Timothy O'Bryan

popular name: James McLean

date_of_death: October 31, 1965

age: 35

cause_of_death: Gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: James "Buddy" McLean was a feared and respected Irish-American mobster from Somerville, Massachusetts, best known as the original leader of the Winter Hill Gang. Born in 1930, McLean rose through the ranks of Boston's underworld in the 1950s and early 1960s, earning a reputation as a tough street fighter and savvy criminal strategist. Under his leadership, the Winter Hill Gang became a dominant force in Boston’s organized crime scene, engaging in activities like bookmaking, loan sharking, and extortion. His criminal career reached a turning point when he became involved in a deadly turf war with the rival McLaughlin Brothers gang from Charlestown, igniting the Irish Gang War—a brutal series of killings that gripped Boston’s underworld. On October 30, 1965, McLean was gunned down outside a Somerville bar by a McLaughlin associate, Stevie Hughes, marking a pivotal moment in the gang war. His death further escalated the violence, but it also solidified his status as a legendary figure in Boston mob history. After his murder, Howie Winter took over the Winter Hill Gang, continuing the legacy McLean had started. His funeral attracted over 4,000 mourners and James McLean's final resting place can be found at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, Massachusetts.

popular name: Antonio Lombardo

date_of_death: September 7, 1928

age: 37

cause_of_death: Murdered - mob hit

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Antonio "Tony the Scourge" Lombardo was a prominent Italian-American mobster in Chicago during the Prohibition era. Born in Sicily in 1891, he immigrated to the United States and quickly rose through the ranks of organized crime. Lombardo became a close associate of Al Capone and served as a key political advisor and intermediary between the Chicago Outfit and the Italian-American community. He was appointed head of the Unione Siciliana, a powerful Sicilian-American fraternal organization that Capone sought to control for political influence. Known for his diplomatic skills and efforts to broker peace among rival gangs, Lombardo's leadership drew both respect and resentment. His assassination in 1928 was orchestrated by an alliance of the Joe Aiello Gang and the North Side Gang, with George "Bugs" Moran reportedly ordering the hit. His death further destabilized the already volatile power dynamics within the city's criminal underworld which resulted in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre as revenge. The grave of mobster Antonio Lombardo (along with dozens of other mob associates) can be found at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Cicero, Illinois (just outside Chicago).

popular name: Bobby Franks

date_of_death: May 21, 1924

age: 14

cause_of_death: Homicide - beaten and asphyxiated

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Bobby Franks was the son of the very wealthy Chicago real estate speculator and developer Jacob Franks. On May 22, 1924, the body of 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks was found murdered on Chicago’s South Side. The murder would launch the infamous Leopold and Loeb trial. The criminal trial that followed — “the trial of the century” — would go on to captivate the nation and catapult defense attorney Clarence Darrow to fame.