Charles O'Banion, Irish-American Mobster


Charles Dean O'Banion (July 8, 1892 - November 10, 1924) was an Irish-American mobster. In 1920, O'Banion started a bootlegging operation. He arranged for beer suppliers in Canada to start shipments immediately, and struck deals with whiskey and gin distributors. He quickly eliminated all competition. The O'Banion mob, known as the North Side Gang, ruled the North Side and the Gold Coast, a wealthy area of Chicago. At the height of his power, O'Banion was supposedly making about $1 million a year on liquor. Torrio, the head of the Italian South Side mob, and his lieutenant, Al Capone, met with all the Chicago bootleggers to work out a system of territories. The North Siders now became part of a huge Chicago area bootlegging combine. He led the North Side Gang until 1924, when he was murdered. Two bullets were fired into his chest, two into his throat, and a final shot into the back of his head as he lay face down on the floor. He was 32 years old. No photographer credited, undated.


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