From The Archives - March 2014

Franklin Rio

Franklin Rio, aka "Slippery Frank", is widely known for having been one of Al Capone's most loyal bodyguards and by many account was, along with Jack McGurn, one of the shooters in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.  Sources are mixed in regards to his birthplace -- his death certificate says he was born on June 30, 1895 in Oliveto Citra, a small province in Italy.  Other sources claim he may have been born in Chicago after his parents' immigration from Italy.  Not much is known about his childhood and adolescence, except that he had a knack for stealing.  This trait carried over into his early adulthood when he and an accomplice were identified as having robbed an Argo and Proviso state bank for $45,000 in 1918.  He used his expertise in auto theft when he used a stolen vehicle to transport stolen furs.  He garnered the attention of the Outfit when he was caught committing a daylight robbery at Union Station while reportedly attempting to steal over $480,000 in bonds.  The Outfit appreciated his ability to evade trial (either through financial or physical persuasion), as he had avoided conviction of all the aforementioned crimes.  He and McGurn were soon after brought on to be Capone's bodyguards and assassins.  Rio is widely credited for having foiled two plots to kill Capone.  The first one was an attempt by North Side gang member Early "Hymie" Weiss when he cornered Capone at the Hawthorne Inn where Capone had established as his headquarters in Cicero.  Rio allegedly threw Capone to the ground while bullets flew overhead.  Weiss' attempt was in retaliation for the murder of North Side leader, Dean O'Banion.  Weiss met his match a month later when he was gunned down outside of the Schofield flower shop.  Rio also allegedly foiled a plot by Albert Anselmi, John Scalise and Joseph Guinta, Outfit members who wanted to overthrow Capone.  Upon learning of their plot, Rio informed Capone, who then order the killing of all three.  Rio is, by many accounts, alleged to have been the triggerman who killed all three.  Rio, along with McGurn, were the initial suspects for having gunned down seven men in a garage owned by North Sider Bugs Moran, an event that was later regarded as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre".  Rio's "slippery" reputation once again proved true as charges against him were eventually dropped.  Rio travelled with Capone to the Atlantic City Conference in May of1929,  which is considered to be one of the earliest "organized crime summits" that was attended by organized criminal leaders nationwide.  Capone somehow became aware of another attempt on his life and turned himself into the Philadelphia Police Department during his return to Chicago.  Both Capone and Rio served time in Philadelphia jail, allegedly in adjacent cells.  Once Capone was convicted of tax-evasion in 1931, Rio was initially considered to be his successor.  However, his lack of leadership experience and the rise of Frank Nitti made Nitti the obvious candidate.  Like several Prohibition-era crime figures, Rio's activity with the Outfit dwindled once Prohibition was revoked.  He was allegedly sent to New Jersey to help look for Charles Lindbergh's kidnapped son.  However, Lindbergh reportedly refuted Rio's services.  Rio eventually died of a heart attack in 1935.  Like most Catholic hoodlums, Rio's body was refused burial in consecrated ground, and was buried at Mount Caramel Cemetery in Hillside, IL.       

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