Description:

GEORGE 'BUGS' MORAN
(1893 – 1957) American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Seven members of his North Side Gang were gunned down and killed in a warehouse in the Chicago Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of February 14, 1929, supposedly on the orders of Moran's rival Al Capone. Moran luckily avoided being present and managed to keep control of his territory and what remained of his gang through the early 1930s, but his gang never fully recovered its power or former place in Chicago's underworld. Exceedingly rare partial typed D.S. 'George Moran', 1p. 8 x 3.75 in. (sight), [Chicago], Nov. 28, 1938. Moran signs his sworn statement which reads in full: 'GEORGE MORAN being first duly sworn, states that he has read the above and foregoing petition, signed by him, and that the same is true except for those matters stated by him to be upon information and belief, and that as to those matters this affiant states that he believes them to be true.' Matted in faux black alligator with photographs of Moran and the aftermath of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, along with a plaque with Moran's biographical details, all set into a black, gold and red Gallery of History frame to an overall size of 29 x 19 x 1.5 in. Fine condition. This document appears to be related to a forgery trial that included Moran and nine other defendants. Moran was accused of forging American Express checks, New York Central railroad bonds and cigarette revenue stamps. The trial started on January 4, 1939 and, sixteen days later, the jury found Moran not guilty. Moran eventually moved to Ohio, where he was arrested in 1946 for robbing a bank messenger of $10,000. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years. After his release in 1956, Moran was again arrested for an earlier bank raid and was sent to the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, where he died of lung cancer in 1957. This is apparently the only known Moran signature extant!

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April 2, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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