Al capone 1920 biography definition

As he would tell reporter Damon Runyan, "I make money by supplying a public demand. Capone protected his business interests by waging war on rival gangs. During the legendary St. Valentine's Day massacre inseven members of a rival gang led by George "Bugsy" Moran were gunned down in a Chicago garage. Other business strategies included bribing public officials, providing a ready market for the illegal homebrewed liquor produced by poor Italian ghetto residents, and becoming a supply source for the "respectable" customers of city speakeasies.

Interacting in Chicago society in the manner of a well-to-do businessman rather than a shady racketeer, Capone gained a fabulously profitable bootleg monopoly, as well as the admiration of a large segment of the community, including members of the police and city government. Between and he was viewed by many as the de facto ruler of Chicago.

However, the rest of the country and certain elements in the Windy City regarded Capone as a menace. In the late s President Herbert Hoover ordered his Secretary of the Treasury to find a way to jail Capone, who up until now had managed to evade being implicated in any illegal act. Perhaps more significantly than the efforts of the U.

Treasury department, Capone's power had by now begun to wane due to both the coming of the Great Depression and the anticipated repeal of prohibition. Bootlegging was becoming less profitable. Forced to defend himself while being tried for vagrancy in Chicago, Capone contradicted some previous testimony regarding his taxes, and he was successfully prosecuted for tax fraud by the federal government.

In October Capone was sentenced to ten years' hard labor, which he served in a penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, and on Alcatraz. Because of syphilis Capone's mind and health deteriorated, and his power within the nation's organized crime syndicates ended. Released on parole inhe led a reclusive life at his Florida estate, where he died in John Kobler, Caponeis the most thorough study of Capone's life.

See also Fred D. For information on his life after imprisonment see James A. An excellent contemporary description of Capone's career and perhaps still the best analysis of the era is John Landesco, Organized Crime in Chicago, pt. A reliable historical account is John H. Lyle, The Dry and Lawless Years Capone was born to an Italian immigrant family in Though a promising student, he left school in the sixth grade, and from then it was a life in the streets.

Capone was probably twenty when he killed his first victim. Three years later, he followed Johnny Torrio, his mentor in crime, to Chicago. Together, they built a model criminal organization. Torrio was a modernizer who did for gambling, prostitution, and the Prohibition-era sale of liquor what John D. Rockefeller had for the oil business.

The automobile and telephone—as well as the Thompson submachine gun—were some of the modern tools Torrio employed. Like Torrio and Rockefeller, Sr. Anyone dissatisfied with their share met a bloody end. The seven victims of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre were but one example. Perhaps Capone's true genius lay in his crafting a public image. It's bootleg while it's on the trucks, but when your host at the club, in the locker room or on the Gold Coast hands it to you on a silver platter, it's hospitality" Bergreen, p.

Such comments always served Capone well with the public. So did his reputation for generosity: When the Depression struck Chicago with nearly 50 percent unemployment, Capone opened up soup kitchens to feed the needy. The public did not care that Capone "encouraged" others to pay the cost of his project—Big Al lent a helping hand at a time when government did not.

Hollywood gave the story form a year later with Edward G. Robinson as Little Caesar, who was Capone by any other name. The press had already made much of Capone as a kind of street philanthropist. This wealth proved his undoing, or at least his failure to report it did—he was convicted of income tax evasion in and spent eight years in federal prisons, including Alcatraz.

By then, Capone had fashioned a myth for the Depression and beyond. He was the gangster as antihero. Capone died from the ravages of syphilis in Bergreen, Laurence. Capone: The Man and the Era. Kobler, John. Chicago in the s was a city of vice, corruption, and gangland killings, and synonymous with the evildoings of this era is the name of Al Capone.

Capone was born January 17,in Naples, Italy. During his early years in New York he made strong al capone 1920 biography definition contacts and inhe became a member of the John Torrio gang. Torrio, originally from New York, relocated his operation to Chicago, with Capone at his side. The passage of the volstead act in 41 Stat. Capone and Torrio were no exception; they operated and organized speakeasies, secret nightclubs that sold the banned liquor.

