WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.019 Imagine sitting at a table on a really breezy 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:06.700 Texas seawall. You've got a plate of spaghetti 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:08.519 right in front of you. Sounds like a great evening 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:10.980 so far. Right. But sitting across from you isn't 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:15.039 just anyone. It's Frank Nitti. Oh, wow. Al Capone's 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:18.059 most feared enforcer. The exact guy who handles 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:21.710 all the dirty work for the Chicago outfit. Now 00:00:21.710 --> 00:00:23.890 imagine looking Nitti dead in the eye and telling 00:00:23.890 --> 00:00:26.230 him that if he doesn't hand over the $50 ,000 00:00:26.230 --> 00:00:28.710 he owes you, his brains are going to be resting 00:00:28.710 --> 00:00:31.649 right next to that pasta. I mean, looking Frank 00:00:31.649 --> 00:00:33.869 Nitti in the eye and making a demand like that, 00:00:33.909 --> 00:00:36.390 it requires a level of nerve that borders on 00:00:36.390 --> 00:00:40.009 completely suicidal. Absolutely. Most seasoned 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:42.329 mobsters wouldn't dare cross Nitti in a dark 00:00:42.329 --> 00:00:44.810 alley, let alone threaten him over a casual dinner 00:00:44.810 --> 00:00:46.850 in public. Well, the guy delivering that threat 00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:50.799 wasn't most people. Welcome to today's deep dive. 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:53.640 We are digging into a really fascinating Wikipedia 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.619 article detailing the true crime history of the 00:00:56.619 --> 00:00:59.439 mob boss who actually scammed the mob. A man 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:02.600 known to history as the Bo Brummel of Galveston. 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:05.719 Exactly. Today we are looking at the wildlife 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:08.299 of Johnny Jack Nouns and the Galveston Syndicate. 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:10.500 We are going to take the facts from our sources 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:13.019 and piece together the story. of one of the most 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:15.719 unpredictable figures of the 1920s bootlegging 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:17.959 era. And our mission today is to explore the 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:20.340 forgotten, stranger than fiction life of a man 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:22.840 who survived the deadliest natural disaster in 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:25.939 United States history, only to build a massive 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:28.579 criminal empire and become this high society 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:31.900 legend. It's a crazy trajectory. It really is. 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:34.159 We will look at how the power dynamics of the 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.719 Gulf Coast shifted during Prohibition and how 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.700 one man capitalized on that chaos to create an 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:42.780 empire of immense wealth. and honestly shocking 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:44.959 contradictions. I want you, the listener, to 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:46.680 really picture this guy as we go along today. 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:50.500 Imagine a figure who is equal parts Robin Hood, 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:54.140 brutal mobster, and flamboyant celebrity all 00:01:54.140 --> 00:01:56.359 rolled into one. It's a lot to wrap your head 00:01:56.359 --> 00:01:58.980 around. Okay, let's unpack this. Because to understand 00:01:58.980 --> 00:02:01.739 the sheer willpower of Johnny Jack Nouns, we 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:03.659 have to start way before the tailored suits and 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:06.480 the speakeasies. Right. Long before the Prohibition 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.000 era, we have to look at his roots. He was actually 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.680 born John Louis Nones in 1890. In Galveston, 00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:16.139 Texas? Yes. His parents, Emmanuel and Angelica, 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:18.560 were Portuguese immigrants. They had originally 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.740 arrived in New Orleans before settling down in 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:23.800 Galveston, and it was a massive family. Huge. