Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Saturday, April 1
    Trending
    • This Day in History on April 1st
    • This Day in History on March 31st
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through March 30th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on March 30th
    • Heroic Police Officers Neutralize Mentally Ill Woman Attacking Children
    • This Day in History on March 29th
    • Who Has Declared Their Candidacy for US President in 2024 So Far?
    • This Day in History on March 28th
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Society»Crime»March 19, 1943: Gangster Frank Nitti Shoots Himself…Three Times!
    Crime

    March 19, 1943: Gangster Frank Nitti Shoots Himself…Three Times!

    Major DanBy Major DanMarch 19, 2016Updated:February 26, 20208 Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp

    A Brief history

    On March 19, 1943, the successor to Al Capone’s crime empire was drunk and despondent over a pending Grand Jury appearance.

    Digging Deeper

    Frank Nitti, 57 years old, was running the Chicago crime scene having taken over when he and Al “Scarface” Capone went to jail for tax evasion.  Capone had gotten 11 years in prison, while Nitti, Capone’s second in command, had only been sentenced to a year and a half.  When Nitti was released in 1932, he took over as the crime lord of Chicago.  Or did he?  Some evidence exists that indicate Nitti was the big boss in name only, and the real power behind the scenes lay with his supposed lieutenant, Paul “The Waiter” Ricca.

    Nitti’s life took a turn for the worse in 1932 when Chicago police attempted to murder him, shooting him 3 times in the back and neck while slightly wounding a policeman to make it look like they shot Nitti in self defense.  Nitti not only survived, but he was acquitted of attempted murder, while the police involved got a $100 fine for simple assault and were fired!  The story behind that incident is that Mayor Cermak may have been responsible for the attempt in an effort to replace Nitti with a gangster boss controlled by city hall!  One way or another, Cermak got his only two months later when he was assassinated while talking to President Roosevelt!

    Nitti and the Chicago mob had branched out from bootlegging at the end of prohibition into all sorts of aspects of crime, one of which was manipulating labor unions to extort money from Hollywood production companies.  This activity would prove to be Nitti’s undoing. M ob leaders blamed Nitti for their predicament and made it clear that since the scheme was Nitti’s idea and since the government informant was someone Nitti vouched for that Nitti should take the blame and go to jail to prevent the others from serving time.  Nitti had been traumatized by his 1931 stint in prison and was terrified of returning behind bars.  He may or may not have also been suffering from terminal cancer, but certainly was claustrophobic and was dreading confinement.

    Drinking himself drunk, Nitti took a walk along a rail yard where trainmen witnessed him shoot himself in the head without effect!  That was apparently because he missed, putting a bullet through his hat!  Nitti’s next shot shattered his jaw but failed to put him down, and only the third shot behind his ear did the trick and Nitti was dead at 57.  Nitti had finished the job that crooked Chicago cops had failed at 12 years before!

    Nitti, being an Italian Catholic, was buried in a Catholic cemetery although normal Catholic doctrine is that suicides are a mortal sin and people who commit suicide are banned from Catholic cemeteries. Apparently, the coroner’s ruling that Nitti was temporarily insane due to intoxication and depression relieved Nitti of the responsibility for his decision to kill himself, another cracked chapter in this story!

    Frank Nitti lives on in re-runs of the 1950-60’s television show, The Untouchables as the main villain for Eliot Ness to chase around and in many movies played by actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Billy Drago, Stanley Tucci, and even Bill Camp on the cable television show, Drunk History!

    The final tidbit: Former NHL goalie, Antero Nittymaki wore a picture of Frank Nitti on his hockey mask!  Question for students (and subscribers): Who’s picture would you wear on yours?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Eghigian Jr., Mars.  After Capone: The Life and World of Chicago Mob Boss Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti.  Cumberland House Publishing, 2005.

    Humble, Ronald D.  Frank Nitti: The True Story of Chicago’s Notorious Enforcer.  Barricade Books, 2008.

    Nitti The Enforcer.  Direct Source Label, 2006.  DVD.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleMarch 19, 1987: Surprise! Jim Bakker, TV Preacher is a Fraud!
    Next Article 10 Inglorious Criminal Deaths
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    Heroic Police Officers Neutralize Mentally Ill Woman Attacking Children

    March 30, 2023

    History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?

    March 24, 2023

    This Day in History on March 19th

    March 19, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on April 1st

    April 1, 2023

    This Day in History on March 31st

    March 31, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through March 30th, 2023)

    March 30, 2023

    This Day in History on March 30th

    March 30, 2023

    Heroic Police Officers Neutralize Mentally Ill Woman Attacking Children

    March 30, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.