Hallow Point (41 page)

CAPONE, ALPHONSE GABRIEL “AL” (ALSO “SCARFACE”):
Perhaps the most infamous gangster in American history, Capone rose from being a small-time hood to a lieutenant of John Torrio’s, and eventually succeeded Torrio. A member of the Outfit, Capone was actually never “in charge” of the entire city, as many people believe, but as the man behind what was arguably Chicago’s largest—and certainly most violent—gang, he might as well have been. Capone was eventually imprisoned in 1931 for charges stemming from failure to pay taxes on his criminal profits.

MORAN, GEORGE CLARENCE “BUGS”:
One of the biggest Irish gangsters of Chicago, Bugs Moran ran the Northside Gang from 1927 to (roughly) 1935. Violent and hot-tempered, Moran himself was one of the main causes for the constant conflict between the Northside Gang and the Outfit.

MUDGETT, HERMAN:
Also known as H. H. Holmes, Mudgett wasn’t actually a gangster, but was in fact one of America’s earliest serial killers. From 1888 to 1894, Mudgett murdered an estimated 200 or more victims. Many of these were killed in his “Murder Castle,” a hotel with secret rooms where victims could be suffocated, asphyxiated with gas, or tortured to death, before their bodies were disposed of in the sub-basements through careful dissection or submersion in lime pits.

NITTI, FRANK “THE ENFORCER”:
One of Capone’s lieutenants, Frank Nitti went on to serve an important role in the Outfit after Al’s arrest: specifically, that of a figurehead. While he did have
some
voice in the running of the organization, he was primarily a mouthpiece for the “Board of Directors.” Although often portrayed in fiction as a chopper-toting psycho, Nitti was actually a bookish, white-collar criminal who rarely, if ever, got his hands dirty with violence. His nickname came from citing and enforcing Outfit rules at various meetings and sit-downs.

NORTHSIDE GANG, THE:
A largely Irish gang based in Chicago’s north side (obviously), this group was often at war with the Outfit over territories, routes, and the like. Capone’s infamous Valentine’s Day Massacre was targeted at Northsiders.

OUTFIT, THE:
The hub of organized crime in Chicago, the Outfit was the organization/syndicate to which Capone (among many others) belonged. After Capone’s time, the Outfit’s leadership took on a very corporate form, with a Board of Directors and no single person in charge. The Outfit frequently cooperated with the Commission (a similar organization, based out of New York) and other Mafia organizations.

POPE, FRANK:
A member of Capone’s organization, he eventually went on to manage many of the Outfit’s gambling interests on behalf of the Board of Directors.

TORRIO, JOHN:
A powerful gangster during the rise of organized crime in Chicago, Torrio pioneered many of the bootlegging tactics and routes that would be used throughout Prohibition. It was Torrio who brought Capone into the fold, and eventually turned over power to ol’ “Scarface.”

VOLPE, ANTHONY:
Volpe was one of the Outfit’s gangsters who eventually rose to a position of some prominence, handling the group’s gambling interests alongside Frank Pope.

T
his book would not have been nearly as good—it might not even have been finished—without the support of a great many people.

My wife, George, for her critique, her reassurance, and for putting up with my crap.

Sam and the other folks at JABberwocky Literary Agency—and Cath, Natalie, and the other folks at Titan Books—for thinking Mick’s almost as cool as I do.

Rhiannon, for beta-reading and for thinking I’m almost as cool as I… think Mick is.

And all the above, plus Sara, Rose, Joe, Miranda, Colin, Angelique, Erin, Jaym, Brian, Laura, Hannah, Scott, Crystal, Naomi, Carole, and Roger for helping me find some light in a very dark place. For you, and to everyone else who’s stood by me and propped me up, I am more grateful than I can say.

A
RI MARMELL
would love to tell you all about the various esoteric jobs he held and the wacky adventures he had on the way to becoming an author, since that’s what other authors seem to do in these sections. Unfortunately, he doesn’t actually have any. In point of fact, Ari decided while at the University of Houston that he wanted to be a writer, graduated with a Creative Writing degree, and—after holding down a couple of very mundane jobs—broke into freelance writing for roleplaying games. In addition to the Mick Oberon novels, with Titan Books, his published fiction includes
The Conqueror’s Shadow
and
The Warlord’s Legacy
(Del Rey/Spectra),
The Goblin Corps
and the Widdershins Adventure series (Pyr Books), and
Agents of Artifice
(Wizards of the Coast), as well as several others and numerous short stories.

Ari currently lives in an apartment that’s almost as cluttered as his subconscious, which he shares (the apartment, not the subconscious, though sometimes it seems like it) with his wife, George, and a cat who really, really thinks it’s dinner time. He is trying to get used to speaking of himself in the third person, but still finds it awkward and strange.

You can find Ari online at
www.mouseferatu.com
and on Twitter
@mouseferatu
.

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