Alphonse Gabriel «Great Al» Capone (1899-1947) - American gangster of Italian descent, who operated in the 1920s and 1930s in the vicinity of Chicago. Under the guise of the furniture business, he was engaged in bootlegging, gambling and pimping.
He paid attention to charity, opening a network of free canteens for unemployed compatriots. A prominent representative of organized crime in the United States of the era of Prohibition and the Great Depression, which originated and exists there under the influence of the Italian mafia.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Al Capone, which we will talk about in this article.
So, here is a short biography of Alphonse Gabriel Capone.
Biography of Al Capone
Al Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in New York. He grew up in a family of Italian immigrants who came to America in 1894. His father, Gabriele Capone, was a hairdresser and his mother, Teresa Raiola, worked as a dressmaker.
Alfonse had the fourth of 9 children with his parents. Even as a child, he began to show signs of a pronounced psychopath. At school, he often got into skirmishes with classmates and teachers.
When Capone was about 14 years old, he pounced on the teacher with fists, after which he never returned to school. After dropping out of school, the young man earned a living as casual part-time jobs for some time, until he got into the mafia environment.
Mafia
As a teenager, Al Capone fell under the influence of an Italian-American gangster named Johnny Torrio, joining his criminal gang. Over time, this group joined the large Five Points gang.
At the dawn of his criminal biography, Capone acted as a bouncer at a local billiard club. It is worth noting that in reality this institution served as a cover for extortion and illegal gambling.
Alfonse was seriously interested in billiards, as a result of which he reached great heights in this sport. An interesting fact is that throughout the year, he did not lose a single tournament that was held in Brooklyn. The guy liked his job, which bordered on the risk of his life.
One day, Capone got into a fight with a criminal named Frank Gallucho, who slashed him on the left cheek with a knife. It was after this that Alfonse received the nickname "Scarface".
It is important to note that Al Capone himself was ashamed of this scar and attributed its appearance to participation in hostilities during the First World War (1914-1918). However, in reality, he never served in the army. By the age of 18, the guy was already heard by the police.
Capone was suspected of various crimes, including 2 murders. For this reason, he was forced to leave New York, and after Torrio settled in Chicago.
Here he continued to engage in criminal activities. In particular, he was engaged in pimping in local brothels.
Curiously, at that time, pimps were not respected in the underworld. Nevertheless, The Great Al was able to transform an ordinary brothel into a 4-story bar “The Four Deuces”, where on each floor there was a pub, tote, casino and the brothel itself.
This establishment began to enjoy such great success that it brought in profits of up to $ 35 million a year, which in recalculation today is equal to about $ 420 million! Soon there were 2 attempts on Johnny Torrio. Although the gangster was able to survive, he was seriously injured.
As a result, Torrio decided to retire, appointing the promising Al Capone, who was then 26 years old, to his place. Thus, the guy became the head of an entire criminal empire, which included about 1000 fighters.
An interesting fact is that it is Capone who is the author of such a concept as racketeering. The Mafia helped spread prostitution by working under the cover of the police and local authorities, who were given substantial bribes. At the same time, Alfonse fought mercilessly with his competitors.
As a result, clashes between bandits reached unprecedented proportions. The criminals used machine guns, grenades and other heavy weapons in the shootings. In the period 1924-1929. in such "showdowns" over 500 bandits were killed.
Meanwhile, Al Capone was gaining more and more prestige in society, becoming one of the largest gangsters in US history. In addition to gambling and prostitution, he made a large profit, he smuggled alcohol, which at that time was banned.
To hide the origins of his income, Capone opened a large laundry chain in the country, declaring in declarations that he earns his millions from the laundry business. This is how the world famous expression “money laundering” appeared.
Many serious entrepreneurs turned to Al Capone for help. They paid him large sums of money to protect themselves from other gangs, and sometimes from the police.
Valentine's Day Massacre
At the head of the criminal empire, Al Capone constantly destroyed all competitors. For this reason, many reputable gangsters have died. He completely eliminated the mafia groups of the Irish, Russians and Mexicans in Chicago, taking the city "into his own hands."
Explosives installed in cars were often used to destroy people disliked by “Great Alu”. They worked immediately after turning on the ignition.
Al Capone had a lot to do with the so-called Valentine's Day Massacre. It took place on February 14, 1929 in a garage, where one of the gangs was hiding contraband alcohol. Alfonse's armed fighters, dressed in police uniforms, burst into the garage and ordered everyone to line up along the wall.
The competitors thought they were real law enforcement officers, so they obediently approached the wall with their hands up. However, instead of the expected search, all the men were cynically shot. Similar shootings were repeated more than once, which caused a great resonance in society and negatively affected the reputation of the gangster.
No direct evidence of Al Capone's involvement in these episodes was found, so no one was punished for these crimes. And yet, it was the "Massacre on Valentine's Day" that led the federal authorities to take up the activities of "Great Al" with great seriousness and enthusiasm.
For a long time, the FBI officers could not find any leads that would allow them to put Capone behind bars. Over time, they managed to bring the criminal to justice in a tax-related case.
Personal life
As a teenager, Al Capone was in close contact with prostitutes. This led to the fact that by the age of 16 he was diagnosed with several sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis.
When the guy was 19 years old, he married a girl named May Josephine Coughlin. It is worth noting that the child of the spouses was born before marriage. May gave birth to a boy named Albert. Interestingly, the child was diagnosed with congenital syphilis, transmitted to him from his father.
In addition, Albert was diagnosed with a mastoid infection - an inflammation of the mucous lining behind the ear. This led to the infant undergoing brain surgery. As a result, he remained partially deaf until the end of his days.
Despite his father's reputation, Albert grew up to be a very law-abiding citizen. Although in his biography there was one incident related to petty theft in a store, for which he received 2 years of probation. Already in adulthood, he will change his last name Capone - to Brown.
Prison and death
Since law enforcement agencies were never able to find reliable evidence of Al Capone's involvement in criminal offenses, they found another loophole, accusing him of tax evasion of $ 388,000.
In the spring of 1932, the mafia king was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a heavy fine. Doctors diagnosed him with syphilis and gonorrhea, as well as cocaine addiction. He was sent to a prison in Atlanta, where he made shoes.
A couple of years later, Capone was transferred to an isolated prison on Alcatraz Island. Here he was on a par with all the prisoners, not having the power that he had not so long ago. In addition, venereal and mental illness seriously undermined his health.
Out of 11 years, the gangster served only 7, due to poor health. After his release, he was treated for paresis (caused by late stage syphilis), but he could not overcome this ailment.
Later, the mental and intellectual state of the man began to degrade more and more. In January 1947 he suffered a stroke and was soon diagnosed with pneumonia. Al Capone died on January 25, 1947 from cardiac arrest at the age of 48.
Photo by Al Capone