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.919 They had 15 children, though tragically six of 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.860 them died in infancy. So Johnny was one of nine 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:32.680 surviving siblings. And the defining moment of 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:35.520 his childhood. hits when he's just 10 years old. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:39.680 The year is 1900, and the infamous Galveston 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:41.979 Hurricane strikes the island. Which is just, 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:44.819 it's hard to overstate the devastation. To this 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:47.539 day, it remains the deadliest natural disaster 00:02:47.539 --> 00:02:50.180 in U .S. history. The island was essentially 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:53.060 swallowed by the Gulf of Mexico. And the Wikipedia 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:55.620 article provides this incredibly visceral detail 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:58.400 about that night. As the storm surged and the 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.479 floodwaters were rapidly rising inside their 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:03.379 house, Johnny's father, Emmanuel, realized they 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:05.199 were totally trapped. The water was coming up 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:07.060 too fast. Yeah, he had to physically break a 00:03:07.060 --> 00:03:08.780 hole through the ceiling of their home just to 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:10.240 get the children up into the rafters so they 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:12.610 wouldn't drown. When you visualize that scenario, 00:03:12.949 --> 00:03:15.449 the deafening roar of the hurricane, the freezing 00:03:15.449 --> 00:03:18.629 water rising in the pitch dark, a father desperately 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:21.610 smashing through wood and plaster just to push 00:03:21.610 --> 00:03:24.330 his 10 -year -old son to safety, it sets a profound 00:03:24.330 --> 00:03:27.370 baseline for the rest of his life. They survived, 00:03:27.669 --> 00:03:31.469 but the aftermath was brutal. The city was decimated 00:03:31.469 --> 00:03:34.030 and the family was plunged into severe hardship. 00:03:34.289 --> 00:03:37.080 They had nothing. So Johnny had to go to work 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:39.240 immediately. He got an early job as a butcher 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:41.659 boy. But this wasn't just about earning a modest 00:03:41.659 --> 00:03:44.319 paycheck. No, not at all. He was literally saving 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:46.719 the scrap pieces of meat at the end of his shifts. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.180 He would take those scraps and give them to his 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:51.819 younger brother, Francis, who then run them home 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:53.699 just so the family could have something to eat 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:56.520 that night. What's fascinating here is how that 00:03:56.520 --> 00:04:00.310 kind of profound vulnerability shapes a person's 00:04:00.310 --> 00:04:02.629 trajectory. It's a classic underworld origin 00:04:02.629 --> 00:04:05.069 story. Yeah. You go from literally begging for 00:04:05.069 --> 00:04:07.930 meat scraps after an apocalyptic hurricane to 00:04:07.930 --> 00:04:10.169 ensuring you never lack power or money again. 00:04:10.349 --> 00:04:13.550 It completely rewired his risk tolerance. When 00:04:13.550 --> 00:04:16.009 you survive the end of the world at age 10, the 00:04:16.009 --> 00:04:18.589 conventional rules of society probably seem pretty 00:04:18.589 --> 00:04:21.670 fragile, if not entirely optional. That is such 00:04:21.670 --> 00:04:25.519 a good point. And by about 1914, he starts testing 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:28.160 those rules. He begins getting involved in illicit 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:30.759 activities on the island, but he makes a very 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:33.819 calculated, deliberate move here. The name change. 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.819 Exactly. He doesn't want to drag his family's 00:04:36.819 --> 00:04:39.220 honorable reputation through the mud, and he 00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:41.100 certainly doesn't want to expose his parents 00:04:41.100 --> 00:04:43.540 or his siblings to his dangerous new rivals. 