Al Capone Essay

Accomplishments Of Al Capone

Al Capone

Conceived in 1899 in New York, to poor settler guardians, Al Capone went ahead to end up noticeably the most notorious criminal in American history. In 1920 amid the prohibition heights, Capone's multi–million dollar Chicago undertakings in prostitution, betting and bootlegging ruled the sorted out wrongdoing scene. Capone was in charge of numerous ruthless demonstrations of viciousness, mostly against different criminals. St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 was the most famous killings, in which he requested the death of seven adversaries. Capone was never prosecuted for his racketeering yet was, at last, conveyed to equity for money tax avoidance in 1931. After serving six–and–a–half years, Capone was discharged (Kobler, 2003). However, his death occurred in Miami in 1947. Capone's life caught the general population creative ability, and his hoodlum persona has been deified in the numerous books and movies propelled by his exploits. Additionally, this paper tries to give an outline of Al Capone life, violations, and passing.

Capone Early Life

Al Capone was conceived in New York, Brooklyn and lived between (1899–1947). His parents were Teresa Capone and Gabriele who were Italian immigrants. Similarly, Capone family had arrived in America looking for greener pastures; His family carried on with an ordinary migrant way of life in a New York apartment. Capone's mom worked as a seamstress while his dad was a barber (Iorizzo, 2003). According to Lorizzo (2003),

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Al Capone is one of America's most feared, greatest–known gangsters and the utmost symbol of the fail of law and order in the United States during the 1920's Prohibition era. Alphonse Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Naples, Italy. He and his family later immigrated to the United States. They settled in Brooklyn, New York ("Capone, Alphonse").Al Capone was a ruthless, violent, horrifying gangster. He was very organized and set on his high income. In 1920's and 1930's, Capone was the most important leader of organized crime (Mayo).

After settling in Brooklyn, New York in fourth grade he became a part of the Five PointGang. Johnny Torriowas also a member of this gang. In the late 1920's, Torrio moved to Chicago while Capone...show more content...

This is when Capone got four of his men to set up in a garage at 2122 N. Clark Street, which was the main liquor position for George Moran's North Side gang. Capone had two of his men to dress as police, as though it was a police raid. The gang members then dropped their guns, turned around, and put their hands on the wall. Capone's men used two shotguns and two machine guns and fired more than 150 bullets into the victims. Six of the seven victims were members of Moran's gang. This confrontation was known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre ("Gangsters"). In 1931, Capone was charged with income tax evasion from the years 1925–1929. He also failed to file his taxes the years of 1928 and 1929, which resulted in a misdemeanor charge. Capone owed $215,080.48 to the government for his gambling income. He was also charged with conspiracy to violate Prohibition laws from 1922–1931. Capone pleads guilty to all three charges. Judge James H. Wilkerson was not giving Capone any deals. He was found guilty on eighteen of the twenty–three charges. Capone was sentenced to ten years in federal prison and one year in a county jail. While in the Atlanta federal prisons, Capone took over. He had obtained special privileges such as, furnishing his cell with typewriter, mirror, rugs, and encyclopedias. He was later sent to Alcatraz, which meant no more controlling people or getting special privileges ("Gangsters").

While in prison, Capone showed symptoms of syphilitic Get more content

Do you really know what the prohibition era? The prohibition era was indeed the banning of alcohol but it was also a creation to many problems. It solved men becoming violent to others but also created a way for the mafia to create a profit from the alcohol. Such as al Capone himself he inherited a bootlegging business from one of his former boss Johnny Torrio. One of the most famous murders fromal Capone's organizations was the valentine's massacre. Production of any alcoholic beverage was illegal.

So who was al Capone and why is his name so important? Well al Capone is a very smart and important guy when it comes the prohibition era. He ran his business in bootlegging alcohol. Bootlegging was not such a clean business to get into there was also crime and violence connected to bootlegging. The saint valentine's massacre wasn't blamed on al capons men since there was not much evidence to put him behind bars but there is a pretty good chance he had something to do in it....show more content...

