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Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend
Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend
Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend
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Al Capone (1899-1947) was immersed in crime activity from childhood when he joined the James Street Boys and then the Five Points Gang. He came by his nickname, Scarface, early in life when he was slashed across his left cheek in a barroom fight, leaving a prominent scar. He was an infamous criminal who rose through the ranks of crime by taking over crime territories, and assassinating crime bosses and gangs. Prohibition gave him another means to make large amounts of money when he began bootlegging. In 1925, he became Chicago crime boss with gambling, prostitution, and other illegal rackets bringing in millions of dollars. Al Capone led a life of crime and seemed impervious to the law. He could not be convicted of crime. It was …show more content…
Prohibition was a deeply unpopular law that never had any chance of working, and many illicit alcohol suppliers became minor folk heroes. Capone's charitable activities also won him admirers, and for a while he was regarded almost as a Robin Hood figure. His popularity began to decline after he was implicated in the Valentine's Day Massacre, when seven members of a rival gang were murdered. After his prison sentence his visibility and popularity faded away, but he remains one of the most influential of organized crime figures and many fictional gangsters have been closely modeled on him. Al Capone was the son of two poor Italian immigrants, he had to find guidance with the only people that took an interest in him but unfortunately for him it was some of the biggest mob leaders in New York. Even with that kind of influence hard to believe that a once soft spoken, intelligent kid from a good family would grow up to run a major city with blood, bullets, and …show more content…
Torrio instantly became Capone's new role model; Capone even got a job running small errands for Torrio and his crew. Capone spent every waking moment with the Torrio organization, which in way served as his new educational system, seeing as he no longer attended regular school. After a few years Torrio moved to Chicago but Capone would soon find a new influence to further his street education. Before moving Torrio got Capone a job as a bartender slash bouncer for Frankie Yale, which is where he would earn the nickname Scarface after a late night scuffle left him with three knife cuts on his face (Al Capone:Scarface). I'm sure Al Capone could have found a happy life doing something else but from the very start of his life he was never given a fair deal so he took the only real education he ever got and made himself into an American legend Al Capone was an Italian criminal working the streets of
Al Capone’s family came with a wave of other Italian immigrants that migrated to the United States in the 1800’s. Most immigrants in that time were living in poverty and in very urban areas. Capone’s family lived in the heart of Brooklyn, but his father was a successful barber which allowed them a slightly better lifestyle than most. Al Capone was the fourth of nine children and grew up with a very tight-knit Italian family who were trying to succeed in their new country”. Capone attended public school in the city and had a natural brightness by keeping a “B average” despite playing hooky on many occasions. The sixth grade showcased Capone’s short temper when he hit a female teacher who was lecturing him. This incident reveals the beginning of who Al Capone would come to be. After being suspended for his violence, he never officially furthered his education. He began his life of crime by joining the kid gangs that existed all over Brooklyn. These “gangs” were nothing more than children being hoodlums and participating in petty crimes, although they would be the ...
During the prohibition and the depression Capone still maintained wealthy. He also provided many jobs for the men and women who didn’t have jobs or had lost their jobs. Capone through his organized crime circle provided for many American families. He often paid people when he was on the run to let him stay with them for a short amount of time. This is one of the reasons the police could never catch Capone. Capone could be in a house somewhere in the
Considered the most notorious gangster in history, Alphonse Capone, otherwise known as Scarface Al, was born in New York, 1899, in a small apartment in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Having many run-ins with the police growing up, he was always around the local street gang led my Johnny Torrio. After beating one of his sixth grade teachers, he quit school, and quickly learned the way of the streets, joining the Torrio gang, call the James Street Gang. James Street also included Lucky Luciano, one of Capone’s best friends, who would later also become a notorious gangster (Internet 1, 1).
...s. Was Capone fully to blame for the violence that plagued his life? Or was he adapting to the times in which he lived? Maybe he was a man who believed in self-defense in a cruel time where he was just as likely to be killed by an opposing bootlegger. In several interviews, he spoke of peace. He asked for peace from other men that challenged him. Some might even call him generous. Whatever Al Capone was, there was one type of person that he believed to be truely evil. In the words of Capone, "There's one thing worse than a crook, I think...and that's a crooked man in a big political job. A man who pretends he is enforcing the law and is really making dough by breaking it. Even a self-respecting hoodlum hasn't any use for that kind of fella..he buys them like he'd buy any other article necessary to his trade. But he hates them in his heart," (Blumenthal 102).
Al Capone was one of the most notorious gangsters during the 1920’s. He was a self-made business man. He had a ready smile and a quick handshake, which if you did not play your cards right, could turn out to be fatal. It took 500 gangland murders to make Capone the boss of Chicago. He was public enemy number one. Capone single handedly gave Chicago the nickname “The Lawless City.”