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:46.480 So he alters his last name. Just a slate tweet. 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:49.480 Right. Nonis becomes nouns. John Louis Nonis 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:51.579 officially transforms into the underworld figure. 00:04:51.980 --> 00:04:54.839 Johnny Jack nouns. He essentially built a linguistic 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.379 firewall between his illicit operations and his 00:04:57.379 --> 00:04:59.699 family's doorstep. And that decision happens 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:02.379 right on the precipice of the 1920s. Which changes 00:05:02.379 --> 00:05:04.980 everything. Oh, completely. When Congress passes 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:07.439 the Volstead Act and Prohibition begins, the 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:09.680 demand for illegal alcohol skyrockets and the 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:11.439 real money starts flowing into the Gulf Coast. 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:15.439 And Johnny steps right into that void. He rounds 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:17.399 up a crew that becomes known as the Downtown 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.939 Gang. And he partners up with a guy who, honestly, 00:05:21.449 --> 00:05:22.810 He sounds like a character straight out of a 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:25.689 pulp novel. George Musi. Yes, a one -armed Syrian 00:05:25.689 --> 00:05:28.589 man named George Musi. Together, they set out 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:31.310 to totally dominate the Galveston rum -running 00:05:31.310 --> 00:05:34.089 trade. But they faced fierce competition almost 00:05:34.089 --> 00:05:36.870 immediately. They were constantly fighting for 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:38.870 control of the island against the rival beach 00:05:38.870 --> 00:05:41.810 gang. Led by Ollie Quinn and Dutch Voigt. Right. 00:05:42.269 --> 00:05:45.149 But Nouns and Musi had the edge in logistics. 00:05:45.529 --> 00:05:47.970 They controlled the midnight supply chains through 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:50.730 what was known as Rum Roe. For those who might 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:53.470 not know the mechanics of 1920s maritime smuggling, 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:56.250 Rum Roe was essentially this floating liquor 00:05:56.250 --> 00:05:59.250 market. Huge cargo ships loaded with booze would 00:05:59.250 --> 00:06:01.850 anchor just outside international waters. Safely 00:06:01.850 --> 00:06:05.550 beyond U .S. jurisdiction. Exactly. for the bootleggers 00:06:05.550 --> 00:06:08.050 was getting small, fast boats out to those ships, 00:06:08.189 --> 00:06:10.730 loading up the cargo and smuggling it back to 00:06:10.730 --> 00:06:12.949 shore by breaching the heavily armed Coast Guard 00:06:12.949 --> 00:06:15.269 blockades. And breaching that blockade required 00:06:15.269 --> 00:06:18.149 serious speed. The Coast Guard cutters were relentless. 00:06:18.589 --> 00:06:21.389 But the logistics of this operation showed just 00:06:21.389 --> 00:06:24.129 how sophisticated Johnny was. He didn't just 00:06:24.129 --> 00:06:26.490 go out and buy a faster boat. No, she went way 00:06:26.490 --> 00:06:29.110 further than that. He owned a rum -running vessel 00:06:29.110 --> 00:06:31.930 called the Cherokee, and he had an actual airplane 00:06:31.930 --> 00:06:34.350 engine installed in it. An airplane engine in 00:06:34.350 --> 00:06:36.730 a boat. He recognized that to beat the federal 00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:40.129 agents, he needed a technological leap. So he 00:06:40.129 --> 00:06:43.250 is out there zooming across the Gulf ways, loaded 00:06:43.250 --> 00:06:45.569 down with massive shipments of liquor from the 00:06:45.569 --> 00:06:48.610 Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica, just leaving the Coast 00:06:48.610 --> 00:06:51.290 Guard completely in his wake. And that kind of 00:06:51.290 --> 00:06:53.629 operational dominance was incredibly lucrative. 00:06:54.110 --> 00:06:56.110 The source notes he soon became a millionaire 00:06:56.110 --> 00:06:58.389 from this bootlegging, which he supplemented 00:06:58.389 --> 00:07:00.810 with a network of gambling and prostitution operations 00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:04.009 in his downtown Galveston clubs. I'm stuck on 00:07:04.009 --> 00:07:06.129 this one detail regarding his supply chain, though. 