Giuseppe Aiello | |
|---|---|
 Joe Aiello | |
| Born | September 27, 1890 |
| Died | October 23, 1930 (aged 40) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Multiple gun shots |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Rochester, New York, U.S. |
Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe aˈjɛllo]; September 27, 1890 – October 23, 1930) was a Sicilian bootlegger and organized crime leader in Chicago during the Prohibition era. He was best known for his long and bloody feud with Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone.
Aiello masterminded several unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Capone, and fought against his former business partner Antonio Lombardo, a Capone ally, for control of the Chicago branch of the Unione Siciliana benevolent society. Aiello and his ally Bugs Moran are believed to have arranged the murder of Lombardo, which directly led Capone to organize the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in retaliation.
Despite being forced to flee Chicago multiple times throughout the gang war, Aiello eventually took control of the Unione Siciliana in 1929, and ranked seventh among the Chicago Crime Commission's list of top "public enemies". Aiello was killed after Capone gunmen ambushed him as he exited a Chicago apartment building where he had been hiding out, shooting him 59 times. After his death, the Chicago Tribune described Aiello as "the toughest gangster in Chicago, and one of the toughest in the country".[1]