Gus Winkler (March 28, 1901 – October 9, 1933) was an American gangster who headed a Prohibition-era criminal gang specializing in armed robbery and murder for hire with Fred "Killer" Burke. Winkler was a senior associate of Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone and is considered a suspect in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Winkler is believed to be the first member of the National Crime Syndicate to be murdered for talking to the FBI. Early life Winkler was born August Henry Winkeler to Bernard J. Winkeler (September 28, 1862- November 23, 1928) and Mary K. (June 1, 1862- March 5, 1923) in Lemay, Missouri of German descent; he was a brother to Clara (April 21, 1895 – June 23, 1987), Jacob C. (1893-1961) and Anna C. (1890-1960). In September 1917, at the age of 16, Winkler enlisted in the U.S. Army Ambulance Corps and served on the Western Front with the 91st Infantry Division. After his return to America, Winkler joined up with the notorious Egan's Rats gang. It was during this time that he first became associated with Fred "Killer" Burke and Bob Carey, among others. Winkler later confessed to his wife Georgette to participating in the "one-way ride" murder of auto thief Wesley Smith in July 1923. After the heart of the Egan gang went to prison for mail robbery in November 1924, Winkler and his pals signed on with the South City-based Cuckoo Gang. Winkler, Burke, and Milford Jones were captured in downtown St. Louis on June 5, 1925 after a high-speed chase and shootout with the St. Louis police. Within a year and a half, Winkler moved to Detroit and briefly aligned himself with the Purple Gang that was under control of Abe Bernstein. Partnership with Al Capone After arousing the ire of Al Capone by kidnapping a Detroit gambler, Winkler and his pals hired out for freelance work from Capone and the Chicago Outfit in exchange for releasing the gambler unharmed. Capone and Winkler cultivated a close friendship and the Chicago mob boss used Gus and his friends (Fred Burke, Bob Carey, Raymond "Crane Neck" Nugent and Fred Goetz) for special assignments. Capone jokingly referred to the men as his "American Boys." Circumstantial evidence and testimony from Georgette Winkeler indicates that Winkler and his crew may have participated in the July 1928 murder of Brooklyn gangster Frankie Yale and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The