Retired Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins brings you the best in mob history with his unique perception of the mafia. Gary shares an exciting story about Al Capone, the famous gang leader. It turns out that in the 1920s, Capone accidentally shot himself with his pistol. He ended up in the hospital with bullet wounds in his legs and groin. It reminded me of a similar mishap involving a policeman and his gun. Capone was playing golf with a guy named Johnny Patton, known as Burnham’s boy mayor. They were at a golf course called the Burnham Golf Lanes, where Capone had a .45 caliber pistol in his pocket. The gun discharged and injured him. Patton took him to the hospital in Hammond, where Capone was given a suite under the name Gary. He stayed with his guards until he recovered, and visitors were turned away to maintain his secrecy. The article mentioned some of his guards, including Louie “Little New York” Campagna and the Gennaro brothers. Capone seemed to be surrounded by tight security during his time at the hospital. Interestingly, the article also revealed that the golf course where the accident occurred was associated with the mayor of Burnham, who used the clubhouse for gambling and speakeasy activities. Overall, it’s an intriguing piece of Capone’s history, and if anyone knows more stories about him playing golf, feel free to share in the comments.  

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Transcript [0:01] Hey, welcome all you wiretappers out there, back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. I found an old article I think is really interesting. In the Chicago Tribune in 1920-something, I don’t remember the exact date, Al Capone, the headline was, Al Capone shot himself with his own pistol. It’s an accident. I never heard that story before of you, but it was right there in the newspaper. And it’s, I mean, I believe it. It starts off with Alphonse Capone, Chicago’s most spectacular gang chieftain, was in St. Margaret’s Hospital in Hammond. So this must be down by Hammond, Indiana. He had bullet holes in his right and left leg and in his groin. Oh, my God. I tell you what, we had a policeman one time that had an automatic pistol before you’re supposed to even, you’re only supposed to have the revolvers. But he bought off duty gun that was a semi-automatic. Mac, he jammed it down in his belt and he shot himself right down next to his nuts. I mean, and it went down through his side. I said that his dick hid for a week after that. Anyhow, I digress.

[1:08] He was out golfing with a guy named Johnny Patton, who was known as the boy mayor of Burnham. If anybody can tell me about Burnham, again, this must be down in Indiana. I got a feeling they’re in South Chicago. and they were on the Burnham Golf Lanes, which must have been kind of a short golf course. I think it was a nine-hole old-school golf course, carrying a gun in his pocket for some reason, which I can imagine Al Capone needed to have a gun in his pocket. It was a .45 caliber pistol.

[1:41] This was not a little .32 or a .22. And it discharged. It was in his right hip pocket. pocket it was it went down through the fleshy part of his right leg it the article said said it narrowly missed his abdomen it must have been an upper pocket i mean when they said pocket it must have been up here so i’d narrowly miss his abdomen and then embedded itself in his left leg, the boy mayor of murnham took his buddy al capone to the hospital to the hammond hospital hospital and he was given an extensive suite i tell you what you can’t make this shit up and under the name of gary g-a-r-y i called a doctor and of course they started doing the uh.

[2:31] What you call it they started you know doing whatever you had to do to make al feel a little better uh in the end he stayed there for a while until he had a complete recovery he had five rooms all together that were in his suite in the newspaper article they said the big fellas he’s known in gang circles the other four rooms out of these five rooms the other four were used by his, grim men as they called them slipping in and out and making sure that nobody got close to the boss to the big man to the big guy pistols were not flashed around but it seemed like there were sentinels around the hospital and outside remember the scene in the godfather where they’re supposed to be guards around the godfather all of a sudden they disappeared well these guards did not disappear and and they were looked like the reporter said they looked like they were ready for anything. Visitors and Guards at Capone’s Hospital Suite

[3:29] Now, the secret of his identity was kept pretty good until it leaked out, and then visitors started flogging into the hospital, and they were told, well, Mr. Gary, we don’t have a Mr. Capone, Mr. Gary, and he does not want to be disturbed. The cops never knew what it was, and nobody ever knew the name of his physician other than he was a local Hammond practitioner. One of his guards, according to the newspaper article, was Tony Little New York Campagna, and one of the Gennaro brothers and four others said they were known in the cryptic language of their own circle as La Cava, Felco, Perry, and Marcus.

