who mowed down seven of the gang in what is referred to as the St. Valentine's day massacre. 

Berrell and Marks spent the following evening at the Lime Kiln Inn, a roadhouse situated on Highway 29 between the towns of Showano and Bonduel. In the wee hours of July 21, Berrell and Marks exited through the back door. Barely had the duo taken a few steps when a machine-gun lit up the night and both men dropped dead. It was assumed that Berrell's enemies followed Marks out from Chicago assuming correctly that he would lead them to Berrell.

Patrick Berrell         Willie Marks

Your dirty rat, you killed my brother...and me.

Alexander "Red" Applequist and his brother, Ernie, were  tending bar in their Chicago speakeasy.  Adorning the walls of their establishment were posters supporting the Republican candidates of an upcoming election. Red had a history of political activism having been arrested for killing a guy during some election day terrorism back in the teens. He got off on plea of self-defense. Ernie was said to have had close ties with North Side gangsters Dean O'Banion and George Bugs Moran. In addition to co-owning the speakeasy, Ernie was also the head of the City Chauffeur's union.

In recent weeks, Red confided to a friend that Capone henchman, Lawrance "Dago" Mangano had stopped by and told him to stop selling beer. Red told the friend that he did stop, but was hoping that if the politician he was promoting won the election, he'd be able to operate without worrying about the Capone forces.

On this night back in 1932, a couple of guys stopped in the Applequist speakeasy. Moments later both Applequist' lay behind the bar, each with a shotgun blast to the head. Police found four glasses of beer on the counter. Apparently Red didn't actually stop selling.

Two theories given for the double murder- Bumped off for defying Mangano or possibly troubles within the Chauffeur's union.

L: Alexander Red Applequist R: Ernie Applequist