Earl "Hymie" Weiss
Indicted in Chicago in June 1926 for possessing and transporting liquor under the National Prohibition Act; killed by gunfire near Holy Name Cathedral on 11 October 1926. The charges against him were dismissed after his death.
- Died
- 1926-10-11
- Aliases
- Hymie Weiss
- Source
- National Archives Catalog: indictment, United States v. Earl Weiss et al. (N.D. Ill., No. 14678)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal court record and National Archives description, works of the United States government in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105, and the filed newspaper pages of 1930 or earlier state.
On the record
- 1925-01-28 — Associated Press, Evening Star: "Vincent Drucci and Earl Weiss, also friends of O'Banion, were in technical custody" after the Torrio shooting, "although likewise unidentified by the Torrios." A press report.
- 1926-06-29 — Indictment filed in the Northern District of Illinois, No. 14678: "Earl Weiss, alias Hymie Weiss," Frank Foster and Edward Vogel are charged with possessing and transporting intoxicating liquor in Chicago on June 24, 1926, and with conspiracy. A charge.
- 1926-10-11 — Associated Press, Evening Star, 12 October 1926: gunmen "mowed down five men" near the Cathedral of the Holy Name "late yesterday," and the dead included "Earl "Hymie" Weiss." The National Archives description of the indictment file says Weiss died of gunshot wounds on October 11, 1926.
- 1926-12-08 — National Archives description of the file unit (NAID 6883413): the charges against Weiss were dismissed on this date. The archivist's note; the dismissal order itself has not been read.
- 1929-12-03 — NEA feature, Washington Daily News: names Dean O'Banion and Hymie Weiss as Moran's predecessors on the North Side, who "died for" their views. A journalist's account.
The death date is the one the National Archives description gives and the Associated Press report of the next day supports. The indictment does not mention any gang, and no federal record filed here gives Weiss a position in one; the role field is left empty. The death certificate in the same National Archives file is not used, pending a rights decision.
Records
itemIndictment of Earl Weiss, alias Hymie Weiss, Frank Foster and Edward Vogel (N.D. Ill., filed June 29, 1926)A federal grand jury indictment charging Earl Weiss, alias Hymie Weiss, and two others with possessing and transporting liquor in Chicago on June 24, 1926, in violation of the National Prohibition Act, and with conspiracy. The charging page lists a barrel of beer on tap, champagne, whiskey and brandy.
clippingEvening Star, 28 January 1925, page 3: Gang 'Lord' Dying, Avengers GatherAn Associated Press story from Chicago on John Torrio's condition after he was shot, reporting that George Moran, "pal of O'Banion," had been charged with the attack and that Vincent Drucci and Earl Weiss were in custody.
clippingEvening Star, 12 October 1926, page 1: Deadly gangwar flares in ChicagoAssociated Press front-page report of 12 October 1926 on the machine-gun shooting near Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago in which Earl "Hymie" Weiss and Paddy Murray were killed.
clippingUnion Daily Times, 12 October 1926, page 1: Gangsters kill three more victims in ChicagoThe Union Daily Times front page of 12 October 1926 carries an Associated Press report from Chicago on the machine-gun attack near Holy Name Cathedral.
clippingWashington Daily News, 3 December 1929, page 8: Imprisonment Costs Capone His Rule of Chicago RacketsA Newspaper Enterprise Association feature by Bruce Catton on the Chicago rackets while Al Capone was in prison, with a photograph captioned "'Bugs' Moran, above, rising star of Chicago gangdom." The claims in it are the writer's.