...Professor Subject Date Title: Al Capone: America’s most famous gangster Abstract Al Capone: this name stirs up vivid memories in the minds of most Americans. It particularly mean much to residents of Chicago, Illinois, “the city of broad shoulders” so deservedly named after the gang leader who held an unquestionable grip on the its neighborhoods. Today, every gangster desires to be like “Scarface Al” as Capone was commonly referred. He is the epitome of what a gangster blueprint looks like that is engraved in the minds of those who had a first hand experience of his reign. Young as they may have been during Capone’s reign, they undoubtedly felt his power and effect. Al Capone’s background Alphonse “Al” Capone was born in Brooklyn on January 17, 1899. He acquired “education in petty crime” in the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. His name “Scarface Al” originated from a razor slash across his face (Bergreen, 1994). He later moved to Chicago where he survived several gang wars by having his rivals eliminated. In 1929, Capone’s gang, dressed in police uniform massacred seven members of a rival gang, the “Bugs” Morgan gang. This was revenge of his best friend’s death and abduction of a consignment of liquor from Canada. This became the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. By the end of the 1920’s Capone was in charge of bootlegging liquor. This brought him an annual income of over $20 million. The arrest and prosecution of Al Capone Despite his numerous crimes, including...
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...Al Capone Alphonse Capone is the son of Neapolitan immigrants Gabriel and Teresa Capone. They had nine children. He was their forth, born January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York. This is where he attended Public School 7 from age 5 to 14 until an incident with his 6th grade teacher, he gave her a beating and was then beaten and expelled by his principal, never to return. Beatings were a typical form of punishment for public school in this age and young Al was known to challenge authority. Expelled from school and transplanted to a different neighborhood, Capone met notorious criminals like; Johnny Torrio and Lucky Luciano when he joined two street gangs, the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors. Within a few years he was regularly involved in organized crime. Capone worked at a night club called the Harvard Inn for the crime boss Frankie Yale. One night at the Harvard Inn, Capone insulted a young woman which led to fight. The brother of the woman gave Al a beating and a new nickname “Scarface”. This incident also led to Capone’s first arrest “disorderly conduct”. Al met Mary “Mae” Coughlin, a young Irish woman at a dance in 1918. It must have been a tumultuous, whirlwind of a romance because she gave birth to their son Albert “Sonny” Capone on December 4th, 1918 and then they married on December 30th, 1918. Capone was the prime suspect of two murders and the brutal beating of a rival gang member that led to an extended hospital stay. Frankie Yale knew that the...
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...Al Capone is one of the most recognized names in American history. Capone ran the City of Chicago with illegal activities. He appeared many times on newspapers all over the country. Every one of us has heard of Al Capone, but most of us don't k now the story behind him. What made him to be the most feared gangster in the city of Chicago? How did this kid from a rough neighborhood and no money grow up to have $60,000,000? I've always been fascinated with organized crime but had never been taught anything in school about it. This report gave me the chance to explore something interesting and also educational. The more I researched Al Capone, the more I wanted to learn about him. He may look like an innocent Italian at a glance, but he has done a lot of crime in the city of Chicago. I knew going into this topic that there would be more than enough information. Going on the Internet I found many web sites that went in detail about certain aspects of Al Capone's life. I found web pages on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and even a haunting of his ghost. My Grandpa had books that helped me including The Encyclopedia of World Crime and The Mafia Encyclopedia. He also had a great deal of information to tell me. Most of Al Capone's life seems unreal, but it is true. It all started when he was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York. He was baptized Alphonsus Capone. As the fourth oldest of nine children, he didn't receive much attention. "At birth, Capone's parents never...
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...Breyden Coates Composition Period:3 Research Paper Al Capone (Scarface) (THESIS) Alphonse Gabriel Capone, better known as Al Capone, or “Scarface” was an American Gangster who acclaimed fame during the prohibition era. Born in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City by Italian immigrants, Capone was a Five Points gang member who became a bouncer in organized crime premises. He later moved to Chicago to become a bodyguard and trusted employee for Johnny Torrio, doing anything that needed to be done. Five Points gang was a notorious gang in Manhattan, run by Frankie Yale who was known for his violent means of getting what he wanted. Capone became part of the Five Points gang and worked in gangster Frankie Yale's Brooklyn dive, the Harvard Inn, as a bouncer and bartender. While working at the Inn, Capone watched Yale’s use of violence to...