00:07:06.149 --> 00:07:09.170 The soap coupons. Oh, the Cuban suppliers. Yes. 00:07:09.310 --> 00:07:11.709 He used to travel to Cuba to buy booze from the 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:14.189 suppliers there, but he would routinely trick 00:07:14.189 --> 00:07:16.810 them into accepting soap coupons instead of actual 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:19.699 American currency. How does a bootlegger pull 00:07:19.699 --> 00:07:22.079 off a massive currency scam against international 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:25.300 smugglers without getting killed? Well, communication 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:28.879 in the 1920s Gulf Coast wasn't exactly instantaneous. 00:07:29.420 --> 00:07:31.959 There were massive communication gaps between 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:34.220 the Caribbean syndicates and the American buyers. 00:07:34.459 --> 00:07:36.800 That makes sense. You also have to factor in 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:39.779 the language barrier and the sheer unfamiliarity 00:07:39.779 --> 00:07:43.160 with American promotional materials. If a wealthy, 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:45.959 well -dressed American boss hands you a stack 00:07:45.959 --> 00:07:48.220 of intricately printed slips of paper in the 00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:50.740 middle of a rushed midnight transaction. You 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:52.680 might just assume it's money. Right. You assume 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:54.920 it's a legitimate promissory note or a specific 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:58.259 banking currency. By the time the suppliers realized 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:00.899 they were holding coupons for laundry soap, Nunes 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:03.759 was already halfway back to Texas. He was scamming 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.060 people left and right. And he was notoriously 00:08:06.060 --> 00:08:08.500 ruthless when dealing with local rivals, too. 00:08:08.889 --> 00:08:11.490 He would frequently hijack liquor shipments straight 00:08:11.490 --> 00:08:13.649 from the rival beach gang. If we connect this 00:08:13.649 --> 00:08:15.410 to the bigger picture, you have to understand 00:08:15.410 --> 00:08:18.930 why a local turf war in Texas mattered on a national 00:08:18.930 --> 00:08:22.889 scale. Because of the geography. Exactly. Galveston's 00:08:22.889 --> 00:08:25.870 direct, unimpeded access to the Gulf of Mexico 00:08:25.870 --> 00:08:28.490 made it a crucial pipeline for the entire United 00:08:28.490 --> 00:08:31.550 States. The massive northern syndicates, the 00:08:31.550 --> 00:08:34.649 gangs up in the Midwest and New York. They couldn't 00:08:34.649 --> 00:08:37.590 rely solely on Canadian border smuggling. It 00:08:37.590 --> 00:08:39.710 wasn't enough for them. Right. They needed that 00:08:39.710 --> 00:08:42.429 southern Gulf supply to quench the thirst of 00:08:42.429 --> 00:08:45.809 the major cities. That geographic advantage transformed 00:08:45.809 --> 00:08:49.169 local bosses like nouns into essential high -level 00:08:49.169 --> 00:08:51.649 partners. Which brings us to the Chicago outfit. 00:08:52.250 --> 00:08:54.549 A young soldier from Chicago starts traveling 00:08:54.549 --> 00:08:57.409 down to Galveston to buy wholesale liquor from 00:08:57.409 --> 00:08:59.330 the downtown gang. And that young soldier was 00:08:59.330 --> 00:09:01.690 Frank Nitti. The same Frank Nitti who would eventually 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:03.950 become the terrifying enforcer and front boss 00:09:03.950 --> 00:09:06.269 for Al Capone. Nitti was down in Texas cutting 00:09:06.269 --> 00:09:08.490 his teeth, managing the supply lines for the 00:09:08.490 --> 00:09:11.490 outfit. And doing business with Johnny Jack Nowns 00:09:11.490 --> 00:09:14.450 meant dealing with an incredibly complex personality. 00:09:14.990 --> 00:09:17.309 Here's where it gets really interesting. Johnny 00:09:17.309 --> 00:09:20.649 had this wild duality to him. On one hand, he 00:09:20.649 --> 00:09:23.330 cultivated the image of a folk hero. A local 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:25.830 legend? Yeah. He was known to walk the streets 00:09:25.830 --> 00:09:29.129 of Galveston carrying thick bundles of $100 bills, 00:09:29.330 --> 00:09:31.289 and he would just hand them out to anyone he 00:09:31.289 --> 00:09:34.070 saw who was struggling. During the holidays, 00:09:34.190 --> 00:09:36.330 he'd drive his expensive cars around the neighborhoods 00:09:36.330 --> 00:09:39.049 and buy Christmas toys for all the local kids. 00:09:39.389 --> 00:09:41.610 He understood the value of public relations? 00:09:41.909 --> 00:09:44.929 Many tolerant Galvestonians viewed him as a modern 00:09:44.929 --> 00:09:47.629 -day Robin Hood. And having the local populace 00:09:47.629 --> 00:09:50.370 on your side is the best insurance policy a criminal 00:09:50.370 --> 00:09:52.929 can have against police informants? But cross 00:09:52.929 --> 00:09:55.350 him. And it was a completely different story. 