Capone began to gain more power and by the time Torrio retired inCapone's control had extended to gambling, als capone 1920 biography definition, and politics. He was responsible for the gangland murders of his rivals and for forcibly controlling election results in certain precincts of Chicago; through these maneuvers, he increased his power and received protection and political favors.

Capone was at the peak of his power inwhen he was arrested—ironically—for income tax evasion. The internal revenue service succeeded where other authorities had failed: uncovering concrete evidence against Capone for tax evasion. In October Capone was tried in a federal court and found guilty. There he was still awarded the privileges of an underworld king.

Warden David Moneypenny allowed him to visit with his gangland associates, including Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano. Capone had requested and was given an isolated place—the death chamber of the Cook County Jail—to meet and conduct business with fellow mobsters. The appeal was denied, and Capone was sent to a federal jail in Atlanta, Georgia. There he performed the duties of a shoemaker untilat which time he was transferred to Alcatraz in California.

At Alcatraz Capone was not treated with the respect and fear to which he was accustomed. He spent his days as a laundry worker and was harassed by inmates who took pleasure in persecuting the once powerful mob king. Capone's mental capacities dwindled due to an untreated attack of syphilis and in he was released to the care of his wife and brother.

He died January 25,in Miami Beach, Florida. Film noir character study of one of the most colorful gangsters of the Roaring '20s. Plenty of gangland violence and mayhem and splendid cinematography keep the fast-paced period piece sailing. People History U. History: Biographies Al Capone. Capone, Al gale. Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.

Success in Chicago In the U. Menace to society Most of the rest of the country and even some people in Chicago correctly regarded Capone as a menace. For More Information Hornung, Rick. New York: Putnam, Pasley, Fred D. London, Faber, Al Capone Al Capone became famous in the s as one of the most notorious criminals in American history.

Earns his nickname At one point, young Capone worked as a bartender, where he made the mistake of insulting a female patron. Becomes a household name Soon after his arrival in Chicago, Capone became second in command of organized criminal activity on the south side of the city. Shocks the nation As the s progressed, the level of organized crime violence escalated.

Al Capone gale. Seen as Common Thug outside Chicago However, the rest of the country and certain elements in the Windy City regarded Capone as a menace. Douglas Bukowski. Capone, Alphonse gale. Capone, Al oxford. He inherited a vast crime empire from the gang leader Johnny Torio. Capone was suspected of involvement in many brutal crimes, but ironically was only ever convicted and imprisoned for income tax evasion More From encyclopedia.

About this article Al Capone All Sources. Updated Aug 13 About encyclopedia. Weiss had been a close friend of O'Banion, and the North Siders made it a priority to get revenge on his killers. During ProhibitionCapone was involved with Canadian bootleggers who helped him smuggle liquor into the U. An ambush in January left Capone shaken, but unhurt.

Twelve days later, Torrio was returning from a shopping trip when he was shot several times. After recovering, he effectively resigned and handed control over to Capone, aged 26, who became the new boss of an organization that took in illegal breweries and a transportation network that reached to Canada, with political and law-enforcement protection.

In turn, he was able to use more violence to increase revenue. Any establishment that refused to purchase liquor from Capone often got blown up, and as many as people were killed in such bombings during the s. Rivals saw Capone as responsible for the proliferation of brothels in the city. Capone often enlisted the help of local members of the black community into his operations; jazz musicians Milt Hinton and Lionel Hampton had uncles who worked for Capone on Chicago's South Side.

Capone also sent two bodyguards to accompany jazz pianist Earl Hines on a road trip. Capone indulged in custom suits, cigars, gourmet food and drink, and female companionship. He was particularly known for his flamboyant and costly jewelry. His favorite responses to questions about his activities were "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want" and "All I do is satisfy a public demand".

Capone had become a national celebrity and talking point. Capone based himself in CiceroIllinoisafter using bribery and widespread intimidation to take over town council elections, making it difficult for the North Siders to target him. On September 20,the North Siders used a ploy outside Capone's headquarters at the Hawthorne Inn aimed at drawing him to the windows.

Gunmen in several cars then opened fire with Thompson submachine guns and shotguns at the windows of the first-floor restaurant. Capone was unhurt and called for a truce, but the negotiations fell flat. Three weeks later, on October 11, Weiss was killed outside the North Siders' headquarters at O'Banion's former flower shop. The owner of Hawthorne's restaurant was a friend of Capone's, and he was kidnapped and killed by Moran and Drucci in January Capone became increasingly security-minded and desirous of getting away from Chicago.

