(Louis Alterie)

Born: 1886
Died: July 18, 1935

The owner of a ranch in Colorado, Alterie was rare among bootleggers in his wild-west approach to gangster life in Chicago. Hot-tempered and often brutal, he was murdered by an unidentified killer years after retiring from his criminal rackets.

A Chicago racketeer

All that is known about Louis Alterie’s background is that he was born Leland Varain in 1886. Other details about his life may—or may not—be true. He was probably born in either Denver, Colorado, or Los Angeles, California. According to some accounts, he boxed in the early 1900s, using the name of Kid Haynes. Other reports have him working on the right side of the law in Colorado, where he earned the position of lieutenant in the Denver police department.

By 1922, Alterie had settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he was arrested with...