Claude Maddox

Claude Maddox

"Screwy" Claude Maddox (1897–1958), also known as J.E. Moore, was a Chicago mobster and head of the Circus Cafe Gang whose ranks included future Chicago mobsters Anthony "Tough Tony" Capezio, Vincenzo De Mora ("Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, one-time owner of the "Green Mill") and Antonino "Tony" "Joe Batters" Accardo.

During Prohibition, the gang was the single Northside organization allied with Alphonse "Big Al," "Scarface" Capone's Chicago Outfit. The police discovered a drum full of ammunition for Thompson submachine guns as well as numerous overcoats strewn about the back of the cafe (inside one of the coats, a loaded .45 pistol was found). It was speculated that the garage next door was used to "torch cut" one of the getaway cars used in the massacre, however it later caught fire and exploded. Although initially held in custody, Maddox was later released, having been in court on an unrelated charge during the time of the massacre. Although the gang was reduced to a satellite by the end of Prohibition, Maddox himself held a high position in the Chicago syndicate until his death in 1959, in his Riverside home, from a heart attack. His funeral was attended by The Outfit heavy hitters and FBI surveillance.