James “Cowboy” Mirro was a Chicago Outfit loanshark who once led police on a wild car chase one warm summer afternoon back in 1949 when he was 36 years old.
It seems there was an impromptu race on a Chicago street when police interrupted the fun. Mirro was in one car and fellow Outfit mobster Charles English was in another. A third car was also involved, but whoever those occupants were remains a mystery.
Cops stopped the the cars after they had blown a stoplight, but while police were questioning English, Mirro stepped on the gas and took off as did the third car. He led police on a chase that reached speeds of almost 90 MPH through residential neighborhoods before they caught up to him.
But Cowboy wasn’t giving up that easy, as cops tried pulling him out of his car, he started swinging until a taxi driver stumbled upon the scene and helped subdue the Cowboy. The third car and its occupants were never caught.
Mirro was charged with drunk driving, resisting arrest, assault and battery on a policeman – and speeding, of course.