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...Al Capone is known as the famous bootlegger. What people don´t know is his backstory or his actual name, which is Alphonso Capone born on January 17, 1899.[1]No matter what bad things a person does they are still people with feelings, that also applies to Al Capone. Al Capone is the Son of two Italian immigrants, Gabriele and Teresina Capone.[2] He also had 8 siblings Vincenzo, Raffalo, Salvatore, Amadeo Ermino, Umberto, Matthew Nicholas, Rosalia, and Mafalda. [3] His dad was a barber and his mother was a seamstress. In elementary school Al Capone was a good student, he went to Brooklyn Elementary School, then in 6th grade he fell behind and had to repeat that grade. He started to play hooky and hang out at the Brooklyn docks, he once got hit...
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...1920s In the 1920s there were a lot of stuff going like crazy gangsters.One of the gangster name is Alphonse Capone also known as Al Capone.An interesting fact about Al Capone is that he had it’s own bullet-proof cadillac and the treasury department took and the president of the united states used it at Washington. Although there have been many gangsters in the 1920s but Al Capone was one of the most notable because he was an infamous gangster and he was a ruthless man especially during the St Valentine's massacre. Alphonso Capone was a great notorious gangster but as you guys always know all the famous criminals life always end early.This man was born in 1899 in brooklyn ,New York and his parents are poor plus he has two siblings.The...
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...St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: A Different View of Al Capone Many people sometimes wonder why there is so much violence among gangs. Why can’t they just get along? The most famous event that occurred in the 1920’s was St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. This day will be remembered since it deeply affected the widely known gangster, Al Capone. This was just the beginning of his downfall and it all began on February 14, 1929. First of all, Chicago had split into two rival gangs led by Al Capone and George “Bugs” Moran, by the late 1920’s. Both of these leaders vied for power, prestige, and money (Rosenberg 1). Much of the problems arose after Capone’s former enemy Dion O’ Banion was killed and it started an all-out-war in the city (The St. 1). Moran was soon the new leader. Capone’s hopes of obtaining more territory were diminished and this frustrated him. Al Capone soon began to brainstorm into developing an attempt towards George “Bugs” Moran (Rosenberg 1). Capone’s reputation as a bootlegger would soon change into horror. In order for everything to turn out as planned, Al Capone obtained help from Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn. McGurn was placed in charge to organize an assassination attempt towards “Bugs” Moran. McGurn was said to have survived many attempts so he was perfect for Madueño 2 the job. The plan was to select gunmen outside of the Chicago area. This was to ensure that if there were any survivors, they wouldn’t be able to recognize the killers as part of Capone’s...
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...Bootlegging, selling, making or distributing alcohol illegally became popular across the course of the 1920s. One well known bootlegger is known as “The Enforcer,” or Frank Nitti. He was born January 27, 1886 in Angri, Italy. His father died in 1888 when Nitti was only two years old. His mom had married another man within that year and they had two children, however, they both died. His family has immigrated to Brooklyn, New York when Frank was seven years old. He had quit school once finishing seventh grade and began working jobs such as pinesetter, factory worker and barber. Al Capone had lived near where Nitti lived and Nitti was friends with Capone’s older brothers. The brothers were in a crime gang called “The Navy Street Boys.” Frank...
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...Heroes and Villains: Al Capone Heroes and Villains: Al Capone written by Diane Yancey was overall a fairly informative and intriguing account of his life. She explained how vice-like Al Capone's grip was on Chicago; together with its law enforcers and was capable of influencing the U.S. to repeal amendments. Not only did Yancey inform the reader Capone's smuggling and importation of liquor and other various items, but also prostitution, extortion, bribery, and violence,, but only after other means failed. She also didn't tell exclusively of his life throughout his fame, however additionally his childhood, education, and his beginning years as a malefactor/criminal. Additionally, she wrote concerning his life incarcerated, the legends and riches...
