Vincenzo Genna
| James Genna | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Vincenzo Genna January 18, 1888 Marsala, Sicily, Italy |
| Died | November 8, 1931 (aged 43) Calumet City, Illinois, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart Disease |
| Resting place | Mount Carmel Cemetery |
| Occupation | gangster, bootlegger, racketeer, jewel thief, and olive oil importer. |
| Parent(s) | Antonino Genna Sr. Maria Concetta Utica |
| Allegiance | Genna crime family, Chicago Outfit, Unione Siciliana. |
Vincenzo “James” Genna (January 18, 1888 – November 8, 1931) was a Sicilian mobster in Chicago. He headed the Genna crime family with his brothers. Genna and his brothers raged a war against the North Side Gang before half of the brothers were killed and Genna fled.
Vincenzo Genna was born on in Marsala, Sicily. His parents, Antonio Genna Sr. and Maria had six other sons: Antonio “the Gentleman”, Angelo “Bloody Angelo”, Mike “the Devil”, Salvatore “Sam”, Pietro “Peter”, and Nicola Genna (who stayed in Sicily); and two sisters: Rosa Laudicina and Caterina Mariana. He and his brothers entered the U.S. through New York around 1910.
The Genna brothers became a close knit Marsala-based Mafia and bootlegging gang. When Prohibition became a federal law in 1919, the Gennas obtained a federal license to legally manufacture industrial alcohol, in which they sold illegally. Tony and his brothers operated from Chicago's Little Italy, which was located west of the Chicago loop.
During prohibition, Genna owned an illegal bar near Taylor and Halstead.
They started selling their extra alcohol at cut-rate prices outside of their territory on the North Side. This caused a problem with the North Side Gang leader Charles Dean O'Banion, who in turn, went to South Side Gang boss Giovanni "Johnny the Fox" Torrio and Unione Siciliana boss Mike Merlo to get the Gennas to back down. Torrio refused, so O'Banion started hijacking alcohol shipments belonging to the Genna brothers.
On November 3, 1924, Dean O'Banion inadvertently signed his own death warrant during an argumentative phone call to arch-rival Angelo Genna. Their disagreement originated at The Ship, the gambling casino that the North Side gang boss owned along with the Torrio Syndicate. On this day, O'Banion sat in with Al Capone, Frank Nitti, Frank Rio, and others to tally the week's profits. It was mentioned that Angelo Genna had dropped a large amount of cash, plus a sizable marker. Capone recommended that they cancel the marker as a professional courtesy. O'Banion, instead, got Genna on the telephone and demanded that he pay his debt within a week. With this personal insult, Angelo Genna and his family could no longer be restrained. Until then, Merlo and the Unione had refused to sanction a hit on O'Banion. However, Merlo had terminal cancer and died on November 8, 1924. With Merlo gone, the Gennas and South Siders were free to move on O'Banion.
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