It was illegal even to transport the alcoholic beverages from one place to another. Often there would be high–speed chases in order to out run the police during the prohibition era. Mobsters made profit off of the alcohol. Various people took over cities and soon became a war on other bosses and cities. Violence started to take in place making guns shootings murders more often. for example for al Capone to survive this he spent almost half of his money earned from bootlegging profit on body guards. A lot of mafia related gangs were killing each other over Get

The Life and Times of Al Capone

Alphonse Capone was born in New York City by two parents Gabriel and Teresa Capone. Capone's parents immigrated to the United States in 1893 from Naples, Italy. Capone came from a large family and was the fourth oldest of nine children. (Kobler 10). As a child, Capone was very wise when it came to living on the streets of New York. He had a clever mind when it came to street smarts. As far as school goes, Capone was a near–illiterate. He came from a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, so education was not a top priority.

At about the age of eleven Capone became a member of a juvenile gang in his neighborhood. While this was taking place, around the year 1900, about...show more content...

Capone was very grateful to Torrio. Torrio first set Capone out to do all of his "dirty work". Capone was sent to beat up loan shark victims behind on their payments, then a pimp, beating up girls who were holding out on their nightly take. Torrio finally got Capone a job as a bouncer at the Harvard Inn. By this time Capone was recognized by his gang as being a vicious fighter with both fists and knives. He also became an excellent marksman with both a revolver and automatic weapons. This was due to many months of shooting empty bottles in the basement of the Inn. Capone was later promoted to bartender at the Harvard Inn. At this time capone recieved the scar which would give him his famous nickname, "Scarface". It is really not known how Capone ended up with a scar that extended four inches across his left cheek. Capone often lied about how he got the scar.

On December 18, 1918, Capone was married at the age of 19, to a 21 year old Irish girl named Mae Coughlin. A short time later Albert Francis Capone was born to the couple. At the same time this was going on, in New York,Johnny Torriomoved his operations to Chicago. Torrio's prospects in New York looked low because Capone was charged for two murders. He was released when a witness lost her memory, and evidence suddenly vanished from the court. Al Capone knew that he had Torrio to thank for this. A few days later, Capone got into

Al Capone was a highly known gangster in the 1920s Alphonse Capone born in Brooklyn, New York to a poor US immigrant couple, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, seeking a better opportunity for their then big family of eight children. He was known for running many lucrative illegal businesses that included alcohol bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and protection. Al Capone was so notorious that he would murder those who got in his way. With little prosecution of his actions, Al Capone believed his self to being unstoppable. Al Capone, being raised as a kid in poverty learned hands on how to organize crime and became the biggest force in organized crime.

Many poor and uneducated immigrants began to pour into the United States during the...show more content...

With Chicago's government being weak and easily to extort, Capone and Torrio began a business together through bootlegging,gang violence, and gambling in houses called deuces. At the beginning of the 1920s, James Colosimo was in charge and making the most money. Colosimo effectively developed profound political associations, by becoming a precinct captain in the First Ward Aldermen Coughlin and Kenna, and later turning into the bagman (authority of illicit benefits and container of fixes) in the vice laden Levee District, which gave him political insurance from any prosecution. He and Torrio also ran a very successful group of racketeers. This gang would become a crime organization called the Outfit through Al Capone syndicate. According to the PowerPoint, Colosimo did not want to be a part of the bootlegging business. Torrio disagreed stating that it was his opportunity and wealth. When Colosimo returned from his honeymoon, he was shot and killed in his own cafГ©. Many were led to think Torrio paid Frankie Yale to get rid of Colosimo. Torrio became the head leader and created a huge criminal empire through bootlegging. He shaped a new gang cartel that allocated the bootlegging industry ensuring product stability and higher profits.

