Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Franklin Rio aka Frank Rio and Frank Cline[1] (June 30, 1895-February 23, 1935) was a member of Al Capone's Chicago-based criminal organization known as the Chicago Outfit. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17 1899 &ndash January 25 1947 commonly nicknamed Scarface, was an Italian American Gangster who Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The Chicago Outfit shortened to " the Outfit " is a Crime syndicate based in Chicago Illinois, USA. He was also an alleged gunman in the famous 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The Saint Valentine's Day massacre is the name given to the murder of seven people as part of a Prohibition Era conflict between two powerful criminal gangs in Chicago [1]

Contents

Early life

According to his death certificate, Frank Rio was born June 30, 1895 in Lovato, Italy, to Antonio and Rosa (Costa) Rio. It is possible that Rio may have been born in Chicago after his parents had already emigrated to the United States, or that he was brought into the country under a different name.

Rio married the former Anna Blanche in the mid-1910s. The couple adopted two children, a boy and a girl.

Organized crime involvement

Rio's involvement in crime began early in life, and included robbery, burglary, and auto theft. Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. In 1918, he was arrested several times in connection with several different hold-ups. In September 1918, he was arrested for robbing a bank in Maywood, but never convicted. Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. On November 10, 1919, Rio was arrested after police caught him loading stolen furs into a stolen vehicle. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force Fur clothing is Clothing made entirely of or partially of the Fur of animals On January 17, 1921, Rio—along with Robert O'Neill and Thomas Dyer—robbed a mail train at Chicago's Union Station, stealing bonds worth $482,000. Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Although indicted for the daring daylight robbery, Rio was never brought to trial and the charges dropped. [2] Rio's ability to escape punishment could not be attributed to good luck or innocence but rather to the bribing of judges and the intimidation and murder of witnesses. In time, criminal elements dubbed him "Slippery" Frank Rio for his knack at evading trial. [3]

Capone gang

Rio's criminal exploits brought him to the attentipn of Al Capone, leader of the Chicago Outfit. Capone quickly came to trust Rio's judgment, and Rio became intensely loyal to Capone. Rio eventually became one of Capone's personal bodyguards and took care of some of Capone's personal needs and business. Capone himself is rumored to have said that Jack McGurn and Rio were his "golden boys". Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn (1905&ndash February 15, 1936) was a key member of Al Capone 's Chicago -based criminal organization known

Rio became one of Capone's most recognizeable and loyal hitmen. He allegedly once threw Capone to the ground during a hit by Earl "Hymie" Weiss. Contract killing occurs when a private contractor or a government hires someone to kill a specific person or people for a sum of money Earl "Hymie" Weiss ( January 25, 1897 - October 11, 1926) was a Polish-American mobster who became a leader of the Prohibition [4] Rio also is said to have foiled a plot by Albert Anselmi, John Scalise and Joseph Guinta to depose Capone and take over the Chicago Outfit. Albert Anselmi ( July 15, 1883 - May 7, 1929) was a Chicago mobster who became an infamous hitman during the Prohibition era for the John Scalise ( 1900 - May 7, 1929) was an American Organized crime figure of the early 20th century and with partner Albert Anselmi, Underworld figures later claimed that Rio was one of the trio's executioners. [5]

In 1929, Rio was suspected as possibly one of the hitmen who murdered five rival gang members, a gang "hanger on" and the gangs occasional auto mechanic in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Posing as police officers, four men entered a warehouse at 2122 N. Clark Street used by George "Bugs" Moran and his gang. George Clarence "Bugs" Moran was born Adelard Cunin on August 21 1891 according to his biographer (see BugsMoran The men lined their seven victims against a wall as if to frisk and handcuff them. They then pulled Thompson submachine guns from their overcoats and murdered the men. The Thompson submachine gun is an American Submachine gun that became infamous during the Prohibition era [1] Two of the men also suffered shotgun blasts to the head. Rio has always been a strong suspect as one of the shooters, but notwithstanding good circumstantial claims for more than a dozen different men (there were only four shooters), it is still not known for certain who any of the four shooters were.

