Charles "Trigger Happy"[1] Fischetti (March 24, 1901 – April 11, 1951) was a Chicago mobster who was Al Capone's bodyguard and cousin.
Early life
Charles Fischetti was born on March 24, 1901. His mother was named Mary.[2] He had a brother, Nicholas, who was a dentist,[2] and two other brothers, Rocco and Joseph, who were alleged criminals. He was a cousin of Al Capone.[3][4]
Career
Fischetti started his career as Al Capone's chauffeur in South Brooklyn.[2] In the 1920s, he helped Capone spread his business in Cicero, Illinois.[2] Fischetti attended the 1946 Havana Conference of Cosa Nostra leaders and received the murder contract on Bugsy Siegel.[citation needed] Fischetti was also good friends with singers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, the former as early as the 1940s.[5] Upon Al Capone's death in 1947, Fischetti reportedly inherited his mob investments.[2]
Fischetti was called a notorious Chicago gangster in the FBI files.[5] With his brother Rocco, he surrendered April 2, 1951, to the sergeant-at-arms of the United States Senate having been sought to testify before the Senate Crime Investigating Committee (Kefauver committee). Charles Fischetti died nine days later, before he could testify.[6][7]
Fischetti died of a heart attack on April 11, 1951, in Miami Beach, Florida.[6][7] $30,000 worth of flowers in seven cars were sent to his funeral, which was held at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church at 561 Carroll Street in Brooklyn.[2] It was attended by 1,500 relatives, most of them women.[2] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle suggested they may have been the wives of organized crime associates.[2] Meanwhile, there were also 12 policemen in uniform and 20 in plainclothes.[2] Fischetti was buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City.[2]
