"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." - Chicago Gangster Ted Newberry. Rubbed out January 7, 1933

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Shots for a Big Shot

On this date in 1933 Chicago big shot Ted Newberry was found alongside an Indiana road near Lake Michigan. He had some pistol bullets in his head and his right hand was hanging by a thread due to a shot gun blast. Ted rose in gangland ranks as a member of Chicago's North Side gang. After the the St. Valentine's Day massacre however, Ted figured that working for Al Capone might be healthier than working against him and switched allegiances and reportedly managed the gangs North Side liquor concern. Apparently Al was fond of Ted as the latter was found wearing a diamond belt buckle that Al was known to give to his pals.
   Guesses were made as to why a high level Capone guy was erased from gangland. Perhaps it was in retaliation for a hijacking. Perhaps. Or, now that Capone was gone and not coming back anytime soon, perhaps there were some young turks looking to overthrow the old guard. Perhaps. Capone historian Mario Gomes tells us that Ted had a hand in setting up Frank Nitti who was shot by Chicago police the previous December 19, in an attempted assassination made to look like a police raid. Nitti survived and his camp learned of Newberry's role in the plot and well...

2 comments:

John DuMond said...

I guess Big Al should've given his pals Kevlar Suits (and hats) instead of diamond belt buckles.

Patrick Downey said...

Hindsight is 20/20...and in this case funny.