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Esposito Slaying

On March 21, Giuseppe "Diamond Joe" Esposito, the Republican ward committeeman for the 25th Ward. Esposito, a leader of his ward's Italian community, and linked to organized crime, was shot and killed on the street near his home at 800 S. Oakley Blvd. According to contemporary accounts, Esposito was reputed to provide protection for gamblers and was tied to bootlegging as well as shootings and bombings, but also Esposito had friends among the city and state governments.

Esposito had received repeated warnings that he was marked for death unless he fled Chicago. Esposito was struck down after a day of campaigning within sight of his home while in the company of his bodyguards. While passing the house at 806 S. Oakley Blvd., a volley of shots rang out from a passing automobile. The shots were heard by Esposito's wife, who ran the hundred feet from her home to the side of her dying husband. Two double-barrel shotguns and a revolver were found at the crime scene.

Neither of his bodyguards were struck — they dropped to the ground at the first sound of shots — and police suspected that Esposito may have been set up by his bodyguards. Shortly after Esposito's slaying, a witness to the murder was found shot to death. The bodyguards were interrogated and released, and no one was ever charged with Esposito's killing.