Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born in the borough of Brooklyn in New York on January 17, 1899. He was the fourth of nine children born to Gabriele and Teresina (Teresa) Capone. Alphonse's father was a barber and his mother stayed home with the children.
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| Al Capone with his mother |
He joined his first gang, the South Brooklyn Rippers in his mid teens. Capone was then initiated into a more prestigious gang, the Forty Thieves Juniors, at the age of 17.
As a teenager, Capone honed his shooting skills by firing at beer bottles in the cellar of a New York club.
Al Capone married Mary ("Mae") Coughlin on December 30, 1918 at St. Mary Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn, New York. They tied the knot three weeks after their son (Albert Francis Capone, a.k.a. "Sonny") was born. Sonny was to remain Capone's only child.
Sonny was deaf, and the mobster learned sign language to be able to speak to him.
James Capone, Al Capone's older brother, was a federal prohibition agent.
As a teenager, Capone honed his shooting skills by firing at beer bottles in the cellar of a New York club.
Al Capone married Mary ("Mae") Coughlin on December 30, 1918 at St. Mary Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn, New York. They tied the knot three weeks after their son (Albert Francis Capone, a.k.a. "Sonny") was born. Sonny was to remain Capone's only child.
Sonny was deaf, and the mobster learned sign language to be able to speak to him.
James Capone, Al Capone's older brother, was a federal prohibition agent.
In 1919, Capone left New York City for Chicago at the invitation of gangster Johnny Torrio, who was imported by crime boss James "Big Jim" Colosimo as an enforcer. In 1920, Torrio orchestrated the assassination of Colosimo and took over the Chicago Outfit himself. He quickly transformed the Outfit into a ruthless and efficient criminal organization that controlled all aspects of organized crime in Chicago.
When Torrio left for Europe in 1925, he handed over his Italian organized crime group to Capone. When Capone took over the Chicago Outfit in 1925, it was worth $1,169 billion in today's money.
Hymie Weiss was a Polish-American gangster who led the North Side Gang in Chicago during the Prohibition era. He was known for his recklessness and his willingness to take risks, even when he was terminally ill with cancer. In 1926, Weiss led a gang war against Al Capone. The war was bloody and protracted, and both sides suffered heavy losses.
Weiss shot up Capone's car and hotel, making him "the only man Al Capone feared". Weiss was shot and killed on October 11, 1926, in an assassination that was likely ordered by Capone.
Al Capone was estimated to have earned $105 million in 1927 alone from alcohol, vice and gambling; the equivalent today to $1.4 billion per year. It was the highest income of anyone in the U.S.
Al Capone got the nickname “Scarface,” due to severe cuts he’d received during a fight with one Frank Gallucio as a young man. Gallucio slashed his face for making rude comments to his sister.
Capone hated the nickname "Scarface" and preferred the names "Big Fellow" and "Snorky," which were given to him by other criminals.
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
James Capone, Al Capone's older brother, was a federal prohibition agent.
Capone was known for sending flowers to rival gang member’s funerals; one funeral he spent over $5000 on flowers.
Al Capone’s favourite food was Nathan’s Coney Island hot dogs.
Al Capone's personal car was fitted with machine guns in the rear, armor plating, bulletproof fuel tank and a smokescreen-emitting exhaust.
Al Capone got the nickname “Scarface,” due to severe cuts he’d received during a fight with one Frank Gallucio as a young man. Gallucio slashed his face for making rude comments to his sister.
Capone hated the nickname "Scarface" and preferred the names "Big Fellow" and "Snorky," which were given to him by other criminals.
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
James Capone, Al Capone's older brother, was a federal prohibition agent.
Capone was known for sending flowers to rival gang member’s funerals; one funeral he spent over $5000 on flowers.
Al Capone’s favourite food was Nathan’s Coney Island hot dogs.
Al Capone's personal car was fitted with machine guns in the rear, armor plating, bulletproof fuel tank and a smokescreen-emitting exhaust.