Dion O'Banion, the gardener, was a rival bootlegger who did whatever he wanted and killed whoever he thought was in his way. One day, O'Banion sent Torrio to jail for petty charge and bragged about it. A few

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His name was Alphonse Capone. His background, along with thousands of other Italians, the Capone family moved to Brooklyn. It was a new beginning in a New World. The Capone's were a quiet and peaceful family. Nothing about the Capone family was disturbed, violent, or dishonest. The children and the parents were close. They really enjoyed baseball and were often at games. There was no mental disabilities, no traumatic event that sent the boys into the dangerous life of crime. They did not display sociopath or psychotic personalities; they were not crazy. They were a law–abiding, unremarkable Italian–American family with conventional patterns of behavior and frustrations. They displayed no special genius for crime. Family Parents–Gabriele...show more content...

Introduction to Crime–A few blocks away from the Capone house on Garfield Place was a small unobtrusive building that was the headquarters of one of the most successful gangsters on the East Coast. Johnny Torrio was a new breed of gangster, a pioneer in the development of a modern criminal enterprise. Torrio's administrative and organizational talents transformed crude racketeering into a kind of corporate structure, allowing his businesses to expand as opportunities emerged. Torrio was a role model for many of the boys in the community. Capone, like many other boys his age, earned pocket money by running errands for Johnny Torrio. Over time, Torrio came to trust Al and gave him more to do. Meantime, young Al learned by observing the wealthy, successful, respected racketeer and the people in his organization. Despite Al's relationship with the street gangs and Johnny Torrio, there was no indication that Al would choose to lead a life of crime. He still lived at home and did what he as expected to do when he quit school; go to work and help support the family. Al Capone learned invaluable lessons from Torrio that were the foundation of the criminal empire he built later in Chicago. Wife–At the age of nineteen, Al met a pretty blond Irish girl named Mae Coughlin, who was two years older than he was. Her family was comfortable and solidly middle class. It's hard to imagine that Mae's family embraced her relationship with Capone and it was not until after Get more content

Al Capone: An Infamous Gangster From The 1920's

Al Capone, a.k.a. Scarface, was an infamous gangster from the 1920's to the early 30's. His criminal career began at an early age in New York where he was taken under the wing of another infamous gangster Johnny Torrio. (Bardsley) Torrio left Brooklyn for the windy city; it was then that Al Capone started to work for Frankie Yale agangster known for his aggressive approach in the gangster life. (Bardsley) In 1921 Capone was called upon by Torrio and left forChicago. (Bardsley) It was in Chicago that Al Capone gained the power and moved up the ranks in the Chicago underworld of prostitution, prohibition, racketeering, narcotics, and murder. (FBI– How the Law Finally Caught Al Capone)

Johnny Torrio vast empire in Chicago consisted

Chicago in the 1920's was known to be a town of relentless parties, alcohol, and violence filled streets. The mastermind pulling the strings was the world's most notorious gangster, Al Capone, whom utilized the teachings of Frankie Yale and Johnny Torrio to become the most powerful man in the underworld. He was a man of raw brutality and wits, paying off anyone willing to help him grow in power, and kill off anyone who wouldn't. Al Capone was not like any ordinary criminal, he set out to make the public love him as a person, yet he considered killing to be a part of business. To this day whether or not Capone was a criminal mastermind or robinhood is debatable. What stands firmly is that the Roaring Twenty's wild demeanor is mainly at...show more content...

He eventually fell behind in class and failed the sixth grade. He continued to slack and eventually his teacher hit him for being disobedient, but to her amazement he strikes her back. He never returns to Brooklyn Elementary, leaving young Capone plenty of time to bond with the streets of Brooklyn. While other kids his age were learning things in school, Capone was learning how to shoot and fight.

