Jake Lingle

Alfred "Jake" Lingle (July 2, 1891 – June 9, 1930) was an American reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He was shot dead gangland-style in the underpass leading to the Illinois Central Randolph Street station on the afternoon on June 9, 1930, as dozens of people watched. The man convicted of the murder was Leo Vincent Brothers.

Lingle was initially lionized as a martyred journalist, but it was eventually revealed that he was involved in racketeering with the Capone organization and that his death had more to do with his own criminal activities than his journalism.

Early life

Jake Lingle was born on July 2, 1891, and raised on the West Side of Chicago. When he was eight years old, his parents converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism. He received an education up to the eighth grade at John Calhoun North Elementary. His longtime friend, William F. Russell, later became the police commissioner in Chicago. Before becoming an office boy for the Chicago Tribune, Lingle played semi-professional baseball and worked for a surgical supply company.

Career Jake Lingle began his career in journalism in 1912.

Death

In Chicago, on the afternoon of June 9, 1930, Lingle left the Sherman House Hotel, where he had conversed with some power brokers, to catch the 1:30 pm train to a racetrack in Homewood where he gambled on horses. On his way through the Randolph Street Terminal, he was followed by two men. One of them, described as thin, with blonde hair, and blue eyes, raised his .38 caliber pistol and shot Lingle once directly in the back of the head, killing him.

Discoveries Lingle's death brought to the public's attention his connections with gangsters. Not only did people discover what Lingle's occupation really was, but they also learned about the gangs and about those with whom Lingle was associated.

Reactions Lingle had initially been considered a martyr, and an immense crowd attended his funeral in the West Jackson Boulevard District, with mourners overflowing onto the street outside the Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica.

However, once other journalists learned about Jake Lingle's association with mobsters and his gambling activity, they began questioning the Chicago Tribune about it. In response, the Tribune said that it had not been aware of Lingle's activities. However, Frank Wilson, an IRS agent, said Robert McCormick, who was the Tribune's proprietor, had arranged a meeting between Lingle and himself when he was investigating the Al Capone case, and claimed this proved that the Tribune knew about Jake Lingle's involvement with gangs.

The 1988 novel by Howard Browne, Pork City, depicts Lingle's murder and the subsequent investigation by the Cook County State's Attorney's office.

In the 1993 series The Untouchables, Jake Lingle's murder is depicted in the two-part story, "Murder Ink," and is portrayed by David Perkovich.