Francis Killian Cavanaugh
Encyclopedia
Francis Killian Cavanaugh (born November 3, 1960) Is a fictional North Side Gang
leader and long time hitman in Chicago
, Illinois
. According to the fable, he was born as the first son of Lucas Cavanaugh
and grandson of Francis Cavanaugh
, and is the brother of George Cavanaugh
.
. Frankie and James O'Shea the son of Alexander O'Shea grew up together as friends going to school together. Frankie had to be transferred through many boarding schools and private schools, he was kicked out of three and finally accepted into St. Thomas (the school his grandfather had gone to). While he was 13 he started to help his family's business by running messages for his father's front men (behind his father's back).
Frankie learned all of his skills from the business. Lucas hired skilled hitmen to show Frankie how to develop good marksmanship. Frankie was then taught of business and trade in the life of crime. His father then showed him the bosses old and new of many organizations. Finally at age 16 Lucas told Frankie that he was ready to take on the business. Little did anyone else know but Lucas was dying of heart failure. Two months later Lucas died talking to George and Frankie on his death bed. Lucas told his son:
Frankie took this advice and started up the business.
In 1976 Frankie took control of the family workings. He was already having a lot of problems from the Chicago Outfit
trying to take his father's turf. Frankie had a call from Michael DeStefano, one of the Outfit's main hitmen, telling him to meet DeStefano in a rural area. Frankie took some guards and went to meet him; when he got to the meeting place there was an ambush. Many of the "workers" started firing upon them. Frankie was protected by his body guards and ended up killing DeStefano. The police arrested Frankie but after a two month trial he was released on self-defense.
Frankie kept running into trouble with the Outfit but nothing major erupted after DeStefano was murdered. Joseph Aiuppa
ended up having to meet with Frankie to tell were the boundary would be drawn for the two rivals. Frankie took the North and part of the east side and the Outfit took the south as they had prior.
Aiuppa was getting worried about not having enough territory and the growing power of the young Frankie at 25. Frankie's business was growing rapidly he was importing and exporting every night and running many business's throughout the town. Aiuppa was worried and hired a hitman to take him out.
On September 6, 1985 Frankie was leaving his North Side home and was being shot at although the bullets missed him. He took this as a sign of war and declared war on the Outfit. George Cavanaugh
, his brother, now was getting used to his brother's business and made a place for himself. George had taken his brother's offer and become an underboss. Frankie told his brother of the war and said he had to take out a boss of the Outfit and he chose Charles Inglese.
In mid December Frankie was at his restaurant in northern-Chicago when a waitor came to his table with a gun. Frankie was shot in the chest but survived. The waitor was knocked unconscious and George had him murdered. A week later Altobello received a box in the mail containing five fingers(believed to be the waitors). Frankie was released from the hospital and had to wear a cast on his shoulder for a month.
In January 2008 Frankie and George decided to make a meeting in St. Louis with Altobello to sign a treaty or issue peace. The three sat down accompanied by many guards. As the meeting went on Frankie became more irritated with Altobello then eventually called the meeting off. As they walked out the room erupted in gunfire killing many of the guards, Altobello and Jimmy O'Shea in the process.
North Side Gang
The North Side family Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was the dominant Irish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early to late 1920s and principal rival of the Johnny Torrio-Al Capone organization, later known as the Chicago Outfit.- Early...
leader and long time hitman in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. According to the fable, he was born as the first son of Lucas Cavanaugh
Lucas Cavanaugh
Lucas "Lucky Luke" Cavanaugh was a fictional gangster born to Francis Cavanaugh and Christine Callaghan. Irish mafia hitman and associate of George "Bugs" Moran.-Early years:...
and grandson of Francis Cavanaugh
Francis Cavanaugh
Francis "Fast Frank" Cavanaugh in Chicago, IL. Fictional Irish Mafia hitman in the early prohibition days.-Early years:...
, and is the brother of George Cavanaugh
George Cavanaugh
George Andrew Cavanaugh is a fictional under-boss of the North Side Gang in Chicago. He is the son of Lucas Cavanaugh and Alison Pinkston. He is the brother of Frankie Cavanaugh.-Early career:...
.
Early life
Francis "Frankie" was the first of three children for Lucas Cavanaugh. Frankie was born in 1960 to Jessica Dawson and Lucas Cavanaugh. Two years later they had their second child Andrew Cavanaugh. At five he had a traumatic experience while witnessing the murder of his mother and brother. Two years later his father had found new love and had another child George CavanaughGeorge Cavanaugh
George Andrew Cavanaugh is a fictional under-boss of the North Side Gang in Chicago. He is the son of Lucas Cavanaugh and Alison Pinkston. He is the brother of Frankie Cavanaugh.-Early career:...
. Frankie and James O'Shea the son of Alexander O'Shea grew up together as friends going to school together. Frankie had to be transferred through many boarding schools and private schools, he was kicked out of three and finally accepted into St. Thomas (the school his grandfather had gone to). While he was 13 he started to help his family's business by running messages for his father's front men (behind his father's back).