In 1910, the Capone family saves up enough money to move to 21 Garfield Place, Park Slope, which was a much better environment. Although the Capone family moved to a better side of town, the hardships continued. Capone helped to support his family by taking on a variety of odd jobs; such as a pin setter and cloth cutter, while maintaining a membership in the local Five Points Gang. Eventually Al Capone, whilst working for the Five Points Gang, grabs the attention of the notorious New York mobster, Frankie Yale. In 1917, Al Capone lands a job working as a bartender, waiter, and bouncer at Frankie's Harvard Inn. Frankie Yale became a mentor of Al Capone, and he learned a lot from Yale on how to use fear as a method of leadership. While working at the Harvard Inn, Capone found himself in a fight with Frank Gallucio, resulting in three knife wounds on his left cheek. This is where Al Capone's nick name "Scarface", which he despised, is derived from. A short time after, Al Capone meets the love of his life, the Irish Mary Coughlin, whom was a

What Were Al Capone's Accomplishments

Al Capone

Hornung, Rick. Al Capone. Random House Value Publishing, Incorporated: New York, New York, 1998.

What made you want to read about this person?

What made me want to read about him was how Al Capone was never caught and I wanted to know what a life of crime was like. Al Capone was an infamous criminal who was never caught for being in a gang or killing people, but for tax evasion.

Why were they famous? What were their accomplishments?

Al Capone was famous for leading the Chicago mafia during the days of prohibition in the 1920's, 1930's, and 1940's. One of his major crime accomplishments was the Saint Valentine's day massacre of 1929 where he wiped out all of the North Side Gang and their leader Bugs Moran to take Chicago's control

Al Capone

Throughout America's history there have been many famous criminals, John Dillinger, John Gotti, Lucky Luciano, just to name a few. However, due to his extreme wealth and Godfather like status, the most notorious and famous one might have been Al Capone.

Alphonse Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 17, 1899 to immigrants from Naples, Italy. At a veryyoung age, he became involved in organized crime by quitting school after sixth grade and joining a local neighborhood gang. There he met Johnny Torio, who would be his eventual mentor for the crime organization in the city of Chicago. Soon Capone really hit the big time in organized crime when he joined the famous Manhattan Five Points Gang and their leader...show more content...

As Capone said, "Prohibition is a business. All I do is supply a public demand. I do it in best and least harmful way I can" (Nelli 391).

After Torrio retired in around 1925, Capone became the new crimeboss in Chicago, by gunning down his rivals and his competitors in the bootlegging operations. One of the most famous killings was the Saint Valentine's Massacre, in which Capone ordered the killing of fellow bootlegger, George "Bugs" Moran. Capone's men, dressed as policemen, entered the building where Moran ran his operation and killed seven of his men, excluding Moran. Again Capone was not tried, because of the lack of evidence of his involvement. By removing his rivals and expanding the business through the opening of horse and race tracks, breweries, distilleries, night clubs it was estimated that Capone's total wealth was $100,000,000 (Neli).

Because of a belief at the time that gambling earnings were not taxable income, Capone never filed an income tax return, which eventually led to his imprisonment. When IRS investigators found receipts with Capone's name on them and when his own tax lawyer sent the investigators a letter admitting to Capone's income, he was indicted for income tax evasion in 1931. After attempts to bribe the jury, the judge changed the jury and Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison and had to pay various fines ("Capone, Al). Capone served almost two years in an Atlanta federal prison, but

Prohibition led to the bootlegging of liquor and the gang wars of the 1920's. The most notorious gangster of all time, known as Al Capone, was the most powerful mob leader of his era. He dominated organized crime in the Chicago area from 1925 until 1931. Capone grew up during the roaring 20s in Chicago. He joined the James Street gang, lead by Johnny Torrio. In 1920, Torrio asked Capone to move to Chicago and work with his uncle who controlled the city's largest prostitution and gambling ring at the time. Capone had liked that idea. Later that year the Prohibition act came into affect and Capone became interested in selling illegalwhiskey and other alcoholic beverages. Al Capone was America's best known gangster and greatest...show more content...

In a way Capone also made another contribution. Capone contributed to the repealing of the eighteenth amendment, and then later on the twenty–first amendment (Kobler). Throughout the Depression, Capone helped people struggle through the tough times by supplying them with food, money, clothing and alcohol.

