Maurice "Mossy" or "Mossie" Enright (died February 2, 1920) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

and one of the earliest

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

racketeers in the early 20th century. Little is known of Maurice Enright's background before his

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Territory (animal), territory in a communi ...

violent Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened o ...

and brutal methods managed to dominate Chicago's

labor unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

by the end of the 19th century. A veteran of the "Circulation Wars," he became a major figure in the city's steamfitters' union during the early 1910s and was instrumental in the rise of

Johnny Torrio John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian born-American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Sy ...

, who provided Enright with invaluable

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

protection from Chicago's First Ward vice district

Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members th ...

"Bathhouse" John Couglin and Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna. Enright remained in control of the city's labor unions into the early months of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

until his death on February 2, 1920, when he was gunned down near his South Side home (most likely by rival Timothy "Big Tim" Murphy or Johnny Torrio and

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

. Enright's death occurred shortly before the death of

James "Big Jim" Colosimo James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

). Although

Vincent Cosmano James Cosmano also known as "Sunny Jim" (born July 17, 1885 – May 2, 1963) was a leader of the Black Hand street gang in pre-Prohibition Chicago who tried to extort money from the South Side gang. Early years Born ''Vincenzo Cosmano'' in Molochi ...

was later arrested and eventually acquitted for the murder, only labor union racketeer James Vinci would be convicted of Enright's murder.

References

*Tim Novak, Robert C. Herguth and Steve Warmbir. "One family's rise, a century of power." ''Chicago Sun-Times''. 22 May 2006. (Discusses the opinion of the Chicago Police Department regarding the alleged involvement of reputed Outfit (organized crime) boss

Bruno Roti, Sr. Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

in the murder of Maurice "Moss" Enright). {{DEFAULTSORT:Enright, Maurice Year of birth missing 1920 deaths American gangsters Murdered American gangsters of Irish descent Gangsters from Chicago People murdered in Illinois Male murder victims Deaths by firearm in Illinois

Further reading

References