Who was Al Capone? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Alphonse Gabriel Capone, Scarface

Died At Age: 48

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Mae Capone (m. 1918)

father: Gabriele Capone

mother: Teresina Capone

siblings: Frank Capone, James Vincenzo Capone, John Capone, Mafalda Capone, Matthew Capone, Ralph Capone, Rose Capone, Umberto Capone

children: Albert Francis Capone

Born Country: United States

Gangsters Drug Lords

Height: 1.79 m

Died on: January 25, 1947

place of death: Palm Island, Miami Beach, Florida, United States

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1

What crimes was Al Capone involved in?

Al Capone was involved in various criminal activities, including bootlegging, gambling, and racketeering. He was notorious for his involvement in organized crime during the Prohibition era.
2

How did Al Capone evade law enforcement?

Al Capone was able to evade law enforcement for many years through bribery, intimidation, and the use of a network of loyal associates who helped protect him from prosecution.
3

What was Al Capone's role in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre?

Although Al Capone was suspected of being behind the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, he was never officially charged for the crime. The massacre was a violent confrontation between rival gangs in Chicago.
4

How did Al Capone eventually get caught by authorities?

Al Capone was eventually caught by authorities for tax evasion. In 1931, he was convicted and sentenced to prison for failing to pay income tax on his illegal earnings.
5

What was Al Capone's impact on organized crime in the United States?

Al Capone's reign as a mob boss in Chicago had a significant impact on organized crime in the United States. His rise to power and subsequent downfall helped shape the public's perception of gangsters and the criminal underworld.

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Childhood & Early Life

Al Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in New York, to Teresina and Gabriele Capone. Both his parents were immigrants of Italian origin. While Capone’s mother worked as a seamstress, his father Gabriele worked as a barber. His original name was Alphonse Capone.

Capone discontinued his studies when he was just a sixth grader. It’s claimed that he was expelled from school since he had assaulted his teacher. He later took up petty jobs to support himself.

Capone was soon noticed by then noted gangster Johnny Torrio. In 1920, Torrio took the young Capone under his wings, and made him a part of the infamous ‘Chicago Outfit’. The gang was into businesses such as prostitution, drug trafficking, and many others.

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American Criminals

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Later Life

Capone soon became a deputy to Johnny Torrio after James Colosimo, also known as ‘Big Jim’ was brutally killed. ‘Big Jim’ was the founder of the gang, and completely controlled the prostitution business himself. It was alleged that his death was a conspiracy planned by Capone himself.

In 1925, few members of rival gangs tried assassinating Capone, but he escaped. Within a few days even Johnny Torrio was attacked. Post these incidents, Torrio decided to flee the country. He appointed Capone as the new head of the gang.

The then 26 year old Capone had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders. Other than the sex trade, there were also liquor and transportation businesses to handle. Capone used violence to his advantage to extract more income out of such businesses. Firms had no choice but to trade with Capone’s gang; otherwise, they faced dire consequences.

Capone became so influential that he played an important role in helping politician William Thompson win the election of Mayor of Chicago. Capone had apparently donated $250,000 to support William in the 1927 elections, in which the latter emerged victorious. However, Capone’s growing notoriety posed to be a threat for William’s political image, and the gangster was ignored very soon.

The US government decided to tighten its screws on Capone in 1927. He was asked to declare all his illegal assets.

In 1929, Capone was tried by the federal court for various crimes. He was jailed the same year for possessing a gun during a trip to Philadelphia. He spent the next nine months behind bars.

In 1931, Capone was sentenced to jail on charges of income tax evasion. After spending two years in a jail near Atlanta, Capone was shifted to the notorious Alcatraz prison where he spent several years. Since the jail was located on an island, it cut off Capone’s contacts with the outside world. When Capone came out of jail he was mentally disoriented and was suffering from several diseases.

Major Crimes

A crime for which Capone is remembered to this day is the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929. Capone aimed to completely wipe out the North Side Gang, especially its leader, Bugs Moran, to take full control of Chicago’s criminal underworld.

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Capone’s henchmen stayed in a dwelling near Moran’s warehouse to keep a close watch on his movements. Members of Capone’s gang posed as policemen and carried out a fake raid on Moran’s hideout. Seven members of the Moran gang were subsequently gunned down by Capone’s men.

Personal Life & Legacy

Capone had eight other siblings. Two of his brothers Ralph and Frank worked along with him, and managed few activities of his gang. Ralph mainly looked after the bottling business, which had both legal and illegal aspects, hence earning him the nickname ‘bottles’.

Capone had an affair with a woman named Mae Josephine Coughlin. Coughlin was pregnant with their son Albert before the marriage. Post Albert’s birth, Capone and Coughlin got married, in 1918.

After Capone earned enough money he bought a modest house in the south side of Chicago where he moved along with his family, including his siblings.

Capone had contracted the dreaded disease Syphilis at a young age, however he left it untreated. When Capone was jailed at Alcatraz, the disease had reached an advanced stage and deteriorated his health.

In 1939, Capone was released from Alcatraz jail after serving an imprisonment of 6 years. He was later shifted to a hospital located in Baltimore for mental treatment. He stayed at this place for the next 3 years.

Capone finally succumbed to cardiac arrest on January 25, 1947, and died at the age of 48.

Trivia

Al Capone has been an inspiration for more than a dozen movies and television projects. Though a biopic titled ‘Al Copane’, made in 1959, was a direct take on his life, he has also been portrayed under various fictitious names in several other movies. His style of wearing the fedora hat has been a popular trend, and is being followed by many till date.

Al Capone Biography

You wanted to know

What crimes was Al Capone involved in?

How did Al Capone evade law enforcement?

What was Al Capone's role in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre?

How did Al Capone eventually get caught by authorities?

What was Al Capone's impact on organized crime in the United States?