Fringe play explores life of legendary Hamilton mob wife

(Update)

A legendary Hamilton mob icon returns to life tonight at Theatre Aquarius, as the notorious Bessie Starkman-Perri finally gets a chance to tell her side of the story,nearly 85 years after her death, in the play Bootlegger’s Wife.

Victoria Murdoch as Bessie Starkman: “The highlights of the Prohibition Act are as follows.”

When Hamilton’s Fringe Festival opens tonight — the spotlight will fall on the tale of Rocco and Bessie Perri, a story that most Hamiltonian’s know inside and out.
Or at least — they think they do:

Victoria Murdoch: “I think what’s different about ‘ The Bootlegger’s Wife ‘ , is that this is Bessie’s story.”

And what a story — it is: “She ran away from her family. She ran away from her husband and two children.”

And took up with a construction worker named Rocco Perri. Together, they went on to build a prohibition bootlegging empire — that rivalled that of the famous Al Capone. And while Rocco was the face of the operation — the power behind the throne lay in Bessie’s hands: “She was the one actually giving orders. She was actually the one placing orders to distilleries all over Southern Ontario, and also, in the United States.”

Business boomed — until the night of August 13th, 1930. Bessie and Rocco stepped out of their car and into the garage of 166 Bay Street South where Bessie was met, by a hail of shotgun fire. The autopsy report clearly stated that she was the lone target of three separate blasts — Rocco was left untouched — but was clearly devastated. News of the mob hit spread quickly — and the next morning Bessie’s home was swamped with the crowds of the curious, and the criminal. In death, Bessie became more famous — than she had been in life: her funeral — was legendary.

Margaret Houghton is a historian at the Hamilton Public Library: “And they say that there were so many cars in the funeral procession, that when the first car reached the cemetery on Upper James, the last car hadn’t left Bay Street.”

Bessie Starkman still lies in that small Jewish cemetery — controversial to this day. The last name of her lover, and partner — torn from her gravestone. — the grave itself capped in cement, to protect the rumoured three thousand dollar booty, of gems and jewellery that adorned her body — from the hands of Depression era grave robbers.
But it wasn’t just Bessie that died in that cold garage — the criminal empire that she built, was also mortally wounded

Margaret Houghton: “And when she was murdered, that was pretty well the beginning of the end for Rocco Perri, and his bootlegging empire. He was interned of course during World War II, but he never really came back to power, after that.”

If you want to hear more about Bessie’s story — Victoria Murdoch’s play: the “Bootleggers Wife” — will run seven performances over the next ten days at Theatre Aquarius.