00:09:55.529 --> 00:09:57.950 If anyone gave him lip or challenged his authority, 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:00.669 he wouldn't just argue with them. He would physically 00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:03.169 beat them in the street with a gold -headed cane 00:10:03.169 --> 00:10:05.490 he always carried. That's a striking contrast. 00:10:05.909 --> 00:10:08.470 Very. He was flamboyant. He loved the spotlight. 00:10:08.730 --> 00:10:11.330 But the violence was always simmering right beneath 00:10:11.330 --> 00:10:14.090 the surface. That flamboyance is exactly what 00:10:14.090 --> 00:10:17.289 earned him the nickname the Bo Brummel of Galveston, 00:10:17.389 --> 00:10:20.710 which is a nod to the iconic 19th century British 00:10:20.710 --> 00:10:23.730 dandy. He lived at a scale that was almost hard 00:10:23.730 --> 00:10:26.590 to comprehend, and he didn't restrict his extravagant 00:10:26.590 --> 00:10:29.429 lifestyle to Texas. No, he took his act to the 00:10:29.429 --> 00:10:31.850 East Coast. He would travel up to New York City 00:10:31.850 --> 00:10:34.809 and throw these legendary events. The article 00:10:34.809 --> 00:10:36.789 mentions he once hosted a party at the Hotel 00:10:36.789 --> 00:10:40.710 Pennsylvania that cost $40 ,000. In the 1920s. 00:10:40.710 --> 00:10:43.929 Yes. That is a staggering fortune. That's well 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:46.970 over half a million dollars today. High society 00:10:46.970 --> 00:10:49.649 officials, politicians, and Hollywood actresses 00:10:49.649 --> 00:10:52.929 were constantly flocking to him. He kept an apartment 00:10:52.929 --> 00:10:55.210 overlooking Central Park specifically for his 00:10:55.210 --> 00:10:57.690 business trips and these massive parties. He 00:10:57.690 --> 00:11:00.269 had his suits custom -tailored in New York. His 00:11:00.269 --> 00:11:03.590 personality and sheer wealth magnetized starlets 00:11:03.590 --> 00:11:06.149 of the silent film era. He even briefly dated 00:11:06.149 --> 00:11:08.679 the famous actress Theda Bara. And there were 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:10.500 these scandalous rumors floating around about 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:12.779 actresses like Clara Bow and Nancy Carroll attending 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:15.379 his New York parties and literally bathing in 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:18.340 tubs filled to the brim with champagne. Whether 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:21.120 those specific champagne baths are factual or 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:24.120 just embellished jazz age legends, they perfectly 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:27.460 illustrate the peak of 1920s excess. He was operating 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:29.360 in the same circles as the biggest names in the 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:31.440 American underworld. He was rubbing shoulders 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:33.820 with Arnold Rothstein's associates in New York 00:11:33.820 --> 00:11:36.639 and the Capone Syndicate in Chicago. But operating 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.340 at that level eventually brings conflict. Remember 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:41.940 Frank Nitti coming down to buy booze? Of course. 00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:45.779 Well, in 1924, Nitti actually stole $50 ,000 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:49.299 from Johnny. This caused a massive, dangerous 00:11:49.299 --> 00:11:51.960 rift between the downtown gang and the Chicago 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:54.980 outfit. Middy stopped coming to Galveston entirely 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:58.000 for years. It is too hot. But nested inside this 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:01.100 intense mob feud is a bizarrely sweet detail 00:12:01.100 --> 00:12:04.179 about Johnny's brother, Francis. The same Francis 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:06.059 who used to run the meat scraps home after the 00:12:06.059 --> 00:12:08.519 hurricane. That's the one. Fast forward to the 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:11.580 Great Depression. Francis loses his legitimate 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.700 job working at the Santa Fe Railroad. Johnny 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:16.740 immediately steps up and gives his little brother 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:19.919 a job bartending at one of his Galveston speakeasies. 