Lefty Leaves the Underworld

Frank "Lefty" Koncil was a top man in the Saltis-McErlane gang, one of the premier gangs of Chicago's Southside. In the fall of 1926 Koncil and Saltis were put on the trial for the murder rival gangster John "Mitters" Foley, an associate of Saltis and McErlane's chief rival Ralph Sheldon. Frank McErlane was also dealing with a murder trial at the time. In early November both Saltis and Koncil were acquitted but the trials of the three executives took a toll on business. With their legal troubles behind them, the gangsters began to make up for lost time.

"We're down. We're broke," Koncil told detectives in early March of 1927, "But we won't stay that way. We're going to get back what we used to have. We won't be pushed around any more. And if anybody gets in the way, we'll take care of him."

On the night of March 11, Less than a week after making those statements at the detective bureau, Koncil was in Saltis's sedan along with gang member Charles "Big Hayes" Hrubrek. It is believed that they had just exited a saloon where they were informing the proprietor that they were back in business. At about 11:45 pm, witnesses saw the Saltis car come flying around a corner followed by another sedan. The second car pulled up alongside the first and the shotguns went off. 

Koncil stopped the car and both he and Hrubrek hit the pavement. Another volley was fired and the latter, mortally wounded, fell face first to the ground. Koncil too collapsed. More shots were fired at him. After a few moments he got up and staggered a few few feet before dropping dead.

Frank "Lefty" Koncil      Charles Hrubek      

Dingbat Goes for a Ride

John "Dingbat" Oberta was a hoodlum who rose through ranks on Chicago's Southside. Along with crazy man Frank McErlane, he was part of gang leader Joe Saltis's executive board. In addition to bootlegging, Oberta dabbled in local politics as well. 

By 1930 Saltis was in exile in Wisconsin and it appears that his two cohorts, Oberta and McErlane couldn't get along. In February of that year, McErlane showed up at the hospital with a bullet wound to the leg. Most likely fired by his wife during a fight. On the evening of February 24, McErlane lay in bed recuperating; his leg up in traction. At about 9 p.m. two men entered his room and opened fire on him. 

McErlane prepared for just such an emergency. Pulling out a .45 from under his pillow, the gunman returned fire. Though hit three times, McErlane managed to scare of his would be killers. When questioned by the police as to who the invaders were McErlane is reported to have said:

"Look for them in a ditch. That's where you will find them...McErlane takes care of McErlane"

The next day, McErlane was released and taken to his parents house to recover from his wounds.

About a week later, on the evening of March 5, Dingbat Oberta called his wife at about 7 p.m. from their florist shop and told her of his evening's plans. Two and a half hours later, a cop found Oberta's Lincoln off the road in a ditch. Inside on the passenger side was Dingbat with what appeared to be a shotgun wound to the back of his head. Outside submerged in the icy water of the gully was Oberta's bodyguard and chauffer, Sammy Malaga. He had been shot a number of times before being tossed in.  

It appears that McErlane took care of things.

John Dingbat Oberta     Sammy Malaga     

The Tommy Knockers

Thomas Bonner was described as a low level Chicago racketeer. He dabbled in booze and narcotics but also took part in some hold ups. None of these paid him much. But it did keep him involved in the underworld which came in handy because he was a police informer.

Perhaps it was his loose lips that kept him out of jail, if so the trade of wasn't worth it. One of his confederates was Big Earl Herbert a ranking member of the Joe Saltis gang. In addition to making money money in Saltis's bootlegging business, Herbert also dabbled in armed robberies and counterfietting.

One day he saw a police lieutenant leave Bonner's house through the back door. Afterwards, he kept an eye on Bonner's abode and saw the officer come and go a number of times. It was determined that Bonner was a snitch and had to be dispatched.

On July 10, 1930 Herbert and another man went to Bonner's house. Mrs. Bonner stated that she heard her husband let the two men. After they conversed for a few minutes she heard one of the men yell,
 "You dirty rat stool!"
"You've got me all wrong on that." Bonner pleaded.
"No we haven't. Not this time."
The next thing Mrs. Bonner heard was two gun shots and her husband crashing on a table. Running back into the room she saw her prone husband, dead with two bullets in his head, and the two gunmen running from the house.

Thomas Bonner

Herbert would remain free until October 11, when he was arrested while sleeping in a basement with thousands of dollars worth of tobacco products that had been stolen from a Walgreen's warehouse.

Big Earl Herbert

The Last Delivery

Frank De Laurentis, a nephew of Chicago politician Diamond Joe Esposito, and John Tucillo, whose family was also well acquainted with the Espositos, were, according to a report, former members of the defunct Genna brothers gang who were now pushing booze for Ralph Sheldon's gang. 

Roman Duchovitz, who ran a saloon in the territory controlled by the Saltis-McErlane gang started buying his product from De Laurentis and Tucillo.

Not one to sit idle while his customers were poached, Joe Saltis paid a visit to Duchovitz and demanded to know when the two Sheldon men made their deliveries. On this date in 1926,  De Laurentis and Tucillo showed up at Duchovitz's saloon with some alcohol. Moments later a Lincoln sedan pulled up and four armed men entered the speakeasy. De Laurentis and Tucillo were marched out back to their own car and forced inside with three of the gunmen. The fourth followed in the Lincoln.

Later that night, with the curtains in the rear windows pulled close, a man pulled up in front of Sheldon's home in the De Laurentis and Tucillo auto. A neighbor stated that the man went to the front door and knocked but received no answer. Not surprising, because Sheldon, since his troubles with the Saltis-McErlane gang, was seldom seen at his house. With no answer at the door the man left in another car.

The De Laurentis- Tucillo car sat undisturbed in front of Sheldon's hose for nearly a week before the police were called to investigate. Thinking that it may have been stolen, officers looked inside and found the two alky peddlers in the back seat covered with a blanket.

L-R Frank De Laurentis and John Tucillo

Dammit Jim, I'm a gangster not a...

A cop knew him as "Bones." and according to the police he was a minor member of Joe Saltis' gang. Other than that there was no identification of the body found on this date in 1930 at 94th Street and Roberts Road. About a mile or so away from where Dingbat Oberta and Sam Malaga were found a few weeks before hand. It was theorized that his killing was a result of Dingbat Oberta's demise, but one never knows.