Al Capone was one of the most notorious gangsters of the first half of the 20th century. Based mainly in Chicago, Capone made hundreds of millions of dollars in various illegal businesses such as bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, racketeering, and various other mob activities. Although also a philanthropist, Capone was a ruthless killer who believed in eliminating his competition. A true understanding of this crime czar’s career can be gained from studying his beginnings after sixth grade in New York, his relocation to Chicago, the growth of his empire, his arrests, and prison time, and his deathbed in Florida.
Beginnings
Mr. Capone started his career in violence at a very young age. In the middle of his sixth grade year, Al beat up his mathematics teacher (“Al Capone Biography”). His teacher had given him a C- on a test, and Al thought that he deserved a better grade (“Al Capone Biography”). Instead of talking to school officials, Al took matters into his own hands (“Al Capone Biography”). This ended his formal schooling, and began his gangster career.
After he left school, Capone’s gangster schooling officially began. A little more unorthodox perhaps, but a very effective way to learn the tricks of the trade, Al began to run errands for Giovanni “Johnny” Torrio (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Torrio gave Capone small jobs, and Capone received a small amount of pocket money as well as hands-on lessons about the gangster trade (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Torrio was the lieutenant in the notorious Five Points Gang, and was Al Capone’s major mentor in the gangster business (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). As Al did more and more work for Torrio, Torrio began to trust Al more and more. Some of the other jobs that Torrio had Al do were bartending and bouncing at brothels, as well as running a smaller brothel (“Alcatraz Historical Society”). All of these businesses not only proved very lucrative, but also helped Al Capone to learn the finer points of being an early twentieth century gangster.
Capone had more and more work as his time in the Five Points Gang went on. He was given more extensive and important jobs, and was trusted more. In 1919, however, he moved from his home of New York City to Chicago (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). This was due to two killings that Capone had done on orders from the newly appointed head of the Five Points Gang, Johnny Torrio (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Torrio sent Capone to Chicago to cool down, and to escape any possible prosecution (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). It turned out that Capone liked Chicago so much, he decided never to leave. Chicago was to become Al Capone’s cash cow, and he would milk it for all it would give.
Relocation To Chicago
Al Capone moved to Chicago in 1919 to cool down. These were on orders by his friend and mentor Johnny Torrio (“Capone”). As soon as he arrived, he started to grow his empire. Over the next ten years, he would grow an empire comprising of six hundred gangsters, and thousands of spies (“Capone”). While Al was working the south side of Chicago in his various “businesses”, he had competitors on the north side (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). These competitors included Deanie O’Banion, Bugs Moran, and Hymie Weiss (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). This competition would have been tolerable at least, until Deanie O’Banion made the most dangerous statement of his life, “Tell them Sicilians to go to Hell” (Kobler, Pg. 124).
These words, spoken by O’Banion in 1926 reached Capone – a Sicilian – and he took these words as a personal insult. (Kobler, Pg. 124). The hit was ordered, and O’Banion was assassinated. This led to the largest mob war in the history of the United Sates. Estimates put the numbers at around one hundred and thirty gangsters from over ten mobs killed in just one year (“Capone”). This war would have gone on for longer, but Capone called a meeting of the large mobs in Chicago. They agreed to a ceasefire, and no more gangsters were killed, for the moment at least (“Capone”)
Al Capone was a master of illegal exploits, having a hand in many of these ventures (“Dunder”). He would not have been as successful if he had not grown a massive spy network in the city of Chicago (“Dunder”). This spy network, with everyone from police officers to bellboys working within it, was effective in gathering information on many different persons of interest to Capone and his organization (“Dunder”). This gave him intelligence on not only other mob activity, but also on assassination attempts (“Dunder”). There were several assassination attempts, but they were always thwarted due to prior knowledge by Capone because of his spies (“Dunder”). Without his payroll of spies, Capone may well have died in one of these attempts on his life (“Dunder”).
The Grown of Capone’s Era
Like many of the gangsters of his era, Capone had a business front to conceal his real activities (Kobler, Pg. 101). His listing in the telephone book, and the store that he owned, were a cover (Kobler, Pg. 101). He was listed as an antiques dealer (Kobler, Pg. 101). The shop was filled with junk, and never sold a thing (Kobler, Pg. 101). If a customer ever called, they were told that the item in question had just been sold (Kobler, pg. 101). If they ever visited the store, there would be a closed sign hanging in the window (Kobler, Pg. 101). This was a decent guise, even if easily detectible. All an interested FBI agent would have to do in order to detect it would be to stake out the shop. Several agencies tried this tactic, but whenever this happened, Capone would have members of his organization come into the store to pretend to buy antiques (Kobler, Pg. 101).