00:12:19.940 --> 00:12:22.440 Looking out for family. Always. Now, even though 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:24.399 Frank Nitti and Johnny were ready to go to war 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.179 over that stolen $50 ,000, Nitti actually really 00:12:27.179 --> 00:12:30.120 liked Francis. Nitti liked the bartender so much 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:32.700 that he shipped Francis expensive Duncan Fife 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:35.480 antique furniture as a gift. It is a remarkable 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:38.080 detail that humanizes these otherwise ruthless 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:41.580 historical figures. You have two mob bosses who 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:43.820 want to kill each other over a fortune, but one 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:46.340 of them is taking the time to send high -end 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:48.299 antique furniture to the other's little brother. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:50.679 Just because he thinks he's a good kid who pours 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:53.960 a nice drink. Exactly. It shows the strange compartmentalization 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:57.230 of underworld relationships. Well... The champagne 00:12:57.230 --> 00:13:00.889 baths, the airplane boat, the high -profile feuds, 00:13:00.889 --> 00:13:03.370 all of that noise was bound to attract the attention 00:13:03.370 --> 00:13:07.149 of the federal authorities. In 1924, Nouns faced 00:13:07.149 --> 00:13:10.690 his first major legal downfall when he was convicted 00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:13.129 of bootlegging. And his sheer arrogance in the 00:13:13.129 --> 00:13:15.610 courtroom is just staggering. He stands in front 00:13:15.610 --> 00:13:18.389 of federal judge J .C. Hutchison, and the judge 00:13:18.389 --> 00:13:21.950 hands down a $5 ,000 fine. For most people, that 00:13:21.950 --> 00:13:24.370 would be financially devastating back then. Encropting. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.419 Johnny just looks at the judge, grins, and says, 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:30.480 hell, judge, I've got that much in my right pocket. 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:33.639 Unfortunately for Nouns, the ability to pay the 00:13:33.639 --> 00:13:35.940 fine out of pocket didn't keep him out of a cell. 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.919 The judge sentenced him to serve up to two years 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.480 in the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. So he 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:44.360 serves his time, comes back to Galveston, meets 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:46.240 back up with his one -armed right -hand man, 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.639 George Musie, and they go right back to smuggling. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:51.720 But they get sloppy. Less than two years after 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:53.899 getting out of Leavenworth, they're caught red 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:56.600 -handed by federal agents unloading a massive 00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:59.679 shipment of booze in Seabrook, Texas. That arrest 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.480 leads to another prolonged trial. It stretched 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:05.759 over two years and culminated in a 1929 sentence. 00:14:06.179 --> 00:14:08.740 This time, he is sent to the Atlanta Federal 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:12.080 Penitentiary. Judge Hutchison famously stated 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:14.659 on the official record that Johnny Jack Nouns 00:14:14.659 --> 00:14:17.080 had bothered him more than any other person in 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.659 his entire judicial district. While Johnny was 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:21.759 sitting in an Atlanta cell, the world outside 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:24.820 was rapidly moving on. Prohibition was repealed 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:27.940 in 1933. The illegal liquor empires that defined 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:30.179 the 1920s were suddenly obsolete. Everything 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:32.320 changed. So when Johnny finally walked free, 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:34.659 he returned to a Galveston he barely recognized. 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:37.399 And guess who suddenly reappears in town now 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:39.639 that the alcohol is flowing legally again? Frank 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:42.340 Nitti. Frank Nitti returns to Texas, seemingly 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:44.259 assuming the old feud was forgotten history. 