Albert Anselmi

Who was Albert Anselmi?

Albert Anselmi was a Chicago mobster who became a hitman during the Prohibition era, and with partner John Scalise, was one of the Chicago Outfit's most successful hitmen in Prohibition-era Chicago. The pair are often referred to as "the murder twins".

Born in Marsala, Sicily, Anselmi became involved with the local Mafia at an early age. In 1924, Anselmi fled Sicily to avoid murder charges. Entering the U.S. illegally on the Gulf Coast, Anselmi eventually moved to Chicago, Illinois.

Anselmi and Scalise have been linked to many notorious gang slayings of the era, including the murder of Dean O'Banion in 1924 and the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre. In 1925, Anselmi, Scalise, and Mike Genna attempted a hit on rival gangsters Bugs Moran and Vincent Drucci, resulting in a gun battle with police in which Genna was killed and Anselmi and Scalise were captured after killing Chicago officers Charles Walsh and Harold Olsen and seriously wounding a third officer, Michael Conway. Although they did not deny the killings, they were acquitted of murder charges at trial and released.