Since Capone was such a huge criminal, the law enforcement contributed to American society to find a way to stop Capone. "One group that was formed because of him was the Untouchables" (Bergreen). The FBI was also formed because of crime such as the Mafia. More and more police stations were built because of crime, and now today people have more protection because of all the different kinds of crime prevention agencies. If Capone and other criminals like him weren't around at that time, law enforcement might not be were it is today. Capone is still seen as a common thug outside of Chicago from his organization.

Capone impacted the United States because he was seen as a common thug through out the world. "Capone's power increased enormously, now that he was the leader of the most powerful gang in Chicago" (American Decades CD–ROM). People around the U.S. heard about Capone's gang, and recognize him as just another common thug. People saw Capone as a low life man involved in organized crime. Capone has never done any time for the murders he has committed (American Decades CD–ROM). Capone felt powerful because he had always walked out a free man

Al Capone

Al Capone was a child from an Italian immigrant family, And was one of the most famous Mafia leader in the world during the Prohibition Era in Chicago. Also he was known as "Scarface," Al capone was sent to Alcatraz Prison in Philadelphia in 1931 from a tax evasion conviction. Al Capone had a personal fortune estimated at $100 million and was responsible for countless murders, His most famous one was the St.Valentine's Day Massacre.

Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 17,1899. He was the fourth of seven sons and two daughters. His parents, Gabriel and Theresa, were on of thousands of Italians who arrived in New York in 1894. Capone was slashed with a knife across his left cheek by a young hoodlum in a brothel saloon,...show more content...

In tiny Oradea, Romania, Cornel Capovici tacked a picture of Capone to the front of his house and insisted that this was his long–lost son. In Russia, head commissar Vyacheslav Molotov cited Capone as the logical culmination of capitalist rapacity. John Gunther, then a foreign correspondent, reported that the Viennese considered him the real mayor of Chicago. All this celebrity scandalized the Chicago Daily Times, which groused that Capone had become America's "trademark known in the jungles of Java or the wastes of Lapland," indeed better known, worldwide, than Charles Lindbergh or Henry Ford! In time, Al Capone would transcend "mere" celebrity to become an allusion. Capone also gave free milk to children in schools, He didn't consider himself a criminal but a snorky, Which was his nickname for elegant.

Meanwhile, internal infighting between rival gangsters escalated into street violence and frequent hijackings of Capone's whiskey transports became a big problem, Capone had to put an end to it. Al Capone also had to deal with rival gangsterBugs Moran and his Northsiders gang from all the way across town stealing his transportation. They had been a threat for years. Moran had even once tried to kill Capone's colleague and friend Jack McGurn. The decision by Capone and McGurn to avail themselves of Moran was to lead to one of the

Al Capone, probably the most notorious and well known gangster in history, was born in 1887 in Naples, Italy. His father, Gabriel Caponi, immigrated to Brooklyn from the slums of Naples in 1910. After he came here he changed his last name too Capone too blend in more. Al Capone's gang activities started out when he was young. He was in the Five Points Gang, who were known for their violence. The gang's tradition was to scar their victims with a knife cut from the outside corners of their eyes to their ears.

At the time, Johnny Torrio was a major mob boss and his uncle, Jim Colosimo (AKA "Big Jim"), hired Capone as a bouncer. Al Capone was a large man, did his job well, and soon he came to...show more content...

This was the biggest display of power that that any outlaw has ever achieved, to have complete control over the nation's second largest city.

