Al Capone

Al Capone (Alfonso or Alphonse Capone) , 1899-1947, American gangster, b. Naples, Italy. Brought up in New York City, he became connected with organized crime and was involved in murder investigations. In 1920 he moved to Chicago and became a lieutenant to John Torrio, a notorious gang leader. They established numerous speakeasies in Chicago in the prohibition era. After eliminating his opponents "Scarface" Capone took over control from Torrio. He was implicated in brutal murders and received tribute from businessmen and politicians. His crime syndicate—which terrorized Chicago in the 1920s and controlled gambling and prostitution there—was estimated by the federal Bureau of Internal Revenue to have taken in $105 million in 1927 alone. Capone was indicted (1931) by a federal grand jury for evasion of income tax payments and was sentenced to an 11-year prison term. In 1939, physically and mentally shattered by syphilis, Capone was released.

Bibliography: See biographies by F. D. Pasley (1930, repr. 1971), J. Kobler (1971), and L. Bergreen (1994); K. Allsop, The Bootleggers and Their Era (1970).

Capone, Al(phonse) (1899–1947) Italian-American gangster. Also known as “Scarface”, he was the most flamboyant and widely publicized criminal of the PROHIBITION ERA. In 1925 he took over Chicago's south side gang from Johnny Torrio, and dominated the city's underworld, dealing in bootleg liquor, extortion, prostitution, and other rackets, and controlling the corrupt administration of Major Bill Thompson. His war on other syndicates, culminating in the St Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929 against Bugs Moran's gang, went unchecked until his indictment for federal income tax evasion in 1931 led to a prison sentence. Physically and mentally broken by syphilis, he was released in 1939.

Capone, Al ( Alphonse) (1899–1947) US gangster of the Prohibition era, b. Italy. 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 (1931).