American Mobsters
Al Capone
Born: January 17, 1899
Died: January 25, 1947

Al "Scarface" Capone was a notorious American gangster who was at large in Chicago during the prohibition-era which is from 1920 to 1931. He was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor. Along with that, he did other illegal activities such as prostitution and murder.

In Italy, the Capone family was very respected and professional. Al Capone's father, Gabriele arrived in New York in 1894. He was thirty years old and was very educated. Him, his wife, Teresina, and their two sons, Vincenzo and Raffaele, moved to a small tenement house in Brooklyn. This is where Alphonse Gabriele Capone was born in 1899.
Early Life
The young Capone's home was little more than a slum. They lived near the Navy Yard and Al saw many sailor characters that visited the surrounding bars, This definitely exposed Capone to a wider cultural view in the world. Although Alphonse was a promising student at his Catholic institution, he was expelled at 14 after hitting a female teacher. He never went back.
Young Capone with his mother, Teresina
Life of Crime
After Al Capone left school, he met the gangster Johnny Torrio. Torrio taught Capone the importance of maintaining a respectable appearance, while running a business of crime. At 18, he was hired as a bartender and bouncer in Coney Island by Frankie Yale. It was Yale who introduced the mild Capone to violent crime. It also was there where Al Capone received his famous face scars when Frank Gallucio pulled a knife on Capone after he made a remark to Gallucio's sister. This incident taught Al how to restrain his temper and how to run a loan sharking , pimping and 'protection' business with violent force.


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After his job as a bartender, Capone married a middle-class Irish girl named Mae Coughlin and he settled down as a bookkeeper in New York City. Al tried his best to maintain a law abiding and respectable lifestyle.
Mae Coughlin
It was said that his father's unexpected death was the cracking point of Capone. Many people believe that the freedom from his parent's influence was the reason he stopped trying to be a good citizen. Capone left home and in late 1920, he went to Chicago and again started working for his old friend Johnny Torrio.
Together, Al Capone and Johnny Torrio took over the Colosimo mob after "Big Jim" Colosimo was assassinated. They also took over the Chicago Outfit Empire. The large business of bootlegging was booming and as the act of prohibition was in effect, the fortunes was even larger.

As Capone's reputation grew, he made sure that he was always unarmed as his "mark" of his status. He also went everywhere with at least two bodyguards. Even in the car, he was in between bodyguards. Al Capone preferred to travel at night as a sort of cover.

St. Valentines Day Massacre
It is said that Capone ordered the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929. The plan was to strike at Bugs Moran's Gang. It is believed that Capone's men, disguised as police, lined seven victims from Bug's Gang along a wall and killed them. This Greatly damaged Al Capone's Reputation but no one was ever brought to trial for the crime.
Even though his occupation was illegal, Capone became a very popular public figure. He made donations to different charities using the money he made from his illegal activities. Many people viewed him as a "modern-day Robin Hood".
Imprisonment
In 1931, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was fined $80,000 for tax evasion. Elliot Ness was the one who ended up pinning the gangster. He routinely broke up Capone's bootlegging businesses and was the leader of the "Untouchables" because they were never corrupted. At first Capone was sent to the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, but he was later sent to a higher security prison on Alcatraz Island. The Gangster got out early in 1939 for "good behavior". He spent his final year of prison in a hospital due to syphilis.
Al Capone s penitentiary room in Atlanta
Capone's Alcatraz photo
Later Life
After prison, Capone's organized crime decreased. Over the next years, he lost weight, and his physical and mental health was at an all time low. This was all due to the disease of syphilis. Unable to resume his career, he spent his next few years at his house in Florida. On January 25 of 1947, Alphonse Capone died, surrounded by his family. He died of a heart attack at age 48. Capone was later buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.
​Capone's Grave in Mount Carmel Cemetery.