Those going to the movie theater to watch ``Road to Perdition'' may find themselves wondering who killed Connor Rooney, son of notorious gangster John Rooney. The great-grandchildren of Rock Island tavern owner Anthony W. Billburg have grown up knowing the answer.

``Road to Perdition'' is based loosely on the life of infamous Rock Island gangster John Looney, although the name was changed to Rooney in the movie. For Lynn Cutter-Gronke and Loren Cutter-Giorgio Ï formerly of Rock Island and now of California Ï the names were all too familiar, even before the movie came out.

``We've grown up with these names all of our lives. They did a great job with all the twists and turns, but we know who really murdered Connor `Rooney' Looney,'' said Ms. Gronke. ``And he was killed with a .38, not a .45. We know because we have the gun.''

Visit either of them today and you can share that sense of history that they grew up with in Rock Island.

Mr. Billburg built and ran The New Billburg bar at the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and 20th Street in Rock Island. It contained the longest bar in the world Ï 120 feet long. In the beginning, Mr. Billburg and Mr. Looney were best of friends. They spent many hours in the bar drinking, gambling and smoking the finest cigars. As Mr. Looney watched bar patrons enter by the streetcar-load, he slowly decided he wanted some of the action. He became jealous of Mr. Billburg's success, according to Billburg family history.

``We learned to play cards before we could write. We lived the story. We knew before anyone,'' said Ms. Gronke. ``While most families grew up hearing about Aunt Clara's famous cookie recipe, we were hearing about this horrifying man, John Looney.

``We grew up hearing how this man destroyed our family. As we heard the stories about `Jack the Rat,' we could hear the anger in Grandmother Katherine Billburg's voice, telling how Looney would watch the bar like a hawk ready to swoop in on any dirt he could get hold of,'' Ms. Gronke said.

When Prohibition arrived, the upscale bar turned to corruption and scandal to keep afloat. Bootlegging, illegal gambling and prostitution became a way of life. Mr. Looney watched and wanted more payoff. Mr. Billburg, and at least three other men, grew tired of his extortion and conspired to kill him. Instead of getting John Looney, they killed his son Connor.

Mr. Billburg was found guilty of murder and sent to prison, despite being defended by the famous attorney Clarence Darrow. To keep the business profitable, Mr. Billburg's wife, Margaret, ran a prostitution business above the bar, while allowing the Salvation Army to use the bar for Sunday services, the sisters explained.

Over the years, the two sisters have dealt with the family notoriety in very different ways. Until recently, Ms. Giorgio kept those memories and memorabilia quietly tucked away.

However, when guests come to the home of Ms. Gronke, they find a wonderful collection of artifacts from the era proudly displayed. A portrait of Anthony Billburg hangs in her home. Also preserved is a Belgium-designed beer mug from The New Billburg. Five-cent beers were sold in these mugs.

``These were men who drank and ate together. We have the dishes. And they ended up wanting to kill each other,'' said Ms. Gronke.

During the murder trial, their Great-Aunt Famie disappeared and was never heard from again. The family feared Mr. Looney was behind it. ``I can remember when I was young being fascinated by the fact that they never found her. It's very clear in my mind,'' said Ms. Giorgio.

``When you're little, they're just stories. When you get older, they become reality,'' she said.

When Mr. Billburg's trial came to an end in October 1922, Mr. Darrow turned over the gun used to shoot Connor Looney to Margaret Billburg. The gun now hangs in Ms. Gronke's Billburg show room.

Ms. Giorgio and Ms. Gronke's father, Tom, was raised in the bar, the sisters said. He knew what was going on Ï the women, the gambling, the drinking. Ultimately he became an alcoholic. ``He kept going back to what he knew,'' said Ms. Gronke.

``That is the true tragedy of all of this. That was his life,'' added her sister.

The girls were born in California, but the family moved to Rock Island in 1968 to be with the girls' grandmother, Katherine Billburg. Ms. Gronke graduated from Rock Island High School in 1971, her sister in 1969. Their parents eventually divorced, and the sisters and their mother moved on, married and all ended up back in California.

``People love gangsters and gangster movies,'' said Ms. Gronke. ``It's easier to glorify something like this when you haven't lived it.

``Everyone who comes to our house gets a tour,'' she said. ``We even have some dresses displayed in the `Brothel Room' upstairs, complete with a stuffed person we call Madam Billburg. We have a little bar set up, and everyone gets a picture taken there,'' she added.

``In California, people don't have a lot of history like in the Midwest. Good or bad, it's history, and we're preserving history. Lots of families don't have this in their family,'' she said.

In contrast, Ms. Giorgio has been less open about the family past.

``I didn't bring the subject up until this (movie) happened. It just didn't come up. When Hollywood makes a movie, it comes up. There's a fascination with this lifestyle. I'm fascinated by it,'' she said.

``I loved the book, and I love to go to movies. It's exciting,'' Ms. Giorgio said. ``I'm even more intrigued now that Hollywood has made a movie of it.''

The sisters aren't afraid to defend their ancestor.

``Billburg should have gotten a medal instead of prison. Looney was no good,'' said Ms. Gronke. The book, and she hopes the movie, will help show that. ``Not that Billburg was that great either, but I have no shame that he did what he did,'' she added.

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