Ernesto Rossi (gangster) Ernesto Rossi (gangster) Ernest "Hoppy" Rossi (May 27, 1903 – April 17, 1931) was a follower of Frankie Yale and friend and associate of Al Capone before he moved from Brooklyn to Chicago. Ernest was born on May 27, 1903 to Pasquale Rossi and Anna Costa at 250 Mott Street. Immigration ship manifests show that his parents were recent immigrants to New York City from Naples, Italy. According to police, Rossi had a long police record and was described as a "gangster and racketeer". He was a known follower of Frankie Yale and was a friend and associate of Al
Al Capone suspected of being involved. Torrio headed an essentially Italian organized crime group that was the biggest in the city, with Capone as his right-hand man. He was wary of being drawn into gang wars and tried to negotiate agreements over territory between rival crime groups. The smaller North Side Gang led by Dean O'Banion (also known as Dion O'Banion) was of mixed ethnicity, and it came under pressure from the Genna brothers who were allied with Torrio. O'Banion found that Torrio was unhelpful with the encroachment of the Gennas into the North Side, despite his pretensions to be a settler