Al Capone

Lore & Background

Capone was born in Brooklyn to Italian immigrants. He joined the Five Points Gang as a teenager and became a bouncer in organized crime premises. In his early twenties, he moved to Chicago and became a bodyguard of Johnny Torrio, head of a criminal syndicate that illegally supplied alcohol. A conflict with the North Side Gang was instrumental in Capone's rise and fall; Torrio went into retirement after North Side gunmen almost killed him, handing control to Capone. Capone expanded the bootlegging business through increasingly violent means, including bombings that killed as many as 100 people during the 1920s. He apparently reveled in attention, such as cheers from spectators at baseball games, and made donations to various charities, viewed by many as a 'modern-day Robin Hood.'

Reader's Guide

Capone's significance lies in his embodiment of organized crime during Prohibition, when illegal alcohol trade created vast criminal empires. His violent methods, including the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, galvanized public demand for federal action. His conviction on tax evasion—rather than for violent crimes—set a legal precedent for prosecuting gangsters. Capone's imprisonment at age 33 ended his reign, but his legacy as a symbol of 1920s gangsterism persists. His case demonstrated the limits of local political protection and the power of federal law enforcement. After conviction, he showed signs of neurosyphilis and became increasingly debilitated before being released after almost eight years of incarceration. He died in 1947 of cardiac arrest after a stroke.

Did You Know?

• Capone was expelled from school at age 14 for hitting a female teacher in the face.
• He was slashed three times on the left side of his face by Frank Galluccio, leading to the nickname 'Scarface,' which Capone loathed.
• Capone married Mae Josephine Coughlin at age 19; she was Irish Catholic and had given birth to their son Albert Francis 'Sonny' Capone earlier that month.
• He was convicted of five counts of tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to eleven years in federal prison.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Alphonse Gabriel Capone (17 January 1899 – 25 January 1947), popularly known as Al "Scarface" Capone, was an American gangster active in the 1920s and 1930s." — Al Capone "I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man." — Al Capone "Do I do business with Canadian racketeers? I don't even know what street Canada is on." — Al Capone "Don't get the idea that I'm one of these goddamn radicals. Don't get the idea that I'm knocking the American system." — Al Capone