On October 23, 1930 Capone rival Joe Aiello was gunned down outside of an associate’s apartment in Chicago. This hit appeared to be the culmination of a long gang war between Aiello and Al Capone. They had been been in a very violent and very public feud since 1927 with numerous murders and murder attempts being committed on both sides. Aiello’s crew had been stymied on several occasions trying to kill Capone himself. The infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was a part of this mob war.

By 1930, Capone had enough of Aiello. He made several attempts to kill him both in Chicago and Rochester, New York. Living in fear, Aiello set up residence in the Chicago apartment of Pasquale “Patsy Presto” Prestogiacomo at 205 N. Kolmar Ave. He moved in on October 13, 1930, and rarely left the apartment. However, his wife and child occasionally visited him. It is surmised that Capone’s men followed his family to ascertain his location. Capone’s men rented apartments where they could surveil Pasty Presto’s apartment.

On October 23, Aiello made plans to permanently leave Chicago and apparently move to Mexico. It was a short trip, he only made it as far as the front steps. Upon exiting Patsy Presto’s building to enter a taxicab, a gunman in a second-floor window across the street started firing at Aiello with a submachine gun. Aiello was said to have been shot at least 13 times before he toppled off the building steps. A second submachine gun positioned on the third floor of another apartment opened up on Aiello and finished the job. His bullet ridden body was put in a cab and taken to the hospital but it was a lost cause. The coroner eventually removed 59 bullets from his body. Al Capone had secured control of Chicago organized crime.