Walter Stevens (1877–1931) was a freelance enforcer and "hitman", popularly known as "dean of the Chicago gunmen", during Prohibition.
Although having the reputation of a violent gangster, credited with the deaths of at least 60 men, Stevens was a devoted husband to an invalid wife and his three adopted children.
Small, who eventually became governor, pardoned Stevens after his conviction for murdering an Aurora police officer in October 1918.
Following Enright's death in 1920, Stevens was readily hired by the Torrio-Capone organization, then in the midst of the violent bootlegging wars which would come to define Prohibition-era Chicago during the first half of the early 1920s.
Retiring in 1924, Stevens would continue to act as an intermediary securing political favors from local and state officials, including Governor Small, for the future Chicago Outfit.