In NovemberAntonio Lombardowho was Capone's consiglierewas named head of the Unione Sicilianaa Sicilian-American benevolent society that had been corrupted by gangsters. An infuriated Joe Aiellowho had wanted the position himself, believed Capone was responsible for Lombardo's ascension and resented the non-Sicilian's attempts to manipulate affairs within the Unione.

Aiello allied himself with several of Capone enemies, including Jack Zutawho ran vice and gambling houses together. During the summer and autumn ofa number of hitmen Aiello hired to kill Capone were themselves slain. In NovemberAiello organized machine-gun ambushes across from Lombardo's home and a cigar store frequented by Capone, but those als capone 1920 biography definition were foiled after an anonymous tip led police to raid several addresses and arrest Milwaukee gunman Angelo La Mantio and four other Aiello gunmen.

After the police discovered receipts for the apartments in La Mantio's pockets, he confessed that Aiello had hired him to kill Capone and Lombardo, leading the police to arrest Aiello himself and bring him to the South Clark Street police station. He later failed to make a court appearance after his attorney claimed he suffered a nervous breakdown.

Chicago politicians had long been associated with questionable methods, and even newspaper circulation "wars", but the need for bootleggers to have protection in city hall introduced a far more serious level of violence and graft. Capone is generally seen as having an appreciable effect in bringing about the victory of Republican mayoral candidate William Hale Thompsonwho had campaigned on a platform of not enforcing Prohibition and at one time hinted that he'd reopen illegal saloons.

Thompson beat Democratic candidate William Emmett Dever in the mayoral race by a relatively slim margin. On the day of the Pineapple Primary on April 10,voting booths were targeted by Capone's bomber, James Belcastroin wards where Thompson's opponents were thought to have support, causing the deaths of at least fifteen people. Belcastro was accused of murdering lawyer Octavius Granady, an African-American, who challenged Thompson's candidate for the Black vote, and was chased through the streets on polling day by cars of gunmen before being shot dead.

Four policemen were among those charged along with Belcastro, but all charges were dropped after key witnesses recanted their statements. An indication of the attitude of local law enforcement toward Capone's organization came in when Belcastro was wounded in a shooting; police suggested to skeptical journalists that Belcastro was an independent operator.

Capone was widely assumed to have been responsible for ordering the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, despite being at his Florida home at the time of the massacre. To monitor their targets' habits and movements, Capone's men rented an apartment across from the trucking warehouse and garage at North Clark Street, which served as Moran's headquarters.

On the morning of Thursday, February 14,[ 69 ] [ 70 ] Capone's lookouts signaled four gunmen, disguised as police officers, to initiate a "police raid". The faux police lined the seven victims along a wall and signaled for accomplices armed with machine guns and shotguns. Moran was not among the victims. Photos of the slain victims shocked the public and damaged Capone's image.

Within days, Capone received a summons to testify before a Chicago grand jury on charges of federal Prohibition violations, but he claimed to be too unwell to attend. Cermak winning the mayoral election on April 6, Capone was known for ordering other men to do his dirty work for him. They had been persuaded by Aiello to depose Capone and take over the Chicago Outfit.

Bair questioned why "three trained killers could sit quietly and let this happen", while Hazelgrove stated that Capone would have been "hard pressed to beat three men to death with a baseball bat" and that he would have instead let an enforcer perform the murders; [ 75 ] [ 76 ] however, despite claims that the story was first reported by author Walter Noble Burns in his book The One-Way Ride: The Red Trail of Chicago Gangland from Prohibition to Jake Lingle[ 75 ] Capone biographers Max Allan Collins and A.

Brad Schwartz have found versions of the story in press coverage shortly after the crime. Collins and Schwartz suggest that similarities among reported versions of the story indicate a basis in truth and that the Outfit deliberately spread the tale to enhance Capone's fearsome reputation. Inupon learning of Aiello's continued plotting against him, Capone resolved to finally eliminate him.