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...Al Capone got his nickname scarface when he got into a fight at a saloon and was slashed in the face by a knife or razor in his youth. The height of Al Capone’s infamous criminal career was during the 1920’s. The 1920’s was a time of great crime partly because of the Prohibition, which was when alcohol was banned within the United States. Crime rose during the Prohibition because although alcohol was banned by the government it was still very popular and highly sought after by many Americans, and they turned to gangs to help them access it. Most of the famous gangs and gangsters who rose to power during this time were from Chicago, where Capone was head of the Mafia. Why was the law always after Al Capone? All of the crimes committed by Al Capone during his early life, while he was head of the Chicago mafia, and the crimes that eventually put him in jail were all of the reasons why...
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...One such gangster that embodied this era was Al Capone. Al Capone, the symbol of American corruption during the 1920s, was born in New York. However, he made a name for himself in Chicago and it was in this city that made him seem untouchable for a period. In the period where corruption was rife, organized crime was dependent on politicians backing the syndicates. In 1927, Al Capone gave his backing to William Hale ‘Big Bill’ Thompson in the Chicago mayoral elections by organising campaigns of coercion and fixing votes . This was because it would help Capone’s bootlegging scheme as Thompson’s attitude to the Prohibition laws were relaxed . Thompson won the election, but this hampered his chance to run as a candidate for Presidency even though...
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...Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko was the book I choose to read. A boy nicknamed Moose had recently moved to the island of Alcatraz to help his disabled sister. He experienced the scary, stunning, and intriguing part of living on the island of Alcatraz. One personal connection I had with the book was the fact that I visited Alcatraz about five years ago. During my trip I really had the chance to explore how some people lived their lives behind bars. Walking across the island of Alcatraz was really a fascinating experience for me, because while reading this book I could picture exactly what Moose was describing. For example on page sixteen paragraph nine the author states, “Now, the cell house is looming over us like the world’s biggest school for bad boys-the kind of place where guys going in and never come out.” When the author had said that I could picture the old, dirty, and dark cell house I had seen when I was at Alcatraz....
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...Al Capone Against Prohibition Prohibition was the banning or illegality of alcohol in Canada and the U.S.A in the 1920s. During this time alcohol was still being sold by bootleggers. The founder of the Chicago Outfit Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone also known as Scareface was one of the biggest alcohol smugglers in the world. Al Capone was not a big fan of prohibition he said “I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand”. Al Capone says that there always going to be a demand for everything and he just wants to fill the needs of some people. He also believed that prohibition was making things worst rather than better, “Prohibition has made nothing but trouble”. I think Al Capone felt this way about prohibition because he saw prohibition...
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...Al Capone was a modern day Robin Hood because he opposed prohibition and got the people what they wanted. Just like Robin Hood, Al Capone broke the law to make money but he did that by helping people. Both Al Capone and Robin Hood truly believed what they were doing was right even though morally it was wrong. The final reason the two are alike is because they both had their own gangs to back them up. Both Al Capone and Robin Hood were alike because they did their best to please people. What both of them did they personally thought was the right thing to do. Al Capone was against prohibition and did his best to get the people what they wanted; booze. Where Robin Hood was against the rich people and did his best to get the poor people what they wanted; money. In a way both of they were just trying to please people as well as trying to make some money on the side. Although they are different they are also very alike. The things they both did were illegal. Al Capone’s illegal act of smuggling and bootlegging liquor while prohibition was in full effect and Robin Hood’s illegal act of stealing. Both men used various methods and techniques to commit their crimes as well, most of the time they even used violence. Al Capone used different fire arms such as tommy guns to help him with his smuggling and other illegal acts and Robin Hood used such weapons as knives, and even bow and arrows to help him successfully steal some loot from the rich. For the most part both men got...
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...establishment sold hard liquor during period of prohibition illegally sold alcohol estimated 25% of citizens involved in some sort of smuggling ladies would wear belts that could hold a bottle they would then be able to hide it under their dress Al Capone New York’s Gambino family many immigrants mostly Italians gave jobs to about 700 gunmen for organized crime born in Brooklyn, NY basically created organized crime in the US during Prohibition, was one of the most wealthiest people in the US mainly lived and worked in Chicago was one of the many big criminals in the Chicago area after conflicts in countries beside the US, Mafia families left and then set up shop in the US the families would then begin doing exactly what they had...
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