Salem Press

American Villains
Al Capone

Gangster

Born: January 17, 1899; Brooklyn, New York
Died: January 25, 1947; Palm Island, Florida

Also Known As: Alphonse Gabriel Capone (full name); Scarface
Major Offenses: Income tax evasion, contempt of court,
and carrying concealed deadly weapons

Active: 1920's-1930's
Locale: Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York

Sentence: One year for carrying concealed deadly weapons and released nine months later for good behavior; eleven years in federal prison for income tax evasion, plus a fine of $50,000, $7,692 in court costs, and payment of $215,000 plus interest due on back taxes; concurrent six-months' imprisonment for contempt of court

Early Life
Alphonse "Al" Capone (kah-POHN) was born January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian emigrants Gabriele and Teresina Raiola Capone. Alphonse soon joined two neighborhood gangs—the Forty Thieves Juniors and the Brooklyn Rippers. He quit school at age fourteen after fighting with a teacher. For a few years, he worked at odd jobs around Brooklyn and then joined the notorious Five Points Gang headed by Frankie Yale in Manhattan. He became bartender and bouncer in Yale's bar, the Harvard Inn. At Harvard Inn, Capone insulted the sister of Frank Gallucio, a thug who then slashed Capone's right cheek with a switchblade knife, leaving him scarred for life and earning him the nickname Scarface.

In 1918, Capone met an Irish girl, Mary (Mae) Coughlin, at a dance. On December 4, 1918, she gave birth to their son, Albert "Sonny" Francis Capone, and they were married on December 30, 1918, in Brooklyn. In 1919, they moved to Long Island in order to be close to Yale's business on "Rum Row." In New York, Capone was linked to two murders but was never tried. However, after Capone had a fight with a rival gang member, Yale sent him to Chicago to get a break from the New York scene. The Capone family moved to 7244 South Prairie Avenue in Chicago, where Capone launched his career as one of the most notorious gangsters in American history.

Criminal Career
In Chicago, Capone worked for underworld boss Johnny Torrio, who quickly recognized Capone's talents for gang leadership. By 1922, Capone was Torrio's second in command and was soon made a full partner in Torrio's prostitution rackets, saloons, and gambling houses in Chicago. In 1925, after Torrio barely survived an assassination attempt, he turned the business over to Capone and left Chicago. Between 1925 and 1930, Capone expanded Chicago's vice industries into a multimillion-dollar business. He controlled distilleries and breweries, nightclubs, speakeasies, gambling houses, racetracks, and brothels; combined, these enterprises earned him $100 million a year.

By 1928, Capone's crime gang numbered more than one thousand experienced gunmen, and Capone could truthfully say he "owned" Chicago. At least half of the city's police force was on Capone's payroll. He bribed aldermen, state's attorneys, legislators, governors, Congress members, and mayors, including Chicago's own mayor, William "Big Bill" Thompson.

In 1928, Capone's Chicago headquarters included the Four Deuces on South Wabash and the Metropole and Lexington Hotels on South Michigan Avenue. He maintained suburban headquarters in Cicero and reputed hideouts in Indiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas. In 1928, Capone bought an estate in Palm Island, Florida, to which he retreated when his men carried out planned gangland killings. He was there on February 14, 1929, when his henchmen, led by John "Machine Gun" McGurn, ambushed Bugs Moran's gang on Chicago's North Side. In what became known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Capone's gunmen slaughtered six Moran gang members and a friend in the S-M-C Cartage Company garage. Moran escaped the carnage because he was late to the meeting and never entered the building. Though Capone's connection was obvious, no person was ever prosecuted for the crime. The massacre did, however, end Moran's control of the North Side; his gang vanished, leaving Chicago open to Capone's takeover. Moreover, the incident brought Capone's criminal activities under scrutiny at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and eventually led to his conviction for income tax evasion in 1931.

Legal Action and Outcome
When Capone resisted a federal grand jury subpoena to appear in court on March 12, 1929, on the grounds that he was too ill to attend, the FBI obtained evidence to the contrary, and Capone was ordered to appear on March 20. He completed his testimony on March 27 and was arrested for contempt of court; he was released on a five-thousand-dollar bond. On May 17, 1929, Capone was arrested in Philadelphia for carrying a concealed deadly weapon and sentenced to one year in prison. He was released nine months later for good behavior, on March 17, 1930.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department had filed charges of tax evasion against Capone. On June 16, 1931, Capone pleaded guilty to tax evasion, bragging to the press that he had a deal to serve two and a half years in prison. The federal judge rejected the deal, and Capone changed his plea to not guilty. Tried and convicted on October 18, 1931, Capone was sentenced November 24, 1931, to eleven years in prison, fined $50,000 and court costs, and ordered to pay $215,000 plus interest due on back taxes; the six-month contempt of court sentence ran concurrently. He was released November 16, 1939, having paid all fines and taxes and having served seven and a half years in the federal penitentiary at Atlanta and Alcatraz.

Capone was unable to return either to Chicago or to gangland politics. A victim of syphilitic paresis, his mentality had deteriorated in prison to that of a twelve-year-old person. He retired to Palm Island, Florida, and lived in seclusion until his death from stroke and pneumonia on January 25, 1947.

Impact
During Prohibition and the Great Depression era, the historical and social conditions for immigrants were such that many turned to organized crime as a source of jobs and income. Al Capone's career as a powerful crime boss during this period remains a popular subject of literature and film. He became a mythic figure as public enemy number one and was romanticized in magazines, books, films, and television.

Further Reading
Bergreen, Laurence. Capone: The Man and the Era. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Describes the rise of Capone to crime syndicate leadership during the 1920's and 1930's.

Kobler, John. Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992. A biography of Capone as a famous crime boss and unrecognized philanthropist.

Ruth, David E. Inventing the Public Enemy: The Gangster in American Culture, 1918-1934. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Provides a commentary on the cultural impact of organized crime.

Marguerite R. Plummer

See Also: Bugs Moran; Dion O'Banion; Hymie Weiss.