Kolmar Ave. Instead, he moved directly into the range of a second submachine gun positioned on the third floor of another apartment block, and was subsequently gunned down. Strongpublisher of the Chicago Daily Newsasked his friend President Herbert Hoover for federal intervention to stem Chicago's lawlessness. He arranged a secret meeting at the White House, just two weeks after Hoover's inauguration.

At once I directed that all the Federal agencies concentrate upon Mr. Capone and his allies. Treasury and Justice Departments developed plans for income tax prosecutions against Chicago gangsters, and a small, elite squad of Prohibition Bureau agents whose members included Eliot Ness were deployed against bootleggers. In a city used to corruption, these lawmen were incorruptible.

Al capone 1920 biography definition: In the “roaring twenties,”

To support Federal efforts, Strong secretly used his newspaper's resources to gather and share intelligence on the Capone outfit. On March 27,Capone was arrested by FBI agents as he left a Chicago courtroom after testifying to a grand jury that was investigating violations of federal prohibition laws. He was charged with contempt of court for feigning illness to avoid an earlier appearance.

Entering a guilty plea by his attorney, Capone was sentenced to a prison term of one year. A week after his release in MarchCapone was listed as "Public Enemy 1" on the unofficial Chicago Crime Commission's widely publicized list. In AprilCapone was arrested on vagrancy charges when visiting Miami Beach; the governor had ordered sheriffs to run him out of the state.

Capone claimed that Miami police had refused him food and water and threatened to arrest his family. He was charged with perjury for making these statements, but was acquitted after a three-day trial in July. In court, Judge James Herbert Wilkersonintervened to reinforce questioning of Capone's doctor by the prosecutor. Wilkerson sentenced Capone to six months, but he remained free while on appeal of the contempt conviction.

In FebruaryCapone's organization was linked to the murder of Julius Rosenheim, who served as a police informant in the Chicago Outfit for 20 years. Assistant Attorney General Mabel Walker Willebrandt is said to have originated the tactic of charging obviously wealthy crime figures with federal tax evasion on the basis of their luxurious lifestyles.

Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sullivan that the approach was legally sound: illegally earned income was subject to income tax. Ralph, his brother and a gangster in his own right, was tried for tax evasion in Ralph spent the next 18 months in prison after being convicted in a two-week trial over which Wilkerson presided. On March 13,Capone was charged with income tax evasion forin a secret grand jury.

On July 30,Wilkerson refused to honor the plea bargain, and Capone's counsel rescinded the guilty pleas. Much was later made of other evidence, such as witnesses and ledgers, but these strongly implied Capone's control rather than stating it. Capone's lawyers, who had relied on the plea bargain Wilkerson refused to honor, therefore had mere hours to prepare for the trial, ran a weak defense focused on claiming that essentially all his income was lost to gambling.

They filed a writ of habeas corpus based on a Supreme Court ruling that tax evasion was not fraud, which apparently meant that Capone had been convicted on charges relating to years that were actually outside the time limit for prosecution; however, a judge interpreted the law so that the time that Capone had spent in Miami was subtracted from the age of the offences, thereby denying the appeal of both Capone's conviction and sentence.

Capone was sent to Atlanta U. Penitentiary in Mayaged Upon his arrival at Atlanta, Capone was officially diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhea.

Al capone 1920 biography definition: an American gangster and

He was also experiencing withdrawal symptoms from cocaine addiction, the use of which had perforated his nasal septum. Capone was competent at his prison job of stitching soles on shoes for eight hours a day, but his letters were barely coherent. He was seen as a weak personality, and so out of his depth dealing with bullying at the hands of fellow inmates that his cellmate, seasoned convict Red Rudenskyfeared that Capone would have a breakdown.

Rudensky was formerly a small-time criminal associated with the Capone gang and found himself becoming a protector for Capone. The conspicuous protection by Rudensky and other prisoners drew accusations from less friendly inmates and fueled suspicion that Capone was receiving special treatment.

Al capone 1920 biography definition: From through , Capone was the

No solid evidence ever emerged, but it formed part of the rationale for moving Capone to the recently opened Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary off the coast of San Francisco, in August Due to his good behavior, Capone was permitted to play banjo in the Alcatraz prison band, the Rock Islanders, which gave regular Sunday concerts for other inmates.