Eventually, like most gangsters of the time, Torrio was hit by a member of the O'Banionites of the north section of Chicago. So now the south side was controlled by Capone and he had a plan to make the whole city of Chicago his domain. He was now public enemy number one. The only threat to his absolute power was Dion O'Banion. One day when Dion O'Banion was out side his flower shop he was gunned down by an unknown assassin. It is not very odd for Capone not to be involved in it, because O'Banion had a lot of enemies from other gangs . Al Capon's biggest battle was the St. Valentines massacre The whole story behind the St. Valentines day massacre starts off in the city of Chicago, 1929. At the time, the city was divided in half between two gangs, the north side gang and the south side gang. The mob bosses behind it were the notorious Al Capone to the south and the infamous Bugs Moran to the north. Thanks to prohibition, the two had become the crime lords of Chicago, running gambling, prostitution and bootlegging rackets while continuously expanding their territories by getting rid of rival gangs. Capone's yearly gross income was estimated at $75,000,000. Today that's a lot of money and back then that much was unheard of . He had to take down "Bugs" Moran at any cost. If he did, he would have complete

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How Did Al Capone Impact Society

During the period of prohibition, from 1920 to 1933, the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol was made illegal, through the Volstead act of 1919, leading to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. Throughout this time in American history gangsters were common and were constantly increasing in every city but one in particular stood out from all the others making a significant impact on American history. Scarface, Alphonse Capone or more commonly known asAl Capone; who was the most infamous gangster, taking advantage of the era of Prohibition, ran an organized crime association in Chicago during the 1920s. He was responsible for over 500 murders; he had 700 men under his control and earned $60 million a year for bootlegging. Capone, who was glamorised in media and shown as charitable to the helpless was also controlling and violent and became an iconic figure of the successful American gangster who insisted he was just 'supplying the public demand'.

As Al Capone was such a controversy his significance, the interpretations of how he made an impact on American lives, culture and politics and how he was remembered at the time and remembered today varies greatly between different people.

Capone helped many vulnerable Americans, especially...show more content...

Capone allowed desperate Americans to get their hands on alcohol, as presented in source four and five anti–prohibition campaigns were common and people protested with signs stating 'I'm no camel want beer' which suggests they felt prohibition violated their freedoms. By Capone' supplying the public demand' it increased his importance to the Americans as his speakeasies and alcohol was an escape for many from the reality of the great Get

Al Capone still remains one of the most notable residents of "the Rock." In a memoir written by Warden James Johnston, he reminisced about the intensity of public interest around Capone's imprisonment, stating that he was continually barraged with questions about "Big Al." Each day newspapers and press flooded his office with phone calls, wanting to know everything from howCapone liked the weather on "the Rock," to what job assignment he was currently holding.

Before arriving at Alcatraz, Capone had been a master at manipulating his environment at the FederalPenitentiary in Atlanta. Despite strict convictions from the courts, Capone was always able to persuade his keepers into procuring his every whim, and...show more content...

The young prosecutor had before tried to pin Capone with the violent murder of a rival gang member and he had a reputation for going after bootleggers. Although many speculated against Al's involvement in McSwiggin's death, there was a great outcry against gangster violence, and public sentiment went against Capone.

Capone quickly went into hiding, fearing he would be tried for McSwiggin's murder. He remained out of sight for nearly three months, and then after realizing he couldn't live the remainder of his life underground, he negotiated his surrender to the Chicago Police. The authorities eventually recognized that they lacked sufficient evidence to bring Capone to trial, and though very unpopular with public opinion, he was set free. The public was outraged and law officials were left embarrassed. "Big Al" had become one of the most powerful crime czars in Chicago. It was said that Capone was now big as life, and more powerful than the mayor himself.

By 1929, Capone's empire was worth over $62,000,000, and he was ready to wage war on his most prominent bootlegging rival, George "Bugs" Moran. Bugs was also one of the principal Chicago gangsters. He was known to publicly talk against Capone, and maintained a sense of spiteful arrogance that was said to anger Capone so much that Moran became one of Al's routine topics of Get

Alphonse "SCARFACE" Capone

Born in New York City, in 1899, by parents Gabriel and Teresa Capone, Alphonse Capone was blessed with a historical blend of ruthless gangster in his blood. Al Capone's parents immigrated to the United States in 1893, from Naples, Italy. Al Capone came from a huge family. He was the fourth oldest of nine children. At birth, Capone's parents never would have believed that their son, Alphonse Capone, would grow up to be a murderous thug without remorse. As a child,Al Capone was very wise when it came to living on the streets of New York. He had a clever and somewhat ingenious mind when it came to street smarts. If the act of plotting a crime was in question, Al Capone was as sharp as they come.

