Boardwalk Empire: Sieben Charles “Dion” O’Banion and Johnny Torrio, Brewery Company Sale Agreement from Episode 405

In Season 4, Episode 5 ("Erlkönig"), this agreement represents a key turning point in the brewing gang war in Chicago. O’Banion offers to sell Sieben Brewery to Torrio, knowing full well that the brewery is under close federal surveillance. Torrio accepts the deal, likely thinking he’s acquiring a valuable asset to strengthen his bootlegging operations.

However, this move is actually a setup by O’Banion. As soon as Torrio’s men take over the brewery, federal agents raid it, and Torrio is arrested. O’Banion stays clean because the transfer was already complete, and the Feds can only touch Torrio. This infuriates Torrio and the Chicago Outfit, and it sets the stage for escalating violence between the North Side Gang (O’Banion’s crew) and Torrio’s South Side outfit, which eventually becomes Al Capone’s empire.

The sale agreement isn't just a business deal — it’s a strategic weapon. O’Banion uses it to legally entrap Torrio and provoke retaliation. Historically, this sequence of events contributed to O’Banion’s assassination in 1924, which in turn sparked an all-out gang war in Chicago.

So, the Sieben Brewery sale agreement in the show is a great example of how Boardwalk Empire blends historical fact with dramatic storytelling — showing how paperwork and legal transactions were just as dangerous as bullets in the Prohibition underworld.

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