Hymie Weiss
Hymie Weiss, born Earl Wojciechowski in Chicago in 1898, was a prominent figure in the organized crime landscape of the Prohibition era. He grew up in a Polish immigrant family and, in his early teens, became involved in criminal activities alongside his friend Dion O'Banion. Together, they founded the Northside Gang, notorious for its involvement in bootlegging and other illicit operations during a time of fierce gang rivalries in Chicago. Weiss's organizational skills and loyalty were pivotal in establishing the gang as a significant player in the illegal alcohol trade.
Weiss's criminal career included acts of violence, including the infamous murder of mobster Stephen Wisniewski, which solidified his reputation in the underworld. Following O'Banion's assassination in 1924, Weiss led the Northsiders in a violent campaign against rival gangs, particularly those led by Al Capone and Johnny Torrio. Despite several assassination attempts on these rivals, Weiss ultimately fell victim to the ongoing gang warfare, being killed by Capone's men in 1926 at the age of 28. His legacy endures as a key figure in Chicago's Prohibition history and as one of the cofounders of a gang that sought to challenge Capone's dominance.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Hymie Weiss
American gangster
- Born: 1898
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
- Died: October 11, 1926
- Place of death: Chicago, Illinois
Cause of notoriety: As one of the leaders of Chicago’s infamous Northside Gang, Weiss engaged in bootlegging and murder and tangled several times with rival gangsters Johnny Torrio and Al Capone.
Active: 1913-1926
Locale: Chicago, Illinois
Early Life
Hymie Weiss (HI-mee wis) was born Earl Wojciechowski in Chicago in 1898 to William and Mary Wojciechowski. His parents’ devout Catholic families originally came to Buffalo, New York, by way of Poland before the nineteenth century. After they married, his parents moved to Chicago sometime before Earl was born. During this period and for reasons that are unclear, Earl’s father changed the family surname to a more Jewish-sounding name, Weiss. During his early teens, Earl became known as Hymie to his friends, a name that stuck with him throughout his criminal career.
Early on, Hymie became friends with Dean (Dion) O’Banion, a tough Irish boy six years his senior with a penchant for crime. Throughout their teens, the boys engaged in various forms of crime, including burglary, car theft, muggings, bootlegging, armed robberies, and even murder. Together, Weiss and O’Banion, along with other infamous mobsters such as Bugs Moran, built one of the most nefarious criminal gangs of Prohibition-era Chicago—the Northside Gang. The gang’s criminal headquarters was a flower shop on North State Street on Chicago’s north side, across from the Holy Name Cathedral. However, the gang’s arch rivals, Italian mobsters Johnny Torrio and Al Capone, who ran the rackets in Chicago during this time, would ultimately bring about the untimely demise of O’Banion and Weiss.
Criminal Career
Weiss has been credited with being responsible for the creation and success of his gang’s bootlegging enterprise. His business acumen, coupled with his loyalty to both O’Banion and their crew, helped spearhead the Northsiders as one of the front-runners in the bootlegging industry during Prohibition. Weiss was also an established hit man; his murder of fellow mobster Stephen Wisniewski propelled him into organized crime fame. Reportedly, Wisniewski had hijacked beer trucks belonging to the Northsiders, and to teach him a lesson, O’Banion ordered Weiss to kill him. Weiss decided to take Wisniewski on a drive along Lake Michigan; Wisniewski never returned. After returning from the murder, Weiss openly joked to other members of the gang that he took “Stevie” for a “one-way ride,” a phrase that gained notoriety in and of itself.
From 1920 to 1926, Weiss and O’Banion attempted to absorb small-time rival gangs, gain their rightful stake in the illegal booze business, and start an all-out gang war with rivals Capone and Torrio. As tensions grew between the Northsiders and the Capone and Torrio gang, violence erupted on the streets of Chicago. In fact, this particular six-year period has been labeled as one of the bloodiest times in Chicago history. During this tumultuous period, dozens of men from both gangs were brutally murdered, including O’Banion in November, 1924.
Following O’Banion’s death, Weiss took the helm of the Northsiders and slowly plotted his revenge against Capone and Torrio. After waiting nearly two months to avenge his friend’s death, Weiss and his crew attempted numerous times to assassinate Capone and Torrio; these attempts only wounded Torrio and forced him into retirement, which in turn enraged the unscathed Capone and prompted him to seek his own revenge. After his failed assassination attempts, Weiss himself became a victim of the Prohibition gang war. On October 11, 1926, Capone’s henchmen gunned down Weiss as he was entering the gang headquarters on North State Street. It was later discovered that the assailants had shot Weiss from a second-story window across the street from the Northsider headquarters.
At age twenty-eight, Weiss became a victim of a bootlegging war that he had helped create. After his death, the Northsiders continued to operate under the leadership of Moran and other members; however, Capone proved to be too powerful and the Northsiders disbanded. At the time of his death, Weiss had mounted an estate worth an estimated $1.3 million, all of which he willed to his wife.
Impact
Hymie Weiss, Polish American mobster and bootlegger, is remembered as one of the most notorious gangsters of the Prohibition era. With his street smarts and his business knowledge, Weiss helped create one of the most successful illegal operations in Chicago history. He will be remembered as one of the cofounders of the Northside Gang, which attempted but failed to topple the mighty Al Capone.
Bibliography
Abadinsky, Howard. Organized Crime. 7th ed. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2003. A textbook that offers a unique account of the history of organized crime in America and how criminals such as Weiss and O’Banion operated during the Prohibition era.
Keefe, Rose. Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O’Banion, Chicago’s Big Shot Before Al Capone. Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland House, 2003. Provides detailed information about the criminal life of O’Banion and offers insight into the friendship between O’Banion and Weiss.
Reppetto, Thomas. American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power. New York: Henry Holt, 2004. A detailed look at the history of the Mafia in the United States. Sheds light on the gangs of the Prohibition era, including Chicago’s infamous Northside Gang.