Training
Lucas wanted Frankie away from the business especially after his mother and Andrew were killed so he told him to stay away. Soon after Lucas found out Frankie was still running for some of the bosses, so Lucas took his 14 year old son into a farm house in Wisconsin and left him there. Frankie ended up making his way home less than a week after. When he got home Lucas told him that he had passed and that he should be able to run the business after he's gone.Frankie learned all of his skills from the business. Lucas hired skilled hitmen to show Frankie how to develop good marksmanship. Frankie was then taught of business and trade in the life of crime. His father then showed him the bosses old and new of many organizations. Finally at age 16 Lucas told Frankie that he was ready to take on the business. Little did anyone else know but Lucas was dying of heart failure. Two months later Lucas died talking to George and Frankie on his death bed. Lucas told his son:
- "This business runs in our blood, no matter what happens or who gets hurt no one brings us down"
Frankie took this advice and started up the business.
Life
Frankie met a woman by the name of Clarissa Smolt and the two married in late 1986. The two had a child less than a year after. Joseph Francis Cavanaugh was born August 7, 1987. Clarissa and Frankie loved it that 8 months later they found out Clarissa was pregnant again. By the time Lucas Martin Cavanaugh was born on January 11, 1989, Frankie was already in jail.The Family
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
trying to take his father's turf. Frankie had a call from Michael DeStefano, one of the Outfit's main hitmen, telling him to meet DeStefano in a rural area. Frankie took some guards and went to meet him; when he got to the meeting place there was an ambush. Many of the "workers" started firing upon them. Frankie was protected by his body guards and ended up killing DeStefano. The police arrested Frankie but after a two month trial he was released on self-defense.
Frankie kept running into trouble with the Outfit but nothing major erupted after DeStefano was murdered. Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph John Aiuppa , also known as "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit.-Early career:...
ended up having to meet with Frankie to tell were the boundary would be drawn for the two rivals. Frankie took the North and part of the east side and the Outfit took the south as they had prior.
Aiuppa was getting worried about not having enough territory and the growing power of the young Frankie at 25. Frankie's business was growing rapidly he was importing and exporting every night and running many business's throughout the town. Aiuppa was worried and hired a hitman to take him out.
On September 6, 1985 Frankie was leaving his North Side home and was being shot at although the bullets missed him. He took this as a sign of war and declared war on the Outfit. George Cavanaugh
George Cavanaugh
George Andrew Cavanaugh is a fictional under-boss of the North Side Gang in Chicago. He is the son of Lucas Cavanaugh and Alison Pinkston. He is the brother of Frankie Cavanaugh.-Early career:...
, his brother, now was getting used to his brother's business and made a place for himself. George had taken his brother's offer and become an underboss. Frankie told his brother of the war and said he had to take out a boss of the Outfit and he chose Charles Inglese.
Release
In October 2007 Frankie was released from prison and resumed the position of Don from his brother George. Frankie kept things quiet as he was on parole and he didn't want police all over his business.War with Altobello
November 2007 Frankie just resumed the command of the mob but the family took a devastating blow when two of his shipments heading into St.Louis were sunk. Frankie sent Jimmy and Shea and George down to see what had happened and found out it was from a rival from New Orleans, Carlo Altobello. Altobello was angry that George had refused to do business with him and wanted to take it out on Frankie. When Frankie caught word of this he sent four men Lucio Rizzi, Guido Russo, Neil Callaghan, and Carlo Bianchi to New Orleans to arrange a meeting with Altobello, when the men arrived to Altobello's mansion they were received at gunpoint. Two weeks later Bianchi returned to Chicago without the others and without two fingers. Bianchi explained that Altobello had the other three killed and they tortured him.In mid December Frankie was at his restaurant in northern-Chicago when a waitor came to his table with a gun. Frankie was shot in the chest but survived. The waitor was knocked unconscious and George had him murdered. A week later Altobello received a box in the mail containing five fingers(believed to be the waitors). Frankie was released from the hospital and had to wear a cast on his shoulder for a month.
In January 2008 Frankie and George decided to make a meeting in St. Louis with Altobello to sign a treaty or issue peace. The three sat down accompanied by many guards. As the meeting went on Frankie became more irritated with Altobello then eventually called the meeting off. As they walked out the room erupted in gunfire killing many of the guards, Altobello and Jimmy O'Shea in the process.
Books
- Enright, Laura L. Chicago's Most Wanted: The Top Ten Book of Murderous Mobsters, Midway Monsters, and Windy City Oddities. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books Inc., 2005. ISBN 978-1-57488-785-3 (Enright, p. 115)
- Zorbaugh, Harvey Warren. The Gold Coast and the Slum: Sociological Study of Chicago's Near North Side. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1929. ISBN 978-0-226-98945-7 (Zorbaugh, p. 179)
- Terrence, Jacob M. Life at War: The Cavanaugh Family Chicago, Illinois: University Northern Illinois., 1987. ISBN 978-1-567493-739 (Terrence, p. 215)