Al Capone

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Al Capone
Background Information
Born to Italian parents in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, Al Capone developed into the most feared gangster in the History of the United States. During the height of prohibition in 1920, Al Capone dominated the organized crime incidences after being linked to multi-million dollar operations in Chicago. Beside armed robbery, he engaged in illegal businesses including prostitution, bootlegging, and gambling. He was held responsible for many acts of violence, especially against other gangsters. Among the famous scene is his order to assassinate seven of his rivals in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre that happened in 1929. Though he was never indicted for criminal acts, Al Capone was judged in 1931 for income-tax evasion. He served a jail term of six-and-a-half years and in Miami in the year 1947. His gangster person has been captured in a variety of violent movies.
Early Life
Al Capone was born in the City of New York to Teresa Capone and Gabriele Capone, who were of Italian ancestry (Iorizzo 2). His father worked as a barber while his mother made her living through sewing. The family moved to America in 1893, the time when the hard economic condition wracked the country for years. They settled at Tenement where they lived for a while before moving in the outskirts of Park Slope where he met his wife Mary Coughlin and Johny Torrio, his mob Mentor. Al Capone started schooling at John Jay, P.S.7 preparatory school located near the Navy Yard.

He later transferred to William A. Butler; P.S. 133 near Garfield after the family had moved.
Al Capone is said to have been a good student in the elementary school until the sixth grade when he started falling behind. It was then that he began devoting much of his time and energy to his favorite sport, hooky. Of the required ninety classes, Al Capone only attended thirty-three. At the age of fourteen years, Al Capone quit school, something that was part of family tradition. Due to his red-haze temper, Al Capone struck back at a teacher who hit him for insolence. After being punished by the school principal, he decided to quit for embarrassment (Al Capone – Facts and Summary 1). Al then secured a pin boy in bowling and clerk in a grocery store. He also worked in an ammunition factory and a book bindery. It is through his employment that he came across kid gangs on the streets.
Becoming a Mob
After dropping out school and working in various factories, Al Capone met Johnny Torrio, a hardcore gangster who mentored him as a gangland boss. Torrio enlightened Capone on how to maintain a positive image in the public while engaging in racketeering business. Furthermore, he advised Al Capone to join James Street gang. Through interaction and regular activities, Al Capone met Frankie Yale, another gangster who six years older than Al (Al Capone 1). Yale ushered him, into the Forty Thieves Juniors gang and eventually rose to join the Five Points Gang
Yale then hired Al Capone to work as a bouncer and a bartender at an Inn located in Coney Island. One night while working at the inn, Al used abusive language towards a lady in the restaurant. A brother to the woman got angry and punched Capone in response and cut him in the face, which left him with three deep scars that earned him the nickname “Scarface” (Al Capone – Facts and Summary 1). Beside Harvard inn, Yale operated other lines of strong-arm terror including a mortuary, prizefighters, racehorses, and the Sunrise Café.
The Prohibition Period
In the United States of America, prohibition was a period between 1920 and 1933 when the government made it illegal to produce, transport, import, and sale of any form of alcoholic beverages. The rule was enforced in late 1919 after the 18th amendment to the US Constitution. As a result, new bootlegging business operation opened up that drew immense wealth and income to the participants. Al Capone took advantage of the government ban on liquor to import, distribute and sell alcohol in various parts of America. After Johnny Torrio retirement in 1925, Al Capone became the crime czar of Chicago where he operated illegal businesses such as gambling, money laundering and prostitution (Iorizzo 43). Al Capone expanded his territories by gunning down rivals and gangs who participated in similar business. He assumed the management of Four Deuces, headquarters belonging to Torrios in Levee area. The places served a gambling joint, speakeasy, and warehouse under a single roof.
Al Capone remained unarmed most of the time a way of cleaning up his name and maintaining an excellent reputation in society. However, he never went out without his bodyguards. He preferred to move at night so as to avoid his enemies. He only flew during the daytime when it was necessary. After taking over from Johnny Torrio, there was a crackdown on racketeering in Chicago that forced Al Capone to move his mobster job operation to Cicero in the state of Illinois. He then infiltrated the department of police and the government through the help of his two brothers; Ralph and Frank who in addition to running gambling clubs, brothels, and racetracks; they took official positions within Cicero city administration (Al Capone 1). Al Capone won office in Cicero through dubious, violent, and underhand methods. He kidnapped one of the election officials and threatened voters with violence. The incidence happened after one of his brothers; Frank had been killed with Chicago Police force in an open fire shootout.