Rio also attended the 1929 Atlantic City Conference with Capone. The Atlantic City Conference of 1929 is considered by most crime historians as the earliest organized crime summit held in the United States and held a major impact on the future direction Capone arranged to have himself jailed in Philadelphia after the conference in order to avoid the numerous "murder-for-hire" rackets that were hunting him. Contract killing occurs when a private contractor or a government hires someone to kill a specific person or people for a sum of money Rio served time alongside Capone to protect him and see to his needs. [5]

Rio was allegedly one of the few members of Capone's gang who understood the seriousness of the tax evasion charges made against Capone by the federal government in 1931. Tax avoidance is the legal utilization of the Tax regime to one's own advantage in order to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law However, he was unable to convince Capone of this, and Capone was convicted and imprisoned.

After Capone was sent to federal prison, Rio was considered as his successor. But Rio was opposed by many high-level mobsters in the Capone organization. Many thought he had too little leadership experience. Several gangsters also accused Rio of having "gone soft" due to his years of "high living" he had enjoyed alongside Capone. Rio was eventually passed over in favor of another Capone hitman and lieutenant, Frank Nitti. Francesco Raffaele Nitto, better known as "Frank 'The Enforcer' Nitti" ( January 27, 1888 – March 19, 1943) was an

Post-Capone activities

Although Rio never left the Capone mob, his association with it dwindled over the next several years. In 1932, the Chicago Outfit sent Rio to New Jersey to offer the mob's assistance in helping Charles Lindbergh find his kidnapped baby son. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout His assistance was refused.

Rio's health also began to deteriorate. He suffered from heart disease, which caused severe shortness of breath and physical weakness. Heart disease is an Umbrella term for a variety for different diseases affecting the Heart. Beginning in 1933, he rarely left his Oak Park home. Oak Park Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the City of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. However, he maintained financial interests in a number of cafes, nightclubs and casinos.

Death

Frank Rio died at noon on February 23, 1935. The cause of death was a coronary occlusion, causing a heart attack. A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a Coronary artery. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply

Associates in the Chicago Outfit took charge of his remains and had him buried. Police later said that gang members became involved in his burial because they wanted to divide up Rio's gang-owned assets before news of his death hit the streets.

Although a Roman Catholic, the Church denied Rio a church funeral. A priest said prayers over his body at a local undertakers instead. As befitting a high-level mobster, his funeral was an exceedingly large one. Several hundred automobiles bearing mourners comprised the funeral cortege. He was interred in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. Hillside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States.

Rio's wife, Anna, re-married in November 1936. She died shortly after the marriage in an automobile accident on December 26, 1936. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. She left behind a large amount of jewelry and cash. According to family members, mobsters later intimidated the family into turning the valuables and cash over to the Chicago Outfit.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Robert J. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0688128386
  2. ^ "Mail Robbery Suspects Are Held to Grand Jury," Chicago Daily Tribune, October 4, 1921; "$1,000,000 Mail Robbery Solved, Inspectors Say," Chicago Daily Tribune, October 3, 1921.
  3. ^ Edwin W. Sims, "Fighting Crime in Chicago: The Crime Commission," Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 11:1 (May 1920).
  4. ^ Jack Kelly, "Gangster City," American Heritage, 46:2 (April 1995). One other source attributes the saving of Capone's life to Tony Accardo instead. Antonino "Joe Batters" Accardo aka "Big Tuna" (April 28 1905 - May 22 1992 rose from a small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the See: William F. Jr Roemer, Accardo: The Genuine Godfather, Ivy Books, 1996. ISBN 0804114641
  5. ^ a b Curt Johnson and R. Craig Sautter, The Wicked City: Chicago from Kenna to Capone, paperback ed. , Da Capo Press, 1998. ISBN 0306808218

References

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic