Al Capone

Alfonse Capone was born in Brooklyn in 1899. His parents were immigrants from Naples, Italy. He dropped out of school when he was in the fourth grade. He joined up with the James Street Gang in his teens. This was led by Johnny Torrio. This was a feeder program for the Five Points Gang which Capone joined later. Capone met Lucky Luciano here for the first time. His brother Frank (Bottles) was also in organized Crime. Capone put his mother in Sioux City, Iowa. Also known as "Little Chicago." While in New York Capone got in a fight with Frank Galluccia. Galluccia slashed Capone's left cheek. That is where he got the nickname "Scarface." Capone later hired Galluccia as his bodyguard in Chicago. Capone left New York because police were trying to pin a murder charge on him.

This is 2128 South Wabash Avenue at Colossimo's Cafe. This is were Capone received his scar.

Johnny Torrio was the leader of the "Five Points Gang." He invited Capone to move to Chicago to be his sidekick. Big Jim Colisimo was the crime boss in Chicago. Torrio wanted to take charge, so he hired Capone to kill his uncle. Torrio wanted to create bootlegging rackets when the Volstead Act went into effect, but Colisimo denied it. That is why Torrio wanted to eliminate his uncle. Capone was made Torrio's right hand man after Torrio had taken over his uncle's position.

Capone and Torrio began taking charge in Chicago. There were several rivalry's between the gangs. The most well known war was with the O'Banion Gang from Chicago's North Side. This gang put Torrio in the hospital in 1925. He was wounded in a shoot out. After Torrio got out of the hospital a month later, he told Capone it's all his. Torrio took thirty million dollars and retired in Brooklyn. The business was valued at fifty million dollars a year.

At age 26, Capone became the leader of the largest criminal organization in America with more than a thousand employees. Most of them were killers. he continued to work the rackets and made himself a multi-millionaire. Most of the police force, judiciary, aldermen, attorney's, amyors, legislators, governors and congressmen were on his side. The big union bosses and infamous Teamsters Union were also apart of the Mob.

ABOVE is a picture of one of Capone's soup kitchens.The public loved Capone. He was seen with big business people, movie stars and political figures. While Capone was being cheered on by the public, Herbert Hoover was being booed. Capone was surrounded by his most trusted mobsters. Capone had to be careful. There were several attempts on his life. The O'Banion gang sent a whole motorcade of machine gun mobsters past the Cicero headquarters. Over a thousand rounds were fired at the place but Capone came out without a scratch. Capone orchestrated one of the most famous Mob hits of all time. It was the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Check out my Scandals page to learn more about that. Capone dealt with his enemies. John Scalise, Albert Anselmi and Hop Toad Giunta were three of Capone's men. Capone invited them to the banquet and after the meal Capone pulled out a club and bashed there brains in the dinner table. Those three were planning to kill Capone, but Al smarted them out this time. He got them before they got him.

ABOVE is a picture of Capone, his brother Albert and Albert's wife.

TRIAL

This is George E.Q Johnson which was the US attorney that led the prosecution case against Capone.

This was Frank Wilson which was the IRS agent that investigated Capone's finances.

Michael Allern : Al Capone : Albert Fink : These were Capone's lawyers.

Capone wasn't tried for any of the murders he had organized or conducted. The IRS got him on tax evasion charges in 1929. He got eleven years in prison in Atlanta. He was later sent to the island prison Alcatraz in San Francisco harbor in 1934. Some people say "The Rock" was built for Capone. Capone had a hard time in prison. He was stabbed in the back, almost poisoned, strangled and stabbed with a sash weight. He was known as "Wop the Mop." He only served nine of the eleven years. He had lost his mind. In 1939, he was released from Alcatraz due to his ill health. He had syphilis from his earlier days. The infection spread to his brain and he was a vegetable most of the time. He lived his days out at his Miami mansion. He died January 25, 1947. He was only 48 years old.

This is a picture of Capone's wife Mae, she was visiting him at Alcatraz.

Alcatraz