Sponsored by ABC's new drama Red Widow: Organized crime has always thrived on intimidation and brutal acts, but sometimes the violence is unspeakably gruesome. Here are some of the most notorious mob hits, from a gruesome payback to the stool pigeon who couldn't fly:
The victims, whose bodies were ripped apart by the gunfire, were members of Bugs Moran's North Side Gang, who had been encroaching on Al Capone's territory. Months earlier, Moran also orchestrated a drive-by shooting, attacking Capone at a diner, giving Moran the dubious distinction of innovating the "drive-by" for the modern era.
Moran wasn't killed because he happened to sleep in that day. Capone wasn't charged with the murders because he had an alibi (the ol' "I was in Florida" excuse) but government officials redoubled their emphasis on stopping Capone. In 1931, Capone was put away for tax evasion.
The Golden Dragon Restaurant Massacre: In 1977, two factions of the Triads, the Joe Boys and the Ping Boys, were battling over money from illegal firecracker sales in San Francisco. The Ping Boys got 10% on the sales, and the Joe Boys wanted to steal that, but the Ping Boys managed to thwart them, killing one Joe Boy member and injuring others. But two months later on September 4, 1977, the Joe Boys went to exact their revenge, by heading to the Golden Dragon Restaurant, where Ping Boy member Michael Louie was dining.
Three masked men entered, firing all around. Five people, including two tourists, were killed and 11 others were wounded. None were gang members and the event prompted the San Francisco Police Department to form an Asian Gang Task Force.
Al Capone had an alibi for the massacre
