BACKGROUND INFORMATION Alphonse Capone was born January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. He was Gabriel and Teresa Capone’s, fourth of nine children; his parents were Italian immigrants. At the age of 14 Capone was expelled from school for assaulting a female teacher. Capone then started working for Johnny Torrio as a bouncer at one of his brothels; this is when Capone really began to get exposed to the mobster life. He was exposed to the mobster life because Johnny Torrio was one of Brooklyn’s most notorious mobsters. (Gottesman & Brown)
Not too long after working as a bouncer, Al took a blade to the face and that’s how he got the nickname “Scarface”. He was soon welcomed into the Five Points Gang where he partook in burglary, prostitution, long-sharking, and extortion. (Dictionary of American Biography) In late 1919- early 1920’s, Torrio moved to Chicago to partner up with mobster, Jim Colosimo and took young Al Capone with him (he was about 20-21). Capone was now a part of the “Outfit”; a mobster organization that was ran by Jim Colosimo (Gottesman & Brown); he was in complete control of the prostitution trade and a restaurant in Chicago (Dictionary of American Biography). Torrio was in charge of the resorts in Stickney and Burnham, Chicago; a “working class suburb”. During the 1920’s, the prohibition act took place, prohibiting the sell and consumption of alcohol. (Dictionary of American Biography)
People were demanding alcohol, Torrio and Capone saw it as an opportunity
Capone was born 1899 in Brooklyn, New York to poor immigrant parents from Italy. When Capone was 14, he dropped out of school. He struggled with bullying throughout his young ages because of his ethnic background. During this time period, many people around the United States looked down at the children of immigrants and this made it laborious for him to succeed in school. At this time he was juggling 3 jobs as well as being in a gang. He later graduated into a more brutal
When we think of the mafia and gangs, one name comes to mind, Al Capone. Al Capone, also known as Scarface, was an infamous mafia leader who was active in Chicago during the Prohibition era. Having committed numerous criminal deeds and being the man behind countless murders, Capone was finally arrested for tax evasion . Now, you might ask, “How was he able to commit all these violent deeds without being imprisoned?” Well, we first have to go to the beginning of Capone’s life.
Prohibition led to the bootlegging of liquor and the gang wars of the 1920’s. The most notorious gangster of all time, known as Al Capone, was the most powerful mob leader of his era. He dominated organized crime in the Chicago area from 1925 until 1931. Capone grew up during the roaring 20s in Chicago. He joined the James Street gang, lead by Johnny Torrio. In 1920, Torrio asked Capone to move to Chicago and work with his uncle who controlled the city’s largest prostitution and gambling ring at the time. Capone had liked that idea. Later that year the Prohibition act came into affect and Capone became interested in selling illegal whiskey and other alcoholic beverages. Al Capone was America's best known gangster and greatest
Al Capone, who was born in New York in 1899, was one of the most prominent gangsters in America in the 1920s. He was the son of Italian immigrants, and after leaving school at a young age, became a small-time criminal. Known as ‘Scarface,’ he had links to the leader of the Five Points Gang, Johnny Torrio, and moved to Chicago in 1920, where he gradually rose through the ranks as a partner in saloons, gambling and brothels. They moved their operations to Illinois after an offer to work with Jim Colosimo, a central figure in Chicago’s brothel business. Gang rivalry heated up after a dispute between Torrio and Colosimo over whether to begin in the bootlegging business, and in 1920, Colosimo was murdered allegedly by Al Capone. After this, Torrio’s criminal empire expanded massively throughout Chicago, before leaving in 1925 and handing over operations to Capone. After taking over, Capone expanded operations even further, and was able to control Chicago’s Mayor, ‘Big Bill’ Thompson and fix his elections. A local newspaper from the time reported
Alphonse was destined to a life of lawlessness from a young age. In his adolescence, he lived the life of an Italian Immigrant. Sequestered to predominantly Italian boroughs, education was lackluster and the influence of the Italian mob was ever present. However, Capone's education played a key role in his development. As Kobel states in his novel, it was here at school where Capone met another future mob boss. Another Italian delinquent youth at the time, Salvatore Lucania, also known as Lucky Luciano. (Kobler 23) Capone continued to live a moderately normal life until his expulsion from school at age fourteen. He worked side jobs around Brooklyn
Al Capone was a highly known gangster in the 1920s Alphonse Capone born in Brooklyn, New York to a poor US immigrant couple, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, seeking a better opportunity for their then big family of eight children. He was known for running many lucrative illegal businesses that included alcohol bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and protection. Al Capone was so notorious that he would murder those who got in his way. With little prosecution of his actions, Al Capone believed his self to being unstoppable. Al Capone, being raised as a kid in poverty learned hands on how to organize crime and became the biggest force in organized crime.