Despite all of the illegal business adventures of the Capone Empire, they did own some legitimate businesses, such as cleaning and dyeing companies, and various other little jobs (“Famous Cases”).
Despite all his criminal activity, Capone was a philanthropist (“Bardsley”). He was a benefactor for the opera, jazz groups, shelters, soup kitchens, and after school programs to help the youth of Chicago and keep them off the streets (”Bardsley”). Capone may have done a lot of wrong, but he has to be given credit for making the lives of some better.
Al Capone has may illegal business ventures. These ranged from the most profitable – bootlegging - to prostitution and gambling. In 1929, Capone’s organization was worth a mind-boggling one hundred and five million dollars. In 2009, that amount of money is worth approximately $1,319,720,665.50 (“Capone”). These were broken down as follows. Sixty million dollars from bootlegging (“Capone”). Twenty five million dollars from gambling (“Capone”). Ten million dollars from vice (“Capone”). And approximately ten million dollars from various other racketeering interests (“Capone”). Now that he had sufficient funds, Capone was ready to wage war on his biggest bootlegging competitor in Chicago, Bugs Moran (“Alcatraz Historical Society”).
The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre was perhaps the largest bloodbath ever orchestrated by Capone. The plan was carried out by seven of his most loyal lieutenants: “Machine Gun McGurn”, Fred “Killer” Burke, Albert Anselmi, Harry Keywell, James Ray, John Scalise, and Joseph Lolordo (“Bardsley”). The plan went something like this. Bugs Moran’s gang was anonymously offered a deal on whiskey: $57 a case (Kobler, Pg. 241). This was an unheard of bargain price for whiskey (Kobler, Pg. 241). Moran agreed to meet the buyer at a warehouse the next morning at ten thirty sharp (Kobler, Pg. 241). His men arrived on time, and went into the warehouse (Kobler, Pg. 241). They were then surprised by Capone’s men, who were clothed in police uniforms, and in detective plainclothes (Kobler, Pg. 241). Thinking that it was a raid, the men raised their arms (Kobler, Pg. 241). Unfortunately it was not a raid, and more than two hundred rounds were emptied into the seven gangsters (Kobler, Pg. 241). Then the gang members, dressed as police, led the other gang members – dressed in trench coats – out and back to their car (Kobler, Pg. 241.) Eyewitnesses assumed that it was another drug bust or prohibition bust, and did not give it a second glance (Kobler, Pg. 241). The only problem with this plan was that Bugs Moran – the target – was caught in traffic, and escaped (Kobler, Pg. 241).
The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre was always blamed on Capone, but no evidence could link him to it. Capone was in Florida on vacation at the time.
Al Capone had impeccable manors, and taste. A guest at one of Capone’s parties – Harry Dore said this, “Al Capone hires nothing but gentlemen. They must be well-dressed at all times. They must say ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’ when he addresses them” (Kobler, Pg. 241).
Capone had good taste in bodyguards, but they were also very skilled. They knew how to protect their boss, and did so throughout all of his criminal adventures.
Bootlegging
One of the most lucrative of Capone’s many business interests was bootlegging. Bootlegging is the illegal brewing, distilling, distribution, or importation of liquor (“Famous Cases”). This was made profitable by the eighteenth amendment, which started Prohibition. Prohibition banned all alcohol in the United States. Bootlegging could only have happened with the willing buyers. Many blue-collar workers in Chicago, and across the country, were either alcoholics, or enjoyed a couple of beers every night. These men needed a way to get their “juice”, and Capone was that way.
Capone began to bootleg when he was working under Frankie Yale, a close associate of Torrio’s (“Capone”). Capone’s job was to persuade proprietors of speakeasies (illegal bars underground) to buy Yale’s illegal goods (“Capone”). Capone was good at what he did, and said this about his business: “I make my money by supplying a public demand. If I break the law, my customers who number hundreds of the best people in Chicago are as guilty as I am”. (“Capone”)
As Capone had more and more success with bootlegging, Yale put Capone in charge of the entire bootlegging operation (“Capone”).
Arrests
Al was notorious for his bribery of public officials. Be it mayors, judges, juries, governors or police chiefs, he would do anything to stay out of jail. Most of his funding for this bribery came from the bootlegging operation that he ran. Generally, when Capone was arrested, the prosecution could either find no witnesses willing to testify, or the witnesses would either “develop faulty memories” or disappear (“Bardsley”).
