Editing Mike Merlo (section)

{{Short description|American political and organized crime figure}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Michele Merlo
| image       = 1921.MikeMerlo.jpg
| caption     = Merlo in a 1921 passport application
| birth_date  = {{birth-year|January 4, 1880}}
| birth_place = [[Sambuca di Sicilia|Sambuca]], Sicily
| death_date  = {{dda|November 8, 1924|January 4, 1880}}
| death_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]], United States
| other_names = Mike Merlo
| known_for   = Chicago labor leader whose death precipitated the city's infamous 1920s gangster war
| party       = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
}}

'''Michele''' "'''Mike'''" '''Merlo''' (January 4, 1880 &ndash; November 9, 1924) was a Chicago political figure and "fixer" associated in his later years with the [[Chicago Outfit|Torrio-Capone organization]]. As head of the [[Unione Siciliana]] fraternal group, Merlo wielded considerable influence both in Chicago's [[Cook County Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] politics and also within Chicago's criminal underworld during the early years of [[Prohibition]]. Although Merlo was able to maintain peace among the city's numerous [[rum-running|bootleg]]ging gangs, his death marked the beginning of Chicago's bootleg wars that plagued the city for the rest of the decade.