The St. Valentine's Day massacre - William J. Helmer

The machine-gun murdersof seven men on the morning ofFebruary 14, 1929, by killers dressed as cops became the gangland"crime of the century." Or so the story went. Since then it has been featuredin countless histories, biographies, movies, and television specials. The St.Valentine's Day Massacre, however, is the first book-length treatment of thesubject. Challenging the commonly held assumption that Al Caponeordered the wholesale slayings to gain supremacy in the Chicago underworld,authors William J. Helmer and Arthur J. Bilek assert the crime was acase of bad timing and poor judgment by a secret crew from St. Louisknown to Capone's mostly Italian mob as the "American boys."

The target of the murder squad was indeed Bugs Moran, but the Americanboys, who were dressed as policemen and arrived in two bogus policecars, entered the garage where the massacre took place before Moranarrived. Not knowing who Moran was or what he looked like, the counterfeitcops stupidly killed everyone to make sure they got their man.

Based on a careful review of reliable evidence, a critical reading of newsaccounts of the time, a 1935 manuscript written by the widow of one of thegunmen, and a lookout's long-suppressed confession, The St. Valentine's DayMassacre is a fresh new look at the crime that captured the nation's imagination.In the end, the machine-gun bullets heard 'round the world markedthe beginning of the end for Al Capone.