Sangerman's Bombers were a criminal group of

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

ers based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

during the 1920s. The successors of Sweeney's Bombers, the gang was formed by Joseph Sangerman in the early-1920s, shortly after the arrests of the Sweeney gang in 1921. Hired out primarily by Chicago politicians and organized crime groups (such as

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or the Organization, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...

), the group was the first to use its services for

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s. As an officer of the Chicago barbers union, as well as a leading manufacturer of barber supplies, Sangerman began using the gang to bomb barber shops which refused to agree to union regulations. With the gang's early success, Sangerman began accepting jobs from outside trade unions. By the time of Sangerman's arrest in 1925, the gang, by Sangerman's own admission, included a well-organized group of six members which was hired from $50 to $700. George Matrisciano, a leading member of the gang, was considered one of the best bomb makers in Chicago history. After receiving several indictments against him as a result of Sangerman's arrest, Matrisciano was killed before his testimony. A later investigation by the Illinois Crime Survey suspected several members of the barbers union; however, no charges were filed. Another famous member of the Bombers was Cornelius "Con" Shea. The gang dissolved shortly afterward the indictment of Sangerman (who died while still awaiting trial, on February 12, 1926, following emergency intestinal surgery), and Matrisciano's death. The use of bombings as a means of intimidation had become less favorable from the negative press coverage, specifically during the Aldermen's Wars of 1916-1921 and the 1928 Republican convention known as the "

Pineapple Primary The Pineapple Primary was the name given to the primary election held in Illinois on April 10, 1928. The campaign was marked by numerous acts of violence, mostly in Chicago and elsewhere in Cook County. In the six months prior to the primary ele ...

", drew too much attention and public outcry and by the end of the decade the Chicago underworld had returned to more discreet methods of intimidation.

References

*Nash, Jay Robert. ''World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime.'' Chicago: Da Capo Press, 1993. {{ISBN, 0-306-80535-9 *Sifakis, Carl. ''Encyclopedia of American Crime.'' New York: Facts on File Inc., 1982. Former gangs in Chicago Bombing