As far...show more content...

The principal of the school rushed in and chastised the young Capone and for this very reason he would never return to school again. After giving up on school, Al Capone took up odd jobs such as working as a pin setter at a bowling alley, and working behind the counter at a candy store. Capone was definitely a night owl. He was a pool shark winning every eightball tournament held in Brooklyn. He also became an expert knife fighter. Although the Bim Booms Gang was the first gang Capone ever entered, The Five Pointers quickly picked him up. The Five Pointers was the most powerful gang in New York City. The gang was headed byJohnny Torrio, and was made up of over 1,500 thugs who specialized in burglary, extortion, robbery, assault, and murder. While working as a strong enforcer under Torrio, Capone learned all the lethal tricks that would propel him from rags to riches in no time at all. Capone was very grateful to Torrio and is quoted as saying: "I looked on Johnny as my adviser and father and the party that made it possible for me to get my start."

In 1925, Capone became boss when Torrio, seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, surrendered control and retiring to Brooklyn. Capone had built a fearsome reputation in the ruthless gang rivalries of the period, struggling to acquire and retain "racketeering rights" to several areas of Chicago. That reputation grew as rival gangs were eliminated or mollified, and the

Al Capone

Al Capone is America's best–known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era. Capone had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city.

Al Capone's mug shot, 1931.

Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York. Baptized "Alphonsus Capone," he grew up in a rough neighborhood and was a member of two "kid gangs," the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors. Although he was bright, Capone quit school in the sixth grade at age fourteen. Between scams he was a clerk in a candy store, a pinboy in a bowling alley, and a cutter in a bookbindery. He became part of the...show more content...

Capone controlled speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries at a reported income of $100,000,000 a year. He even acquired a sizable interest in the largest cleaning and dyeing plant chain in Chicago. Although he had been doing business with Capone, the corrupt Chicago mayor William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, Jr. decided that Capone was bad for his political image. Thompson hired a new police chief to run Capone out of Chicago. When Capone looked for a new place to live, he quickly discovered that he was unpopular in much of the country. He finally bought an estate at 93 Palm Island, Florida in 1928.

Political cartoon depicting Chicago's growing reputation for violence.

Al Capone

Attempts on Capone's life were never successful. He had an extensive spy network in Chicago, from newspaper boys to policemen, so that any plots were quickly discovered. Capone, on the other hand, was skillful at isolating and killing his enemies when they became too powerful. A typical Capone murder consisted of men renting an apartment across the street from the victim's residence and gunning him down when he stepped outside. The operations were quick and complete and Capone always had an alibi.

Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York becoming the fourth child of nine children. He was the son of Gabriel and Teresa Capone whom had emigrated from Italy in 1983. When he was in the sixth grade he was expelled from school for hitting a teacher. A variety of events as a teenager led up to his career asgangster such as joining a gang, arrested for multiple charges, and suspicion of murder. Although he worked as a bartender and bouncer, he received the nickname of "Scarface," due to a knife wound. He married the daughter of a construction laborer, Mary Coughlin on December 30, 1918. Capone began his career as a gangster's apprentice, joining his mentor's gang and then being convicted for income tax evasion. Capone was an apprentice to the first modern racketeer, Johnny Torrio. Johnny had an office in Capone's neighborhood, and in order to earn money Al would run errands for him. In addition Johnny became Al's mentor and would show him how to make a fortune using scheming and intelligence. Although Capone...show more content... Capone helped grow Torrio's business by allowing Torrio to use the place Capone became manager at as a saloon, gambling hideout, brothel, and headquarters for his business. Due to the Prohibition bootlegging became one of Torrio's crime of business. He would keep his competition low by gunning other rival gangs down. Torrio received a nine–month prison sentence for bootlegging. After Torrio was released from prison he went to Europe thus leaving Capone. In addition Capone at the age of twenty–six, a main figure in a coalition of business people who worked a noteworthy bootlegging and diversion syndicate in the country's second biggest city. He was most known for being the mastermind of the St. Valentines Day Massacre. This was when Capone gunmen machine–gunned a garage of seven members of a rival gang. ("Alphonse

