Alphonse Gabriel Capone . Better known as Al Capone or Al Scarface Capone (translated into Spanish Al cara cut Capone), a nickname he received due to the scar on his face, he was a famous American gangster from the 1920s to 1930s, although his business card said that he was an antique dealer.
Capone began his career in Brooklyn before moving to Chicago and becoming the city’s top crime figure. By the late 1920s, Al Capone was already on the FBI’s “most wanted” list . His downfall came in the 1930s, when he was imprisoned by the United States Federal Government for tax evasion and sent to Alcatraz prison .
Summary
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- 1 Biography
- 1 Birth and Youth
- 2 Links with the Mafia
- 3 Trial and Imprisonment
- 4 Death
- 2 Untouchables to the cinema
- 3 Sources
Biography
Birth and Youth
Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of Gabrielle and Teresina Capone, Italian immigrants from the Southwest. The Capone emigrated from Italy to New York in 1894 and moved to a house located on Navy Street.
Al Capone would drop out of sixth grade at school at the age of fourteen, and then go to work in different places, then Capone would meet the gangster Johnny Torrio , and the young man would be influenced by him to such an extent that Torrio came to become your mentor. Johnny Torrio introduced the young Capone to different youth gangs of thieves.
Connection with the Mafia
Shortly thereafter, he would become bodyguard for mobster Frankie Yale, who entrusted Capone with tasks such as extorting money from different business owners. At that time he would be taken as a waiter and bodyguard in a nightclub owned by his boss called “Yale’s”. One night, Capone got drunk in this club, and would insult one of the girls who worked there, thus causing a fight between Capone and the girl’s brother, Frank Gallucio. He took out a knife and with it he would slash Capone’s face three times. Hence his famous nickname “Cut Face”, since those razors that he received in the face, would leave him three scars of considerable consideration.
Al Capone still worked for Frankie Yale and is believed to have committed at least two murders, when he was sent to Chicago in 1919 , along with his mentor Johnny Torrio, the city where they began working under the orders of James “Big Jim” Colosimo , king of vice in those days (and Torrio’s uncle).
A short time later, Torrio went on to lead the band thanks to the murder of his boss in one of his own premises. Before the retirement of Torrio in 1925 , Capone definitely took command. He quickly became associated with the Mafia and took over the Chicago underworld after eliminating all of his rivals in a series of wars.
By 1926 Capone was in control of crime in the city, and was able to control all gangs except two, Aiello’s and Bugs Moran’s. Faced with this situation, Capone took measures and in less than a month his men killed all the members of Aiello’s gang, the clashes between the gangs culminated in the shooting in a garage of the five bosses of the Bugs Moran gang, the Valentine’s Day 1929 .
After getting rid of his rivals, Capone continued to enrich himself thanks to the illegal traffic of alcoholic beverages caused by Prohibition, and through his vast clandestine network of gambling halls. It is estimated that in 1927 Capone’s fortune amounted to a hundred million dollars.
Trial and Imprisonment
Although Capone always did his business with front men and there were no records linking him to his earnings, new laws enacted in 1927 allowed the federal government to go after Capone for tax evasion, their best option to finally jail him. He was hunted down by “Prohibition Agency” agent Eliot Ness and his incorruptible agents “The Untouchables” and by IRS agent Frank Wilson, who was able to find receipts linking Capone to income from illegal gambling and tax evasion. for those income.
The trial and accusation occurred in 1931 . Al Capone was found guilty on October 17 on five of the 23 charges and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. He was originally sent to an Atlanta prison in 1932. However, the gangster was still able to control most of his business from this center, and his transfer to Alcatraz Island prison was ordered in August 1934 .
Death
Capone, when he was older, began to show signs of dementia, probably due to untreated syphilis, which he received from a prostitute when he was young. He spent much of his last years in seclusion in the prison hospital and was finally released on November 16 , 1939 .
He retired to his property in Miami Beach, Florida, where he secluded himself from the outside world. The 21 of January of 1947 , Capone suffered a stroke and died four days later of pneumonia. He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery and transferred to Mount Carmel Cemetery in West Chicago , along with the remains of his father and brother.
Untouchable to the cinema
In 1987 the film ” Los untouchables ” was released which, directed by Brian de Palma, tells how federal agent Eliot Ness relentlessly persecutes the gangster Al Capone and the lack of evidence prevents him from accusing him of murder, extortion and illegal alcohol trade, but he will find a means to incriminate him.
