Albert Anselmi
July 15, 1883 to May 1929

Anselmi was a bootlegger and enforcer in the Genna Brothers Mafia Family in Chicago who later became an important figure in the Al Capone Outfit.

Between 1925 and 1927, Anselmi and his perpetual companion John Scalise, battled cop-killing charges arising from the shooting deaths of two Chicago detectives. After three trials, in which the defendants argued that they used deadly force against the police officers in self-defense, the two men were freed.

Anselmi, a native of Marsala, Sicily, pulled away from the Sicilian Mafia in Chicago - then controlled by the Aiello clan - and moved toward the Capone mob.

Many believe that Capone used Anselmi, Scalise and others to execute the St. Valentine's Day massacre of Bugs Moran's men.

Just three months after that bloody event, Anselmi, Scalise and Joseph Guinta were found dead in Indiana. The accepted story is that Capone discovered the men were plotting against him and beat them to death with a baseball bat.

It is possible that Capone's repeated interference with the Unione Siciliana caused Anselmi and the others to rethink their allegiance. However, it seems at least as likely that Capone was removing evidence of his connection to the massacre. Scalise had recently been indicted for involvement in the murders of the Moran gangsters.

© 2007 T.Hunt
The American "Mafia"