Dean O'Banion led one of Chicago's most powerful Prohibition Era gangs. He and his followers controlled all bootlegging and gambling activities on the city's North Side (north of Madison Street and sandwiched between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan). By day he was a prosperous florist who made a fortune from the gangster funeral trade. By night he supplied liquor, cards, and dice to his territory's citizens (among whom were the wealthy Gold Coast residents). When the impulse took him, he also cracked safes and hijacked rival beer/alcohol shipments. A few times he even stole liquor deliveries intended for ostensible allies. The latter prediliction was a contributing factor in his death.