Rio C Burke (8/29/1900 - 11/1/1994)

In 1992, Rio Burke, the last surviving member of Al Capone’s gang, visited Miami Gardens. Rio was born Raye Rucker in Richmond, Kentucky, and later changed her name to Raye when she went to work for Big Jim Colosimo, performing at the age of 19 as a singer at his nightclub located at 2128 S Wabash Ave., Chicago, Il. If her singing career didn’t already make her famous, her first marriage eventually did when she took the hand of Dominic Roberto (aka Roberts) on April 14th, 1924. Dominic owned a nightclub in Chicago Heights, and they lived in the residence with Jim Emery for 5 years.

Frank Nitti

As Rio toured our building, she recalled many details about Miami Gardens from her past; (information that we preserved in our booklet, Miami Gardens, The Secret Roadhouse of Al Capone,) one of her first memories was about Frank Nitti, Al Capone’s cousin. Rio talked about him as if it were yesterday, providing many details about an evening when she witnessed Frank Nitti shoot a hitman.

Albert Anselmi & John Scalise

Another story Rio shared was about the murders of Anselmi and Scalise. She talked about life as a mobster’s wife, and Dominic Roberto. “The women always kept to themselves,” but she indicated that she usually knew what was going on.

Calument City

The Strip in Calument City was the Midwest’s version of Las Vegas, and featured all the usual amenities including top entertainment, gambling and alcohol.