Johnny Jack Nounes

Johnny Jack Nounes
Conviction(s)	1924
Penalty	Imprisonment, Leavenworth Penitentiary
Status	Deceased
Occupation	Gangster

"Johnny" Jack Nounes, also known as the "Beau Brummel of Galveston," was a gang leader in Galveston, Texas in the United States during the early 1900s. He, with George Musey, led the Downtown Gang, one of the two gangs which controlled most of the Galveston underworld until the mid 1920s.^[1] As the Prohibition era began his gang came to be one of the dominant forces in the Galveston liquor trade. Galveston became the main port of entry for liquor supplying Texas and many parts of the Midwest.

Nounes' flamboyance attracted the attention of federal authorities leading to his conviction in 1924 and sentencing to Leavenworth Penitentiary.^[2] His prison term was short but only two years after being released he was again sentenced to prison after being caught with a shipment of liquor in Seabrook.^[3]

Frank Nitti, a business partner of Nounes, would go on to become the "enforcer" for Al Capone's crime organization in Chicago.^[4]

See also

	Texas portal
	Houston portal

• Dutch Voight
• Frank Nitti
• Free State of Galveston
• Ollie Quinn
• Rosario Maceo
• Sam Maceo

Notes

1. ^ Haile (1998), p. 15. "Two criminal organizations fought for control of the profitable pipeline: the so-called “Beach Gang” led by Dutch Voight and the “Downtown Gang” headed by the menacing George Musey and colorful Johnny Jack Nounes. While Voight wisely maintained a low profile which kept him on the streets, Nounes spent almost as much time in jail as the limelight he loved so much."
2. ^ Haile (1998), p. 15. "Johnny Jack’s free-spending flamboyance earned him folk-hero status among tolerant Galvestonians but also attracted the attention of federal agents, who succeeded in sending him to Leavenworth in 1924."
3. ^ Haile (1998), p. 15. "Less than two years after his triumphant return, Nounes and partner Musey were caught red-handed at Seabrook with a boatload of booze."
4. ^ Cartwright (1998), pg. 210.

References

• Cartwright, Gary (1998). Galveston: a history of the island. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-87565-190-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=RFRu8kYThEcC. 
• Haile, Bartee (16 March 2005). "Bootleggers Shoot It Out In Galveston". The Lone Star Iconoclast: 15. http://www.lonestaricon.com/online/2005/11iconoclast.pdf. </ref>
• Nieman, Robert (Fall 2008). "Galveston's Balinese Room". Texas Ranger Dispatch (Texas Ranger Association Foundation) (27). http://www.unlimitedfightnews.com/balinese_dispatch.pdf. 

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Name	Nounes, Johnny Jack
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