Gangsters would hardly every be prosecuted due to the fact that there were either no witnesses, juries were bribed or threatened, and the mobs took a vow never to snitch on another gang (“Capone”). It was considered a shooting offense to disclose other gangster’s activities (“Capone”).
Despite these many challenges for law enforcement agencies, Capone was arrested many times. One was for contempt of court (“Famous Cases”). The FBI arrested Capone for a trumped up contempt of court charge (“Famous Cases”). Capone calmly was led away, and posted bail ten minutes after being processed (“Famous Cases”). Another arrest by the FBI was in Philadelphia (“Famous Cases”). Capone and a bodyguard were incarcerated for carrying concealed deadly weapons (“Famous Cases”). Again they posted bail, and were released (“Famous Cases”). The cases never went to trial.
One of the other big arrests was when Capone was held responsible for the murder of public District Attorney William “Billy” McSwiggin. Capone claimed never to have done anything, but went into hiding nonetheless (“Bardsley”). Eventually he negotiated his surrender with Chicago Police (“Bardsley”), Capone was then released because the prosecution had no evidence (“Bardsley”).
When President Hoover was elected, his first order of business was to take down the crime Czar. He turned to Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, and told him to find a way to have Capone shut down. The path that Mellon chose was to get Capone for tax evasion (“Dunder”). Capone ran several casinos, but had never filed income tax forms (“Dunder”). This was the beginning of the end for Al Capone (“Dunder”).
IRS special agent Eliot Ness and his team of incorruptible IRS agents pursued Capone (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). These agents were called the “Untouchables” because they were guarded day and night by armed guards (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). There was no way that they were going to be bought off or threatened into stopping their work. The “Untouchables” – after years of searching – found receipts linking Capone to the income, and thus nailing the coffin closed (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Capone was brought to trial in June of 1931, and pled guilty (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). He was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison, and more than eighty thousand dollars in penalties, court fines, and legal fees (“Al Capone Arrest Records”).
Prisons
Al Capone was first a guest of the Atlanta Federal Prison in Georgia (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). While he was there, Capone had the finest amenities provided to him, and was given extremely special privileges (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). This might have been due to the fact that he bribed the warden and the guards with hundred dollar bills (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). He was often known to sit in his lavish cell, listening to the radio and throwing darts with the guards (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Unfortunately for Capone, the Federal Government was not too happy with what was going on down in Georgia. In 1934 – two years into his sentence - that all ended. Al Capone was transferred by means of an armored box car to San Francisco (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Capone was going to Alcatraz (“Al Capone Arrest Records”).
When Mr. Capone arrived at Alcatraz, the warden made it clear that he would not tolerate any nonsense such as bribery or any other ways for Capone to get what he wanted (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). The few times that Al did try to bribe a guard, he was put in the “hole”, a term used for the solitary confinement cell where no light entered (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). During his stay in Alcatraz, Capone’s associates – those on the outside – went straight. They stopped their gang work, and took legitimate jobs. As his term in Alcatraz wore on, Capone began to show signs of dementia (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). He was haunted by the ghosts of the men he had killed, and would often sit in the corner of his cell and whisper rapidly to himself in Italian (Kobler, Pg. 374). He was diagnosed with syphilis, a disease he had contracted early in his childhood.
Due to his mental state, the prison board ruled that Capone was no longer a threat. He was released in 1939, after serving only seven of his eleven years (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Capone was admitted to the Baltimore State Mental Institution (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). While under constant watch, he had the mental abilities of an eleven year old (“Dunder”).
Deathbed
Capone retired to his estate in the lower part of Florida after a year at the Baltimore State Mental Institute (“Dunder”). On January 21, 1947, Capone suffered an apoplectic stroke (“Dunder”). He survived, and even regained consciousness (not normal after an apoplectic stroke) (“Dunder”). He died three days later, going into cardiac arrest (“Dunder”).
Thus ended the era of one of the most publicized gangsters of all time. The true multitude of crimes that Al Capone committed may never really be known. All we know is that he was immensely successful, and operated one of the biggest criminal empires of all time. Capone did much work for the mob, and controlled the largest bootlegging operation in the United States. He was arrested dozens of times, but only put away a handful. And eventually his body just could not take the stress and the fatigue. Al Capone will always be remembered with the true infamy he deserves.
Works Cited
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4. "Capone, Al (1899-1947)." 21 Dec 2008 http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9237536&page=print.
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