Gary J Sibio
Giovanni “Papa Johnny” Torrio On 24 Jan 1924, Torrio and his wife returned from a shopping trip. Three men opened fire on the car killing the driver, Robert Barton, Torrio’s wife and his dog. At that point the shooters noticed that Torrio was not in the car but was unloading the groceries. Weiss and Moran jumped from their car and shot Torrio. Moran walked up to him and was going to put a bullet in Torrio’s head only to discover that he had run out of ammunition. At that point they were scared off by an approacing car with a blaring horn. Torrio survived. Weiss decided it would be a good idea to form an alliance with gangster Joe Saltis who was on trial for murder. On 11 Oct 1926 jury selection began and Weiss, along with four of his men – bodyguard Sam Pellar, gangster Paddy Murray, attorney William W. O’Brien, and Benjamin Jacobs (O’Brien’s investigator) – were sighted in the vicinity. That afternoon they left for their State Street headquarters at the old Schofield flower shop. They parked their cars on Superior and turned onto State Street. They were unaware that there were two gunmen hidden in a nearby rooming house who opened fire with a submachine gun and shotgun. Weiss and Murray were fatally wounded. (Weiss actually died in the ambulance on the way to Henrotin Hospital.) O’Brien was hit four times. Pellar instinctively drew his .38 and fired a shot in the direction of shooters but struck Weiss as he fell to the sidewalk. Wounded and still under fire, Pellar and Jacobs retreated. Some of the bullets chipped the cornerstone of Holy Name Cathedral which can be seen today. Weiss (Wojciechowski) is buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. It is the same cemetery as Al Capone and Dean O’Banion.
Text © 2017 Gary J. Sibio. All rights reserved.
