As we explained in our article here before, after the 19th century, mafia structures began to cause a lot of confusion in the US territory. These criminal organizations, consisting mainly of Italian immigrant Americans, were once more powerful than the state. Of course, when it comes to the mafia, one of the first names that comes to our mind is undoubtedly Al Capone.
Al Capone, who lived such an extraordinary life that he was the subject of countless movies and TV series, became one of the most powerful mafia leaders in the whole country during his active period. So much so that even though federal agents knew he was guilty, they could not find a single piece of evidence and put him in prison. Finally, Al Capone was punished with an interesting method that will go down in world legal history, and his death was at least as interesting as his arrest.
Who is Al Capone? A child who becomes involved in crime at an early age:
His full name, Alphonse Capone, was born on January 17, 1899, as the son of an Italian family who immigrated to the United States from Naples. Al Capone, who spent his childhood and youth in Brooklyn, New York, left school at the age of 14 and started working in normal jobs, but soon became involved in crime.
Al Capone joined a gang called the James Street Boys, where he met Johnny Torrio and joined the Five Points gang when he was 16. He committed numerous crimes during this period. He received the nickname ‘Scarface’ because of the stab wound he received on his face in a bar fight. He moved to Chicago in 1919, and that’s where things took off for him.
The young gangster quickly rises to mafia leadership:
Shortly after Al Capone came to Chicago at the invitation of Johnny Torrio, the leader of the Colosimo gang was killed and Torrio became the leader of the gang. Everyone knew who did this, but there was no evidence. At that time, the gang was smuggling alcohol by running casinos and brothels. Of course, there were countless other violent crimes.
In 1925, Torrio was shot and wounded by a rival gang and was immediately sentenced to prison on charges of producing illegal alcohol. Coming out of prison a tired man, Torrio left the mafia and went to Italy. Taking good advantage of the authority gap, Al Capone became the leader of the gang. Now he was a mafia leader.
Valentine’s Day Massacre made everyone’s blood run cold:
Al Capone got off to a quick start as mob leader. He was introduced in the press as a successful businessman, attracting all the police and politicians in the city. But meanwhile the city was boiling. Because there were multiple criminal organizations in Chicago and Al Capone did not want to be one of them, he wanted to be the only one.
The bloodiest incident in the rivalry between gangs took place on February 14, 1929. In the incident known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in the press, seven members of Bugs Moran, known to be Al Capone’s rival gang, were shot by a group of gangsters disguised as police.
The incident resonated throughout the country because it was more than a simple conflict. Of course, all eyes immediately turned to Al Capone, but he said he was in Florida at the time of the incident and proved it. So he was innocent. For this reason, although it was known that he was the instigator of a terrible massacre, he was not punished. Fortunately, the FBI was not willing to let this matter go.
Al Capone’s trial days begin:
On March 12, 1929, Al Capone was summoned to court but did not attend. He was fined for contempt of federal court. On May 17, 1929, he and his bodyguard were arrested in Philadelphia for possession of unlicensed weapons and sentenced to 1 year in prison. He was released from prison after spending 9 months with a good behavior discount.
On February 28, 1931, he was sentenced to 6 months in prison, again on the charge of contempt of federal court. These successive events showed that the FBI was after Al Capone. But he had built such a wall between himself and the crimes that no connection could be established. Then the US Treasury Department stepped in and the crime sought was found.
The bloody mafia leader went to prison for tax evasion:
Since the authority of the FBI at that time was not as broad as it is today, many mafia leaders were walking around freely, even though it was known that he was guilty. While everyone was looking for a vulnerability, the US Treasury Department stepped in. The accounts of all mafia leaders, especially Al Capone, were being scrutinized.
It was eventually proven that Al Capone was a tax evader and he was sentenced to 11 years in prison on October 18, 1931. The 6-month prison sentence he had previously received was added to this sentence. When the appeals were rejected, Al Capone was sent first to Atlanta Prison and then to Alcatraz Prison.
Al Capone, one of the greatest mafia bosses in history, died from syphilis:
They say he who lives by a gun dies by a gun, but this is not true for Al Capone. Because he had syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, and his condition was quite advanced. It is said that he had the intelligence of a 12-year-old boy when he left Alcatraz Prison in 1939.
Because of syphilis, not only his mind but also his physical structure collapsed. He retired from all this work and holed up in his house on Palm Island. He died on January 25, 1947 due to stroke and pneumonia.
It is said that one of those who inspired the Godfather story was Al Capone:
The Don Vito Corleone character we see in The Godfather, written by Mario Puzo and later adapted into a series of three films, is not a real character, but a mixture of many different and real mafia leaders. It is said that Puzo was inspired by Al Capone as well as Vito Genovese when creating this character.
1987’s The Untouchables, 2020’s Capone, 1959’s Al Capone, 1967’s The St. We have either watched Al Capone or seen characters inspired by him in many different movies and TV series, especially Valentine’s Day Massacre, 1975’s Capone, and 1995’s Dillinger and Capone.
We answered the question of who is Al Capone, one of the most vicious mafia leaders in history, and explained the curious details about his life. It’s not for nothing that they say that taxed income is sacred, look what happens when you don’t pay.
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