No other single gangster could be as infamous as Al Capone. Al Capone was the most powerful gangster to ever live. No one could stop his reign of crime, and anyone that got in his way, he would take out, even when it came to his friends. He was never convicted for any of the hundreds of crimes he committed; this is one of the most important facts that showed how many connections Capone had. It was until the 1930’s when Capone was convicted of tax invasion when he did his first jail sentence. He was transferred though many jails across America until he finally landed in Alcatraz. While serving his jail time Alphonse Capone became a victim of the deadly disease Syphilis. Al Capone died but his crime legacy will always live on.
Al “Scarface” Capone was a successful entrepreneur who saw an opportunity and pounced on it. Capone made his fortune through both legal and illegal business practices. WIth these strategies they live on and we see them today still and with them many laws and reforms had been created because of Capone.
Capone was known by lots of names: Scarface, The Big Fella, Public Enemy Number One, Big Al. He was known as a kind man that was generously giving. He was known as a business man. He had a $62,000,000 in businesses averaging an income of $100,000 a week (Ocean View Publishing). He was also known as a murderer, killing many and ordering even more deaths. Capone was arrested many times but lack of evidence let him off the hook. Capone was a sneaky, intelligent business man that ruled the streets of Chicago.
...out $32,488 in 1924. They charged Capone with 22 counts of tax evasion for $200,000. They discussed that if Capone pleaded guilty they would lighten the sentence to 2-5 years in prison. This agreement leaked out to the public and they were outraged. Capone knew he couldn’t escape with a light sentence. After nine hours and a jury change Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison with a $50,000 in fees and a court cost of $30,000. Bail was denied.
The time was late in the reign of Capone. His operations in the 1920s through the 30s led the FBI getting involved in his antics. Capone would have signs of his work all over the place, but he could never be caught. Whether it was bribing a jury, or even just serving small time and getting out for good behavior. Capone could not have the book thrown at him, he was just too sly. The mob was always hard to catch due to lack of evidence and the fact that people could be either paid off or scared off. In 1931, the time would come and the Eagle would finally catch the snake. Capone was found guilty of tax evasion on bootlegging money. In a article on History.com, states that, “On June 5, 1931 the U.S. government finally indicted Capone on 22 counts of income-tax evasion…. When the judge in the case declared that he would not honor the agreement, Capone quickly withdrew his guilty plea, and the case went to trial. During the trial Capone used the best weapon in his arsenal: bribery and intimidation. But at the last moment, the judge switched to an entirely new jury. Capone was found guilty and sent to prison for 11 years” (History.com). Capone was finally sentenced to true jail time. The judge he faced was not entertaining his bribery and his corruption in his courtroom. Capone had finally been caught and sentenced to eleven years
Once in Chicago, Capone went to work for Yale's old mentor, John Torrio, who also became godfather to his son. Torrio saw Capone's potential, his combination of physical strength and intelligence, and took him under his wing. In January 1920, the 18th Amendment of the Prohibition Act came into force, which made the brewing, distilling and distribution of alcohol completely illegal. The era of Prohibition was underway, and Chicago's criminal underworld, including Johnny Torrio who was prepared to make bootlegging alcohol a very profitable business. Around the end of 1920 Capone's father tragically died, but Capone was doing well in Chicago venture and did not go astray. At just 22 years of age Capone became Torrio's partner in his Chicago businesses, and was Torrio's number-two man helping to mange the bootlegging, saloons, gambling houses, and even the brothels. Capone now had greater responsibilities and was given the opportunity to expand the operation to the Chicago suburb of Cicero.
Al Capone was a child from an Italian immigrant family, And was one of the most Notorious and infamous 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.
Alphonse Capone, born 1899 Brooklyn New York. He had a great wife, a fathered son, went to church, dressed well and called his mom every day. He was the most notorious gangster in American antiquity. At the age of 19 he married Mea Coughlin and had a son with her his name was Albert Francis, a few weeks after the birth of his son, he moved to Baltimore where he became an accountant for a construction company. Capone made $60 million per annum for selling illegal alcohol. Known for his illegal use Chicago set-up of prostitution and gambling. As a child Capone lived in Brooklyn New York with his mother and father, Gabriele and Teresina Capone. Both Italian immigrants, came to America looking for a better life. Capons father worked as a barber
Al Capone is known as a ruthless gangster who dominated Chicago in the roaring 20’s. This essay will carry the reader through a glimpse into Al Capone’s history, from his early life, his career and how he impacted American history.
Al Capone was one of the most known of all of the gangsters. He was one of the biggest gangsters in the underworld of chicago. Al capone was a sharp dresser a classy gentleman. Capone was the best at what he did. capone originally liyed in naples which is in italy .