Peter "Goosey" Gusenberg (September 22, 1888 – February 14, 1929), like his younger brother
Frank, was a
German-American
German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry.
According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...
contract killer
Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
and member of Chicago's
North Side Gang
The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was a primarily Irish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the South Side Gang, also ...
, the main rival to the
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 ...
. Peter Gusenberg participated in an infamous attack on Al Capone during a vicious gang war.
Early life
Peter Gusenberg Jr. was born at the Alexian Brothers Medical Center in
Chicago, Illinois
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 ...
to Peter Sr. and his wife. He was the firstborn of three sons and the namesake of his father Peter Gusenberg (Gusenberger) Sr. who was a first-generation
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
emigrant from
Gusenburg
Gusenburg is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north ...
, a municipality in the
Trier-Saarburg
Trier-Saarburg (; ) is a district in the west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north and clockwise) Bitburg-Prüm, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Birkenfeld, Sankt Wendel (Saarland), and Merzig-Wadern (Saarland). To ...
district, in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and his wife. His parents moved into a home at 434 Roscoe Street in
Lakeview, Chicago
Lakeview (also Lake View) is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located on the city's North Side and is bordered by Diversey Parkway (Chicago), West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road and Montros ...
where Peter lived with his brothers Frank (October 11, 1893
Chicago, Illinois
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 ...
) along with their youngest brother Henry who later moved to 5507 Bernice Avenue,
Portage Park, Chicago
Portage Park is located on the northwest side of the City of Chicago, Illinois and is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Portage Park is bordered by the community areas of Jefferson Park and Forest Glen to the north, D ...
. In 1901, when Peter Jr. was twelve years old, he returned home from school and found his mother on the floor, dead. Following this discovery, he pried off his mother's wedding ring, which Peter Sr. had bought for her back in Germany, and pawned it.
After graduating from petty crime into more serious offenses, the Gusenberg brothers teamed up with
Dean 'Dion' O'Banion,
Earl 'Hymie' Weiss,
Vincent 'The Schemer' Drucci,
George 'Bugs' Moran and other members of the
North Side Gang
The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was a primarily Irish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the South Side Gang, also ...
. Although Peter Jr. and his brother had little formal education, they both learned to speak German and English. He later married a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
-
Irish woman Myrtle Coppleman Gorman and did not let her know about his criminal activities, keeping her under the ruse that he worked as a travelling salesman. He was first incarcerated in 1902 and sent to the
Joliet Correctional Center
Joliet Correctional Center (originally known as Illinois State Penitentiary, colloquially as Joliet Prison, Joliet Penitentiary, the Old Joliet Prison, and the Collins Street Prison) was a prison in Joliet, Illinois, United States, from 1858 to ...
for burglary in 1906. He was released on a probationary period but violated the terms and conditions of his probation and was sent back to Joliet in 1910 and re-released in 1912. In 1923 he was convicted for his participation in helping rob a mail freight car while stopped at
Dearborn Station
Dearborn Station (also called, Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at Dearbo ...
. He also helped carry out the murders on
Antonio Lombardo
Antonio "Tony the Scourge" Lombardo (; November 23, 1891 – September 7, 1928) was an Italian-born American mobster. He was ''consigliere'' to Al Capone, and later the President of the Unione Siciliana.
Biography
Born in the town of Galat ...
and Pasquale Lolorado with his younger brother
Frank Gusenberg
Frank Gusenberg (October 11, 1893 – February 14, 1929) was an American contract killer and a victim of the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago, Illinois.
Early life
Born in Lakeview, Chicago, Gusenberg was the second oldest of th ...
and Albert Kachellek, a fellow cellmate at Joliet. The Gusenberg brothers and Kachellek were killed in the
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They wer ...
February 14, 1929.
Prison time
In the early 1920s, Peter Gusenberg was sent to the
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes ...
on a mail robbery conviction. While he was in prison, the North Side Gang became embroiled in a vicious gang war with the rival
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 ...
, headed first by Johnny Torrio and then Al Capone. During this warfare, Outfit gunmen had murdered North Side leader O'Banion in his florist shop. When Peter Gusenberg was released from prison in 1926, he rejoined the North Side Gang, now led by Hymie Weiss, in its war against the Outfit.
