FROM cold-blooded murders to running battles with the police, these black-and-white pictures shed light on the brutal lives of gun-toting gangsters during the American Depression.
The amazing images show notorious mobsters such as Al Capone who committed violent crimes in their search to get rich quick during the early 1930s.
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Chicago police arm themselves with weapons to prime themselves for warfare with gangsters in the 1930sCredit: Getty Images
Chicago gangsters stand around an armoured car that was designed for mobstersCredit: Getty Images
A car riddled with bullet holes is pulled over by police in New York as the corpse of a victim lies in the roadCredit: Getty Images
The body of gang chief Frankie Yale lies beside his car in New York after he was murderedCredit: Bettmann
The body of gangster John (Aces) Mazza lies on a street in New YorkCredit: Getty Images
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker, one half of gangsters Bonnie and Clyde, brandishes her gun in 1930Credit: Getty Images
A young gangster with a mask covering his face points his gun at the cameraCredit: Getty Images
A police lieutenant aims a Thompson machine gun, was a popular weapon among gangstersCredit: Getty Images
A group of gangsters wearing suits and hats practice firing their weapons in shrub land in the 1930sCredit: Getty Images
Police officers hold their weapons during a press conference in Washington where they warned mobsters to stay out of the cityCredit: Getty Images
The snaps were taken at a time when the stock market had crashed, meaning people were eager to make cash in anyway they could.
And notorious gangs such as the North Side Italian mob and the Dillinger gang formed in cities including Chicago, where they would rob banks and gun down their rivals.
The mobs would stop at nothing and gunned down bodies would often be found in warehouses, homes and even lying in the streets of New York.
One of the most famous crimes of the era was the St Valentines Day Massacre. Pictured are people gathering outside the garage where the murders took placeCredit: Getty Images
People gather in front of the infamous garage after the St Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929Credit: Getty Images
The bodies of those killed in the St Valentine's Day Massacre are put on displayCredit: Getty Images
Mobsters in New York raise their hands and surrender after being caught by policeCredit: Getty Images
Gangsters stand with their weapons after being brought into a police station in New York in 1931Credit: Getty Images
A man raises a stake to beat a drunken man sitting on a pier with a beer bottleCredit: Getty Images
An FBI agent forces a mobster suspect against the wall as he searches him for weaponsCredit: Bettmann
Al Capone sits in a train carriage with one of his associates as he is transferred to prison in 1931Credit: Getty Images
Notorious gangster Al Capone's mugshot after he was arrested by police in 1930Credit: Bettmann
The gangsters would also be well-armed and were often involved in running battles with the police who worked to stop their rackets.
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Among the images are those of the most famous Depression-era crime, the St Valentines Day massacre, which saw seven men murdered by the infamous South Side Italian gang led by Al Capone.
Other graphic pictures show the murder of gangster Rosario Riggio, who was found slumped in the back of his car because he didn't listen to the mob's orders.
While other images show how the body of fellow gangster Walter Sage ended up thrown in a lake after he was found to have skimmed money for the mob's slot machine profits.
Chicago mobsters including Sam Genna sit enjoy dinner with their familiesCredit: Getty Images
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Al Capone relaxes in his holiday home in Florida wearing a striped dressing gown and smoking a cigarCredit: Getty Images
George (Bugsy) Moran turns up for his trial in Chicago with his wife, who wears a fur coatCredit: Getty Images
Mae Capone, the wife of gangster Al, hides tries to hide from the cameras as visits her husband in prisonCredit: Getty Images
Police show how a sawn-off shot gun was carried around by the gangsters inside a violin caseCredit: Bettmann
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Italian-American mafioso Frank Frigenti sits at a table in a restaurant in 1930Credit: Getty Images
But as well as the old images showing scenes of brutal crimes, the gangsters also appeared to be living high life in their luxury homes with glamorous clothes.
One snap shows gangsters enjoying a dinner party with their wives while another shows how they tried to hide their criminal lives by hiding their weapons in violin cases.
Police officers look over distilling equipment and guns confiscated during a Prohibition raidCredit: Getty Images
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Alcohol, which was illegal during the Depression, is seized by police after it was discovered in a storage tankCredit: Getty Images
Police and firefighters display a gangster's car riddled by Thompson machine gunsCredit: Getty Images
Police officers inspect the jail cell of Al Capone after he was jailed during the 1930s for tax evasionCredit: Getty Images
In a bid to stop the gangsters' brutal crimes, defence groups were formed to stop them in cities such as ChicagoCredit: Getty Images
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Charles (Lucky) Luciano, makes his way to court before he was convicted as the dictator of organised vice in New York CityCredit: Bettmann
Criminals caught during the summer of 1934 are lined up and put on public parade in ChicagoCredit: Getty Images
But the gangsters' lives of crime didn't last for long as federal agents closed in on the mobs and shut down their gun-toting activities.
Al Capone was sent to jail and served time in Alcatraz for tax evasion.
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Mob boss John Dillinger was shot dead by police when they closed in on him leaving a movie theatre as he attempted to brandish his weapon.
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