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Alphonse "Scar Face" Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899, to an immigrant family. He was born with type O blood. People supposedly born with O type blood tend to have the drive to succeed in leadership quality. They are strong, certain, and powerful, as will be seen later. However Al Capones leadership was taken to the extreme. (4 Blood Types, 4 Diets Eat Right 4 Your Type)

Certainly many Italian immigrants like immigrants of all nationalities, frequently came to the new world with very few assets. Many were peasants escaping lack of opportunity in rural Italy. When they came to America they ended up aslaborers, because they could not speak or write English. This was not the case with...show more content...

There is not a question that exposure would help him as the head of criminal empire.(The Mafia Encyclopedia)

At the age of five in 1904, he went to public school on seven Adams street. Educational prospects for Italian children were very poor. The school system was deeply prejudice against them and did not encourage a higher education, However, Al did quite well in school until the sixth grade when his steady record of B's deteriorated rapidly. At fourteen, he lost his temper at the teacher; she hit him and he hit her back. He was expelled and never went to school again.

About this time his family moved from their house on Navy street to 21 Garfield Place. This move had a huge influence on Capone, because he would later meet his wife Mae and gangster Johnny Torrio there. A few blocks away from Al's house was the headquarters of one of the most successful gangsters on the East coast. Johnny Torrio was a new breed of gangsters, among other members were Lucky Luciano. (Comptons New Century Encyclopedia) Torrio was physically small, learning early in life on the street that brains, ingenuity and the ability to make alliances were critical to survival. Torrio was a role model for many boys in the community. Capone, like many other boys his age, earned pocket money by running errands for Johnny Torrio. Capone himself

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Al Capone In 1920, the United States entered a new stage in its life, the Era of Prohibition. However, flaws in the planning, execution, and administration caused this noble idea to vacillate unquestionably. However, men who were willing to break the law were the ones that were able to build a lucrative life for themselves; one such man was Alphonse Capone. However, honest men such as Elliot Ness fought adamantly to defend their morals, beliefs, and the law of the land. Nevertheless, Capone was a man who took advantage of his time and lived the life of the American Dream: going from rags to riches. However, it was this very same opulence that caused his downfall and incarceration. The tireless efforts of Elliot Ness eventually paid off...show more content...

Since the beginning of Prohibition, the general public disregarded the legislation as hogwash. People of all classes, races, or beliefs flocked to speakeasies in droves to drink illegal alcohol that was either produced illegally or smuggled in from other countries by land or sea.

Smuggling alcohol was a very lucrative business for the unscrupulous. In order to ease the transportation, smugglers switched from beer and wine to hard liquor because it was more concentrated easier to hide. Since illegal liquor production was a black market, producers did not have to worry about government regulations when considering what to put into their drinks. In addition, many bootleggers were new to the game and did not know what they were doing. Many ended up accidentally producing poisonous liquor.

Gabriele and Teresina Capone, along with their three sons, were two of the 43,000 Italians who arrived in the U.S. in 1894. After five years in the United States, a forth son joined the family as Teresina gave birth to the family's Alphonse Capone. Since their arrival, nothing "about the Capone family was inherently disturbed, violent, or dishonest... They were a law–abiding, unremarkable Italian–American family with conventional patterns of behavior and frustrations; they displayed no special genius for crime, or anything else, for that matter," (Bardsley 2000).

At first, the Capone family resided at a cold–water tenement flat in Brooklyn, NY near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

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