Al Capone

Al Capone

Al Capone (Alphonse Gabriel Capone, 1899-1947) was perhaps the most notorious American gangster of the twentieth century. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City and began his criminal career there as a barman, bouncer and small-time thug, moving to Chicago in 1919. There he became a trusted lieutenant of the gang boss Johnny Torrio and in 1923, by bribery and intimidation in municipal elections, the Torrio-Capone organisation took over the Chicago suburban municipality of Cicero, making the district a safe haven for them. Torrio retired in 1925 after an assassination attempt and turned over his crime interests - largely based on the illegal alcohol trade which prospered as a result of Prohibition, but also including gambling and prostitution - to Capone. However, Capone was vulnerable to attacks by his enemies, notably the Chicagoan 'North Side' gangs. In 1929 he turned on these enemies, organising the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in which seven North Side gangsters were murdered by Capone gunmen posing as police, although the main target, George 'Bugs' Moran, escaped.

Capone also liked to pose as a public benefactor, organising the distribution of free milk for Chicago schoolchildren and starting free soup kitchens during the Depression years.

He was eventually convicted in 1931 on charges of tax evasion, and sentenced in 1932 to twelve years imprisonment, of which he served six and a half. On his release from prison in 1939 he found it difficult to rebuild his crime empire, and he began to suffer from declining physical and mental health exacerbated by syphilis. He died on 25 January 1947.