Al Capone was conceived in New York, Brooklyn and lived between (1899-1947). His parents were Teresa Capone and Gabriele who were Italian immigrants. Similarly, Capone family had arrived in America looking for greener pastures; His family carried on with an ordinary migrant way of life in a New York apartment. Capone's mom worked as a seamstress while his dad was a barber (Iorizzo, 2003).
Al Capone grew up in Brooklyn, New York; his parents came from Italy, so he had some Italian background in him. He was the fourth child out of nine; he went to school until he was fourteen years old, but he eventually dropped out to help earn money for his family. Right after he dropped out, he joined a street gang called the South Brooklyn Rippers. When he grew older, he joined a new gang called the Five
Al Capone was from Chicago and the greatest gangster in the Roaring Twenties. Prohibition happened from 1919 to 1933 and was famously known as the “Roaring Twenties”. The Eighteenth Amendment was passed and banned the manufacture and sales of all alcoholic beverages. The Volstead act made the law official and stated that owning any item used to produce alcohol was illegal. According to the background essay, “meant any beverage more than 0.5% alcohol by volume.” This meant that no alcohol with more than the legal amount was allowed. Anyone who did this would go to jail or be fined. People wanted alcohol, so bad that all these bars started to open. “Illegal bars, called speakeasies, opened up across the country” as stated in the background
on their nightly take. Torrio finally got Capone a job as a bouncer at the
The ultimate symbol of a gangster rule, is a guy by the name of Al Capone, who dominated the Chicago underworld by committing many crimes: such as illegal gambling, extortion, prostitution, and alcohol distribution during prohibition. Capone's life of gang activity started at a very young age. He created a multi-million dollar empire of crime in Chicago. He has been referred to as one of the most ruthless men of all time (Stockdale 45). He was a smart businessman, good family man, and a generous person, that lived a life full of murders and other crimes.
At a young age, Al-Capone was sheltered in a apartment with his mother, Teresina Capone, and father, Gabriel Capone, who immigrated from Italy to Brooklyn, and his two older brothers. Teresina was a stay at home mother who loved her children, and prayed nothing for the best for her son Alphonso, wishing that he would follow the right path, his father was a barber who gave young Capone a shoe-shining box to work in the streets of New York. Hoping the American grounds could provide for their family, they moved into a tiny apartment in an Italian
Alphonse Capone is perhaps one of the most notorious gangsters of all time being remembered in infamy as a very successful businessman and a stone cold killer. Before Capone would become a mob boss he lived in a run down part of New York city. Capone went to a Catholic school, where he showed academic promise, but due to the violent nature of Catholic school Capone was expelled from school at the age of fourteen for assaulting a female teacher (A&E Television Networks). After that incident the young Capone picked up odd jobs until he met the gangster Johnny Torrio. Torrio had a huge impact on Capone 's life, giving him a look at how organized crime were transforming from gangs, into empires. Capone bounced around from different gangs and ended up in a
First, I will tell you a little about Al Capone's early years and then the definition of a gangster and how it has evolved to today. Al Capone was born "Alphonse Capone" Al for short. Al was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899. His involvement as a gangster didn't start until the late teens and twenties. The real definition of a gangster is a member of a gang of violent criminals. This means Al has a negative impact on society.
Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, not Italy as often thought, Al Capone was baptized three weeks after birth, Al Capone was the 4th of 9 children. Capone had one sister named Rose but her life was cut short for unknown reasons. Two years later Teresa had a daughter and that was the only daughter in the Capone family. At school Capone had a B average and later said that he liked his lessons. In 6th grade his grades plummeted and he was expelled for hitting his teacher after she hit him.