Al Capone was always proud of being calm, keeping his temper under wraps and not allowing people to understand who he is in the real sense. Nonetheless, he was termed notorious and ruthless by the publicity surrounding him after him shooting a gangster in a bar. It is said that the small-time thug had assaulted one of Al’s friend, Jack Guzik. In response, Capone tracked him down and shot him dead. With the aid of his long-term friend, Frankie Yale, Al Capone started smuggling vast quantities of whisky into Chicago, a move that led to what is commonly referred to as The Adonis Club Massacre (Iorizzo 67). In the tragedy, Capone had enemies to Yale attacked brutally during a Christmas party. Unlike most gangsters, Al Capone did not avoid publicity. He was always smartly dressed and set out to be seen as a pillar of the society and a respectable businessman.
Though the whisky bootlegging was making him rich, accidental shooting of the hanging prosecutor, McSwiggin became a significant setback for the gangster (Al Capone – Facts and Summary 1). McSwiggin was shot mistakenly outside the bar in an encounter between Capone’s men and rivals. He was accused of the murder but was not arrested due to inadequate evidence. All-high profile investigations against him failed. Nevertheless, there became a significant concern from the members of the public regarding the increased levels of violence in the region. Feeling frustrated, the police officer went on raiding and destroying his gambling dens and warehouses that sent Capone into hiding for three months after which he decided to show up to Chicago police. He once again a free man after the judicial system failed to prove him guilty. After being released, Capone pretended to be a peacemaker, appealing to other groups to stop violence but later on the conflicts among the rivaling organized crimes starting affecting his whisky bootlegging. Some of the liquor was hijacked while in transit the Bugs Moran and North Side gang (Al Capone 1). The decision to fight back is what led to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which made him the most feared criminal. Seven men were killed in cold blood. His last bloody act was revenge by killing two Sicilian colleagues with a baseball bat who he believed were traitors. He invited them to a banquet and brutally pulverized them.
Later Years
After escaping the rule of law for quite a long time, it is the tax office that finally caught Al Capone. In 1927, it was held in the Supreme Court that bootleggers should pay income tax on their businesses. It was then that the special intelligence Unit from the IRS that went after Al Capone. He was later arrested in 1929 and imprisoned for evading paying taxes and carrying a weapon. He was incarcerated in the Eastern Penitentiary till March 1930 and released for showing good behavior. However, he includes on America’s “Most Wanted” list, humiliating his public image and reputation. In 1931, Al Capone was indicted for evading tax payment on more than twenty accounts that totaled to $200,000 (Bousquet 304). Alongside 68 other gangsters, Al Capone was charged with violating the Volstead Act. He was handed a jail term of seven years, fined fifty thousand dollars, and an additional court cost of $30, 000 (Bousquet 307). Bail was not granted. The sentence period was, however, reduced to six and half year for good behavior. During his last days in the prison, he developed tertiary syphilis, and after being released, his health deteriorated further leading to his death in 1947 at the age of 48.
In summary, Al Capone was born in New York and developed into one of the most feared gangsters in the United States of America. He was engaged in several illegal activities, such as robbery, prostitution, smuggling and many others. It is important to note that Al Capone was raised in a humble family and was enrolled in school, but dropped out of school to engage in criminal activities. He perfected his criminal lifestyle when he met Johnny Torrio, who impacted him with strategies that made him even better when dealing with rival gangs and the authorities. When the government banned the importation of liquor during the prohibition period, Al Capone took this as an advantage to illegally import liquor and managed to make a lot of money. However, just like many criminals, he was eventually arrested by the authorities, fined and sentenced to imprisonment. He died upon his release from Prison.

Works Cited
“Al Capone – Facts & Summary,” nd, http://www.history.com/topics/al-capone
Bousquet, Stephen. “The Gangster in Our Midst: Al Capone in South Florida, 1930-1947.” The
Florida Historical Quarterly 76.3 (1998): 297-309.
“Al Capone.’’ Biography, nd, https://www.biography.com/people/al-capone-9237536
Iorizzo, Luciano J. Al Capone: a biography. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.