On February 14, 1929 Al Capone ordered his bloody 'St. Valentine's Day Massacre'. He wanted to kill rival bootlegger Bugs Moran, leader of the former O'Bannion gang. Capone's men dressed as police officers raided their warehouse and shot dead seven men - but Moran was not one of them.
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| National Museum of Crime and Punishment - Saint Valentine's Day Massacre brick. By David from Washington, DC - |
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre stirred a media storm centered on Capone and his illegal Prohibition-era activities and motivated federal authorities to redouble their efforts to find evidence incriminating enough to take him off the streets.
Frank Gusenberg, a gangster who was shot 14 times in the St Valentine's Day massacre, refused to identify his killer. His last words were, "I ain't no copper."
Capone was primarily known for ordering other men to do his dirty work for him. however, when the mob leader discovered that three of his men were conspiring against him, he threw a dinner for them at Chicago's Hawthorne Inn on May 7, 1929. After a night of drinking, Capone beat the men with a baseball bat and then ordered his bodyguards to shoot them, a scene that was included in the 1987 movie The Untouchables.
Capone sponsored a soup kitchen during the Great Depression. On average, his charity would feed about 2,200 Chicagoans, three meals per day. No second helpings were denied. No questions were asked, and no one was asked to prove their need.
Al Capone was convicted on October 17, 1931 on five counts of income tax evasion. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined $80,000. It was the only charge that could be sustained against him.
Al Capone’s ledgers, which led to his conviction, were actually inadmissible in court because the statute of limitations expired, but Capone’s lawyers were not competent in criminal tax law and did not object to their admission.
Before being transferred to Alcatraz, Capone's mind had begun failing due to complications with syphilis. He was frequently bullied by his fellow inmates in East State Penitentiary and his cellmate feared that Capone would have a mental breakdown.
Al Capone was convicted on October 17, 1931 on five counts of income tax evasion. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined $80,000. It was the only charge that could be sustained against him.
Al Capone’s ledgers, which led to his conviction, were actually inadmissible in court because the statute of limitations expired, but Capone’s lawyers were not competent in criminal tax law and did not object to their admission.
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| Al Capone. Mugshot information from Science and Society Picture Gallery |
Before being transferred to Alcatraz, Capone's mind had begun failing due to complications with syphilis. He was frequently bullied by his fellow inmates in East State Penitentiary and his cellmate feared that Capone would have a mental breakdown.
After being transferred to Alcatraz in 1934, Capone lobbied the warden to allow him and his prisoners musical instruments. Upon permission being granted, Capone learned how to play the banjo and formed a prison band, The Rock Islanders, which included George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly on the drums.
Capone served eight years in prison. After surviving a brutal assault by a fellow inmate, he was released early in 1939 for good behavior.
After Capone was released from prison, he was referred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for the treatment of paresis (caused by late-stage syphilis). Hopkins refused to admit him based solely on his reputation, but Union Memorial Hospital took him in. He was one of the the first sufferer to be treated with antibiotics.
Al Capone spent the last years of his life at his mansion in Palm Island, Florida. Four days after suffering a stroke Al Capone died on January 25, 1947 in his home, surrounded by his family.
Capone served eight years in prison. After surviving a brutal assault by a fellow inmate, he was released early in 1939 for good behavior.
After Capone was released from prison, he was referred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for the treatment of paresis (caused by late-stage syphilis). Hopkins refused to admit him based solely on his reputation, but Union Memorial Hospital took him in. He was one of the the first sufferer to be treated with antibiotics.
Al Capone spent the last years of his life at his mansion in Palm Island, Florida. Four days after suffering a stroke Al Capone died on January 25, 1947 in his home, surrounded by his family.
Within an hour of Al Capone’s death, Windham Thildrick, known throughout Florida as the mortician all the millionaires go to, drove his Cadillac up the drive to receive orders from the one-time King of the Underworld's ’s three brothers for the finest funeral Miami Beach ever saw.
He wаs buried аt Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.
Well into the 1960s, The Guinness Book of World Records listed Capone as holding the record for the highest personal income.
In 2000 his toenail clippers were sold for £5,000 at an auction in San Francisco.
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