Rocco Perri

The most well-known figure in American organized crime history is undoubtedly Al Capone. You might have heard about his Canadian counterpart, Rocco Perri, if you had been north at the same time. Perri was a bootlegger who actually assisted Capone by transporting whiskey for Capone's organization from Canada to Chicago. His criminal activities were also well known. He even boasted to his local newspaper about how well-oiled his bootlegging business was and how his crew didn't even require guns. He thought that instead of shooting the police, bootleggers merely needed to outrun them. Anybody who was apprehended was at fault for being too slow.

He was able to accumulate a wealth during his tenure as a criminal boss, albeit his family members continue to dispute it. This is as a result of Rocco Perri taking a walk one day in 1944. He was never seen again. At the height of his criminal career, this happened, and there was much discussion about what might have transpired. He might have been killed by rival gangsters outright. However, other relatives believe that after learning of a murderous plan against him, he fled, both literally and symbolically, and began a new life south of the border.

Born:Rocco Perre, December 30, 1887Platì, Calabria, Italy
Disappeared: April 23, 1944 (aged 56)Hamilton, Ontario, Canada