Valentine's Day is known as a time of love. Valentine's Day is a celebration that comes once a year. A time when candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones. Al Capone, however, changed Valentine's Day for the people of Chicago in the year 1929, making it known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Al Capone was a well-known bootlegger in Chicago. When someone tried to interfere, Capone put an end to it. .
Al Capone had become the crime czar in Chicago. Capone ran gambling, prostitution, and several bootlegging rackets ("St. Valentine's Day Massacre" 1). During the time of prohibition, Capone would smuggle illegal substances into Chicago. Selling them to gangs at a reasonable price, thus making him money. Capone's fortune was estimated to be about 60 million dollars ("St. Valentine's Day Massacre" 1). Capone expanded his territories by killing rival gangs. Part of why he got his fortune. With that kind of money it gave Capone the most common motive in murder mystery history ("St. Valentine's Day Massacre" 1). .
Several rival gangs tried to compete with Capone. He left them all alone, or even dead. George "Bugs" Moran was also one of the leading gangsters in Chicago. Capone felt threatened by his work, and felt he had to be stopped. His plan was to be in Florida at the time of the assassination. Leaving Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn in control of what was to happen. This left Capone with an alibi so he could not be blamed for the assassination. McGurn, wanting to be away from the crime scene, took his girlfriend and checked into a hotel--leaving him with an airtight alibi (Bardsley 1). .
McGurn put together a team of out-of-towners to help lead the assassination. They lured Moran's men into a garage on 2122 Clark Street at 10:30 A.M. on February 14, 1929 (Bardsley 1). Moran's men believed they were buying whiskey at a good price. McGurn's men thought they saw Moran approach the garage and were ready to leave.