[4:12] The scene of the accidental shooting is a golf course it was a track it was a force preserve leased out not long ago at this point in time to the park board of burnham and burnham is a small village and which is controlled by this guy that’s a mayor and a strong man named that was, playing golf with the big boy you know i heard another story and i think i may have even.

[4:36] Reported on this one time where Al Capone and Greasy Thumb, Jake Guzik, and Machine Gun, Jack McGurn, and Killer Fred Burke, or Fred Killer Burke were playing a game of golf, and they were playing it for $500, and Capone and Guzik won. They were shooting like in the 60s for a nine-round, nine-hole round. I mean, Jesus, I can play better than that. But anyhow, Capone was a pretty inveterate golfer, it sounds to me like. I don’t know many other stories. Any of you guys out there know any other stories about Al Capone playing golf? Put it in the comments. I think it’s really interesting. Now, this clubhouse and this golf course was controlled by the mayor, as I said. A guy named, what was that guy’s name? It was Bill, I think.

[5:32] I think Johnny Patton, the boy mayor of Burnham, he used that clubhouse as a gambling parlor and a speakeasy and a roadhouse, as they called them. I can’t remember what he used to call them. Anything out in the county was a roadhouse. We called them buckets of blood. So this is just another little thing out of the story of Alphonse the Big Guy Capone and playing golf with the boy mayor of Burnham. Very interesting I tell you what this Al Capone was, he is one of the most popular next to Gotti he is the next most popular person on Facebook if you can go by clicks it’s just crazy and there’s been so many books written by him that have really gone into his life with a fine tooth comb and there’s a new one real academic really thick book released just about the time I started this podcast that’s when I created my Kansas City Mom Tour app, I noticed that there was a Chicago app for a tour, and it was only in Capone sites. And so I got hold of that author, Jonathan Ige was his name, and he said he didn’t know, he didn’t do it. So I figured it out on my own.

[6:45] But, you know, just one more of the many little gang stories that we’d like to put up here on Gangland Wire. So be sure and check out the Facebook group. There’s 50, over 50,000 people in it. We get a few arguments once in a while. We get no politics and nothing like that. No way if you start harassing or bullying anybody, you start calling them bad names. You know, we just block you. I am the dictator. I am the boss on that Facebook group. get on there and if you have any problems, get a hold of me. I’m on there a lot. I have two co-fellow administrators that help me out with it.

[7:22] If you want to learn more about Kansas City Mob stuff, on Amazon I have my movies Gangland Wire, which is about really how we got into the skim and the skim investigation, the skim from Las Vegas. From the Kansas City viewpoint, that movie, Casino, would never really, they They might not have done that investigation, at least not the way they did it, had it not been for a little microphone hidden in Kansas City, not in a corner store, but in a pizza place, a lounge, Ross Strata’s Lounge. And I have my other one about the mob war in Kansas City, which I was right in the middle of, brothers against brothers, the Sabella Sparrow War, both on rent for $1.99. I got my book out there as a Kindles 499, and you can click on the links at the top of the transcript I used, and it’ll go to a YouTube or another Vimeo page, and you can hear the actual wiretaps that hear the actual guys talking. I thought that was kind of cool, and I figured out how to do that. I have the hard copy book, too.

[8:29] And I don’t know. Anything else promote? I guess not. But anyhow, that’s all I’ve got to promote. And I really appreciate y’all tuning in. And don’t forget, if you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, go see Anthony Ruggiano down in Florida. He’s a former Gambino soldier and a drug and alcohol counselor now. He’s got a YouTube page. And oh, I see I got a call coming in from another guy, from a mob guy, actually.

[8:54] And don’t forget, if you have a problem with, God, I’ve lost it. I got this phone call coming in. You know, this is a pretty spontaneous deal here that I’m working on. Guys, I’m using my, I don’t know if you noticed the difference. I’m using my phone to do a longer piece to see how it works. And I’m not going to edit it. I’m just going to throw it right on up. That was Sal Polisi that was trying to call. I’ll get back to him as soon as I get done here. So don’t forget to come back and listen to me every week. I think there’s something else I need to promote. mode. I like riding motorcycles and all that. So thanks a lot, guys.

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