History Daily Saturday Matinee: American History Tellers
Feb 14, 2026
A young Al Capone arrives in Chicago and climbs the violent bootlegging scene. Prohibition turns the city into a turf war battleground. Rival gangs, betrayals, and the rise of Tommy guns escalate into shocking public violence.
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The Shocking Garage Discovery
- A patrolman arrives at a snowy garage on February 14, 1929, and finds seven men executed in cold blood.
- The scene's brutality convinced the officer that gang violence had crossed a line and required action.
Prohibition Fueled Organized Crime
- Prohibition created a massive black market that empowered organized crime to expand rapidly.
- The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre marked a turning point where public outrage forced scrutiny of mob power.
Capone's Test And Move To Chicago
- Al Capone left Brooklyn for Chicago after proving himself to Johnny Torrio and resisting temptation to steal a test bag of cash.
- Torrio hired him as an errand boy, launching Capone's rise in organized crime.