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:47.679 But nouns hadn't forgotten the $50 ,000. Not 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.059 a chance. And to make matters more complicated, 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:52.740 there are conflicting historical accounts suggesting 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:56.039 Nitti had also stolen $24 ,000 from Johnny's 00:14:56.039 --> 00:14:59.039 old rival, Dutch Voight. Whatever the exact accounting 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:02.059 was, Johnny and his former enemy Dutch Voight 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:04.899 decide to team up. They track Frank Heddy down 00:15:04.899 --> 00:15:07.799 at a bar in Houston. They physically drag the 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:09.799 Chicago enforcer all the way back to the island, 00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:12.519 sit him down at a table on Seawall Boulevard, 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:15.059 and put a plate of spaghetti in front of him. 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:16.940 Which brings us right back to the start of our 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:20.029 deep dive. Over that pasta, Johnny delivers the 00:15:20.029 --> 00:15:23.250 legendary ultimatum fork over the money. Or your 00:15:23.250 --> 00:15:25.450 brains go on the plate. It is the ultimate power 00:15:25.450 --> 00:15:28.610 move. And it worked. The very next day, Nitti 00:15:28.610 --> 00:15:31.029 paid the money he owed, got on a train back to 00:15:31.029 --> 00:15:33.250 Chicago, and was never seen in Galveston again. 00:15:33.509 --> 00:15:36.230 He chased away the Chicago outfit. But his victory 00:15:36.230 --> 00:15:38.789 was hollow. Because while Johnny had been sitting 00:15:38.789 --> 00:15:41.570 in federal prison in Atlanta, a massive power 00:15:41.570 --> 00:15:43.570 vacuum had opened up in the Galveston underworld. 00:15:44.009 --> 00:15:46.690 In organized crime, absence is an open invitation. 00:15:47.450 --> 00:15:50.370 During Nouns' incarceration, two brothers, Sam 00:15:50.370 --> 00:15:53.409 and Rose Macio, saw their opening. A Macio syndicate. 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:55.649 Right. They capitalized on the institutional 00:15:55.649 --> 00:15:58.889 chaos, steadily taking over the Beach Gang and 00:15:58.889 --> 00:16:01.289 systematically absorbing the entire Galveston 00:16:01.289 --> 00:16:03.950 underworld. They established a syndicate which 00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:06.850 was far more organized and corporate in its structure 00:16:06.850 --> 00:16:09.190 than the old rum -running gangs. And the Macios 00:16:09.190 --> 00:16:12.090 cemented their absolute control by pulling a 00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:14.710 hit on Johnny's longtime partner, George Musi. 00:16:14.970 --> 00:16:17.029 With Musi assassinated and the Macios holding 00:16:17.029 --> 00:16:19.450 all the cards, the downtown game was finished. 00:16:19.690 --> 00:16:22.950 Johnny had lost his empire. But Nouns was a survivor. 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:26.370 Just as he survived the 1900 hurricane, he pivoted. 00:16:26.669 --> 00:16:29.549 With his gang dismantled, he transitioned into 00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:32.009 a sort of elder statesman of the island, operating 00:16:32.009 --> 00:16:33.730 semi -legitimate nightclubs and restaurants. 00:16:34.029 --> 00:16:35.590 And then he does the most unpredictable thing 00:16:35.590 --> 00:16:39.210 yet. He goes into politics. In 1947, Johnny Jack 00:16:39.210 --> 00:16:41.570 Nouns runs for mayor of West Beach, Galveston. 00:16:41.690 --> 00:16:44.009 And he wins. When you look at the trajectory 00:16:44.009 --> 00:16:46.549 of organized crime figures who survive into their 00:16:46.549 --> 00:16:49.370 later years, you often see this pivot. They don't 00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:51.509 just want to elicit power anymore. They seek 00:16:51.509 --> 00:16:54.350 legitimate civic validation to cement their legacy. 00:16:54.649 --> 00:16:58.149 However, his time in office is short lived. Historical 00:16:58.149 --> 00:17:00.389 records note that he was found guilty of voter 00:17:00.389 --> 00:17:02.929 fraud and he was forced out of office in 1949. 