Oscar Boneau (died 1924) was an African-American crime boss from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boneau worked alongside political bosses such as Louis Kaestner and Enoch Thompson, and he mentored Chalky White before retiring to a mansion at Havre de Grace, Maryland. Boneau was murdered by Valentin Narcisse's men in 1924.
Biography[]
Oscar Boneau was from the American South, and he became a powerful crime boss in Atlantic City, New Jersey, working alongside the city's political bosses, Louis Kaestner and Enoch Thompson. Boneau took Chalky White into his gang when he was a troubled youth, and Boneau gave him a job and a new life. Boneau would retire during the early 1900s, although his men would run numbers and moonshine during Prohibition, allowing for the retired Boneau to continue making a fortune. In 1924, an older Boneau, who was losing his eyesight, invited White to his mansion in Havre de Grace, Maryland while he was on the run from Valentin Narcisse's gang. One night, Narcisse's men attempted to attack the mansion, and Boneau heard them moving through the woods. He took a shotgun and headed from his porch into the driveway, telling his killers that they would have to fight him if they wanted to kill Chalky. Boneau was shot dead by the hitmen, who would be gunned down by Chalky and some of Boneau's bodyguards.