Gang war
On September 20, 1926, Peter Gusenberg participated in the infamous drive-by shooting on the Hawthorne Hotel, Capone's
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero is a town in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,268, making it the 11th-most populous municipality in Illinois. The town is named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, a R ...
headquarters. The North Siders riddled the hotel with thousands of bullets. According to many accounts, the second to last car stopped in front of the hotel restaurant when Peter Gusenberg emerged, clad in a khaki Army shirt and brown overalls, and carrying a
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy gun", "Chicago typewriter", or "trench broom") is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Arm ...
. Kneeling in front of the doorway, Gusenberg emptied the entire 100-round capacity drum into the restaurant, and then casually strolled back to his car, which then sped off. The attack left Capone terrified and he offered a truce between the two gangs. Peace talks faltered on the concessions that the North Siders demanded.
As the gang war continued, the North Side Gang started to weaken. Three weeks after the Hawthorne Hotel attack, Hymie Weiss was murdered by a Capone hit squad. Moran now took over the gang. The North Siders especially wanted to kill
Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn, as he was rumored to have killed Weiss. On at least two occasions, the Gusenberg brothers tried to kill McGurn. Despite wounding him several times, McGurn survived these attempts on his life.
By late 1928, Moran struck an alliance with Capone rival
Joe Aiello
Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello (; 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 and the Gusenberg brothers first killed Antonio Lombardo and then
Pasqualino "Patsy" Lolordo, two successive presidents of the
Unione Siciliane and both Capone allies. It was these murders that motivated Capone to eliminate Moran and the North Side Gang in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.
On February 14, 1929, the upper echelon of the North Side gang, including Peter Gusenberg, gathered at the S.M.C. Cartage Company at 2122 N. Clark Street in the
Mid-North District neighborhood. Also there were Frank Gusenberg, Albert Weinshank, Adam Heyer, James Clark, John May, and Dr. Reinhardt Schwimmer (a friend of a gang member). The general accepted story is that the North Siders were waiting for a shipment of hijacked Log Cabin brand whiskey from
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
(a ploy devised by Capone). However, this story has been disputed.
Two men in Chicago police uniforms entered the garage and lined Peter Gusenberg and the other North Siders against the north wall. At this point, two men in civilian clothing entered from the rear carrying submachine guns. The four gunmen then opened fire with submachine guns and shotguns, killing all seven men, in what became known as the
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They were ...
. Peter Gusenberg died kneeling in a chair.
Peter's brother Frank was the only initial survivor of the massacre. When police asked who had shot him, Frank replied, "No one shot me." He died later that night. Although the killers wiped out most of the North Side Gang, they missed their prime target, Bugs Moran. Moran had pulled up to the garage just as the shooters were entering. Because they were dressed as policemen, Moran assumed it was a raid and fled the area.
The Gusenberg brothers were initially buried in
Rosehill Cemetery
Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is a historic rural cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. At , it is the largest cemetery in the city of Chicago and its first private cemetery. The Entrance Gate and Administration ...
in Chicago's North Side. They were later reinterred at
Irving Park Cemetery.
In popular culture
Peter has been portrayed three times in film:
* by
George Segal
George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...
in the 1967 film, ''
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre''
* by
Martin Kove
Martin Kove (; born ) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of ''The Karate Kid'' (1984). Kove reprised the role in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), ''The Karate Kid Part III ...
in the 1975 film, ''
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 t ...
''.
* by
Ryan Kiser in the 2017 film ''
Gangster Land''.
The Gusenberg Sweeper is a ''
Grand Theft Auto V
''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...
'' version of the
Tommy Gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy gun", "Chicago typewriter", or "trench broom") is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Arm ...
, featured in the Valentine's Day Massacre Special. It is named after the Gusenberg Brothers.
References
External links
* https://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id29.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gusenberg, Peter
1888 births
1929 deaths
American people of German descent
Murdered American gangsters
Murdered North Side Gang members
North Side Gang
American gangsters of the interwar period
People murdered by the Chicago Outfit
People murdered in Chicago
Deaths by firearm in Illinois
Gangsters from Chicago
Contract killers
People murdered in 1929