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:05.720 You're simply reporting the facts as they stand 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:08.140 in the historical record there. The conviction 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:11.259 ended that specific term. Exactly. But incredibly, 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:14.579 it didn't end his political ambitions. In 1960, 00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:17.519 he dusts himself off and runs again, this time 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:20.099 for mayor of Pirates Beach in Galveston. And 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:22.279 he wins again. He simply refused to fade away. 00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:25.519 Incredible resilience. So what does this all 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:28.779 mean? How does a life this chaotic actually wrap 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:32.019 up? His final years were marked by severe physical 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:35.470 decline. By the late 1960s, the flamboyant boss 00:17:35.470 --> 00:17:37.789 who used to beat rivals with a gold -headed cane 00:17:37.789 --> 00:17:40.609 had lost both of his legs to diabetes. He eventually 00:17:40.609 --> 00:17:43.529 passed away on March 11, 1970, at the age of 00:17:43.529 --> 00:17:45.670 80 at St. Mary's Hospital in Galveston. Even 00:17:45.670 --> 00:17:48.049 his funeral feels cinematic. When he was buried 00:17:48.049 --> 00:17:50.230 at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, one of his honorary 00:17:50.230 --> 00:17:53.009 pallbearers was Dutch Voight. The rival mobster 00:17:53.009 --> 00:17:55.150 from the Beach Gang. The man he fought against 00:17:55.150 --> 00:17:57.630 for control of Rumrow, and the man he later teamed 00:17:57.630 --> 00:18:00.569 up with to threaten Frank Nitti. His sworn enemy 00:18:00.569 --> 00:18:03.200 helped carry his casket to the grave. The story 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:05.559 of Johnny Jacknowns forces us to examine the 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:08.259 blurred lines of history. How do you reconcile 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:11.180 a ruthless bootlegger who scammed international 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:13.619 suppliers and intimidated locals with a cane 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:16.140 with the boy who saved his family from starvation 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:19.259 and the man who handed out $100 bills to the 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:21.920 poor? It's hard to square. He was a product of 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.720 a harsh environment driven by an unyielding will 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.460 to survive at any cost. It's the ultimate American 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:30.710 true crime story. It's got roaring 20s, glamour, 00:18:30.730 --> 00:18:33.009 federal prison, political scandal, and a guy 00:18:33.009 --> 00:18:35.450 who refused to back down from anyone. This raises 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:37.369 an important question, though. Think back to 00:18:37.369 --> 00:18:39.910 the very beginning of our discussion. John Louis 00:18:39.910 --> 00:18:42.589 Nonis changed his name to nouns specifically 00:18:42.589 --> 00:18:44.890 to protect his family's honorable reputation 00:18:44.890 --> 00:18:48.349 from his criminal deeds. He created an alias 00:18:48.349 --> 00:18:50.410 to keep the Nonis name clean and hidden from 00:18:50.410 --> 00:18:52.710 his underworld life. Right, the linguistic firewall 00:18:52.710 --> 00:18:55.690 we talk about. But because of his wild success 00:18:55.690 --> 00:18:58.029 as a mobster, because of the airplane boat, the 00:18:58.029 --> 00:19:00.569 champagne baths, and the spaghetti showdown with 00:19:00.569 --> 00:19:03.150 Frank Nitti, that fake criminal alias is the 00:19:03.150 --> 00:19:05.390 only reason his family's history is immortalized 00:19:05.390 --> 00:19:07.970 on Wikipedia today. Wow. I didn't think of that. 00:19:08.089 --> 00:19:11.009 His parents, Emmanuel and Angelica, his brother 00:19:11.009 --> 00:19:13.829 Francis, the incredible story of surviving the 00:19:13.829 --> 00:19:16.049 1900 hurricane by breaking through the ceiling, 00:19:16.170 --> 00:19:18.890 all of that is remembered entirely because he 00:19:18.890 --> 00:19:22.210 became a famous outlaw. By trying to hide his 00:19:22.210 --> 00:19:24.430 family name, did he actually end up preserving 00:19:24.430 --> 00:19:27.150 their story forever in the strangest way possible? 00:19:27.269 --> 00:19:30.150 That is quite the paradox to end on. Did his 00:19:30.150 --> 00:19:32.470 life of crime actually save his family from being 00:19:32.470 --> 00:19:34.869 forgotten by history? Definitely something for 00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:37.069 you to chew on long after this deep dive ends. 00:19:37.930 --> 00:19:40.029 That's all we have for you today on the Galveston 00:19:40.029 --> 00:19:42.349 Syndicate and the Bo Brummel himself. Keep questioning 00:19:42.349 --> 00:19:43.769 the history you think you know, and we'll see 00:19:43.769 --> 00:19:44.250 you next time.