The main effect of Capone's conviction was that he ceased to be boss immediately on his imprisonment, but those involved in the jailing of Capone portrayed it as a considerable undermining of the city's organized crime syndicate. Capone's underbossFrank Nittitook over as boss of the Outfit after he was released from prison in Marchhaving also been convicted of tax evasion charges.

With two vital bookkeepers, Leslie Shumway and Fred Reis, who had once been in Capone's employment, now safely under police protection, it was only a matter of time before Capone's days as Public Enemy No. Agent Ness, angered by Capone for the murder of a friend, managed to enrage Capone by exposing Prohibition violations to ruin his bootlegging industry.

Millions of dollars of brewing equipment was seized or destroyed, thousands of gallons of beer and alcohol had been dumped and the largest breweries were closed. The jury returned an indictment against Capone that was kept secret until the investigation was complete for the years to Capone and 68 members of his gang were charged with 5, separate violations of the Volstead Act.

These income tax cases took precedence over the Prohibition violations. Fearing that witnesses would be tampered with, and having doubts that the six-year statute of limitations would be upheld by the Supreme Court, a deal was secretly struck between Capone's lawyers and government prosecutors. Capone was to plead guilty to a lighter charge and would receive a sentence of between two and five years.

When word got out, the press was outraged and campaigned against what they saw as a blatant whitewash. The overconfident Capone, who believed he would receive less than five years in prison, became less cocky when he realized that his plea bargain was now null and void. He was dressed in a conservative blue serge suit and was without his usual pinkie ring and gaudy jewelry.

It was inevitable that Capone's henchmen procured a list of jury members to bribe, but unbeknownst to Capone, the authorities had been aware of the plot. When Judge Wilkinson entered the courtroom, he suddenly demanded that the jury be exchanged with another in the same building. Capone and his lawyer were shocked. The fresh jury was even sequestered at night so that the Capone mob couldn't get to them.

During the trial, Attorney George E. Johnson made a mockery of Capone's claim to be a "Robin Hood" figure and man of the people. He stressed the hypocrisy of a man who would spend thousands of dollars on meals and luxuries but gives little to the poor and unemployed. How, he asked, could Capone possess so much property, vehicles and even diamond belt buckles when his defense lawyers profess that their client had no income?

After nine hours of discussion, on October 17,the jury found Capone guilty of several counts of tax evasion.

Al capone 1920 biography definition: Al Capone was an

Bail was denied. His days of privileges in jail were gone, and contact with the outside world, even through letters and newspapers, was minimal. Capone died at age 48 on January 25,in Palm Island, Florida. His cause of death was cardiac arrest. During his last years in prison, Capone's declining health was exacerbated by tertiary syphilis, and he became confused and disoriented.

After release, Capone slowly deteriorated at his Palm Island palace. His wife, Mae, stuck by him until the end. The Biography. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site.

Clarence Heatley. Griselda Blanco. Pablo Escobar. Junior Gotti. Donnie Brasco. Arnold Rothstein. Frank Lucas. Ronnie Kray. Sam Giancana. Some voters were even shot and killed. After an attempt on his life in by rival mobsters, Torrio decided to leave the business and return to Italy, turning over the entire operation to Capone. From there, he began living a luxurious and public lifestyle, spending money lavishly, although always in cash to avoid a trail.

Some even considered him a kind of Robin Hood figure, or as anti- Prohibition resentment grew, a dissident who worked on the side of the people. It lasted just two months. By early Capone dominated the illegal liquor trade in Chicago. Capone and McGurn decided to kill Moran. Alerted to the danger as he approached the garage, Bugs Moran escaped the slaughter.

Although Capone was staying at his Miami home at the time, the public and the media immediately blamed him for the massacre. In response to the public outcry over the St. The Supreme Court had ruled in that income gained on illegal activities was taxable, which gave the government a strong case for prosecuting Capone. On June 5, the U. Although the government had solid evidence against him, Capone remained confident that he would get off with a minimal sentence and struck a plea bargain in return for a two-and-a-half year sentence.

When the judge in the case declared that he would not honor the agreement, Capone quickly withdrew his guilty plea, and the case went to trial. During the trial Capone used the best weapon in his arsenal: bribery and intimidation.