Donnie Brasco

Salvatore Lucania was born on November 24, 1897 in Sicily, Italy; almost ten years later, he began a new life of crime and prosperity in New York City’s lower east side. Upon arrival, he could not speak english; he bullied the other kids into paying him for protection and participated in drug dealing. One day, Lucania was abducted, beaten, stabbed, and left for dead; miraculously, he survived. This rather fortunate recovery led him to become known as Lucky Luciano (“Lucky Luciano Biography.com.” Edited by Biography.com, The Biography.Com website, A&E Television Networks, 17 June 2015, www.biography.com/people/lucky-luciano -9388350). In 1916, he became the leader of the Five Points Gang and continued to make a name for himself. During these early years, Luciano was in and out of jail-- mostly for getting caught dealing drugs.

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.

Even after he stopped pursuing his education, Capone began to work to support his family and “always brought his entire paycheck home to his mother”. However, Al was steered towards a life of crime when he started spending time in Manhattan with his older brother, Ralph, who often did odd jobs for gangs. After some time, Al began to work for Johnny Torrio, a renowned mob boss in New York. From there, his penchant for a life of crime only grew. Capone became something of a protegee to Torrio. Eventually, Torrio realized his organization could become more profitable in Chicago, so he turned over his territory to Frankie Yale, for whom Al began to work. Soon, Capone had made enemies within a rival gang, so Yale suggested he move to Chicago to work for Torrio until New York was safer. Capone recognized the move as a step up, and so he continued his work in Chicago for the rest of his career. After an attempt on Torrio’s life, he retired, and put Capone in charge of his entire organization when he was just twenty-six years old. When Capone took over, the United States was mid-prohibition, so the large majority of his focus was on bootlegging. Before the end of the decade, Capone “controlled all 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago and was said to be ruling the entire bootlegging business from Canada to Florida”. Needless to say, Al Capone had become a powerful and influential figure in Chicago.

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

With Chicago’s government being weak and easily to extort, Capone and Torrio began a business together through bootlegging, gang violence, and gambling in houses called deuces. At the beginning of the 1920s, James Colosimo was in charge and making the most money. Colosimo effectively developed profound political associations, by becoming a precinct captain in the First Ward Aldermen Coughlin and Kenna, and later turning into the bagman (authority of illicit benefits and container of fixes) in the vice laden Levee District, which gave him political insurance from any prosecution. He and Torrio also ran a very successful group of racketeers. This gang would become a crime organization called the Outfit through Al Capone syndicate. According to the PowerPoint, Colosimo did not want to be a part of the bootlegging business. Torrio disagreed stating that it was his opportunity and wealth. When Colosimo returned from his honeymoon, he was shot and killed in his own café. Many were led to think Torrio paid Frankie Yale to get rid of Colosimo. Torrio became the head leader and created a huge criminal empire through bootlegging. He shaped a new gang cartel that allocated the bootlegging industry ensuring product stability and higher profits.

on their nightly take. Torrio finally got Capone a job as a bouncer at the

The gangsters parked their automobile on State Street, near the alley behind the bank. At least two of them remained by the car. According to most sources, Tommy Carroll stationed himself in the doorway of what was then Mulcahy's Prescription Shop. Baby Face Nelson was across the street, on or near the sidewalk by the alley. One gangster was probably in the car. In some

Andrew Melton was given the task of finding the man he thought could bring Capone down. At this time in America, finding an honest federal agent who couldn’t be bribed was very difficult. Andrew Melton finally chose Eliot Ness to be the leading man for the Bureau of Prohibition, and Ness found only 9 dependable men to work with. He and his men launched a series of raids on Al Capone’s breweries, arresting several of his men, and closing down many of his operations. After an especially successful raid, Al Capone realized these men were a serious threat, so he offered them about $2,000 a week to leave him alone, which was almost as much as they made in a year. What Al Capone didn’t expect, was that each of the agents would turn him down. The newspapers covering the story deemed the individuals who were brave enough to take a stand against Capone The Untouchables. Capone paid men to trail the Untouchables, while Ness tapped Capone’s phones. Capone killed Ness’s friend, and in retaliation, Ness drove Capone’s confiscated trucks of alcohol around his hotel in mockery. "What we had done this day," he told people later, "was enrage the bloodiest mob in criminal history...We had hurled the defiance of "The Untouchables" into their teeth; they surely knew by now that we were prepared to fight to the finish." Their private battle continued, with Ness trying to arrest Capone

Gotti’s gambling habit was frowned upon by Castellano, who was the mob boss. His actions were noticed by federal agents, so they bugged out the Bergin club in 1981. The FBI had enough dirt to place Gotti under federal indictment for racketeering. After Castellano was gunned down, Gotti became boss. When it came down to getting sentenced, he and his gang were always acquitted of charges. He always fixed the verdict. He got the name Teflon Don because charges “wouldn’t stick”. The FBI finally had the chance to convict John Gotti after they had persuaded the underboss, Sammy Gravano, to testify against

Alphonse Capone, also known as Scarface. Born in Brooklyn New York on January 17, 1899 to Italian immigrants. Al was the fourth of nine children. After dropping out of school at the sixth grade al joined his mentor Johnny Torrio’s street gang, called Street Boys Gang. Then later went to the Five Point Gang. Capone worked for Johnny Torrio and was second in charge. Al did things in between his illegal acts. “Between scams he was a clerk in a candy store, a pin boy in a bowling alley, and a cutter in a book bindery.” (1) Capone did his fair share of legal jobs. He became part of the Five Point Gang, which was in Manhattan and worked in Frankie Yale’s Dive. He did legal work but he also did his dirty work. Capone did his legal work to support his family. His mother didn’t work until his teen-age years. His father was a barber trying to open his own

During the Prohibition Era, Al Capone was an extremely powerful gangster that ran Chicago’s underground. At his pinnacle, he led uncountable brothels and speakeasies in which he and his syndicate could manage their various criminal acts, of which included illicit gambling, prostitution, and the sale of alcohol, which of course was illegal at this time and thus how he made the majority of his money. While exact numbers are not available, it is estimated that while at the peak of his power, Capone had brought in well over $1 billion in today’s currency and employed over 600 gangsters in order to do his business and protect him (Simkin, “Al Capone”). When asked whether or not he was a criminal, Capone even cheekily responded, “I make my money by supplying a public demand. If I break the law, my customers who number hundreds of the best people in Chicago, are as guilty as I am. The only difference is that I sell and they buy. Everybody calls me a racketeer. I call myself a businessman” (qtd. Simkin).

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

Al, his wife, and son all moved down to Chicago in 1919. Where Al meets Johnny Torrio. They both worked for Big Jim. When the prohibition started Torrio saw dollar signs, but Big Jim already had enough money he didn’t want another outlet. So the only thing standing in Torrio's way was Big Jim. Torrio had Al "take care" of Big Jim. Al hired Frankie Yale to kill Big Jim. Torrio was the leader of Chicago and Al was his right hand man. 5 Al began to gain a reputation and a new name. He was very stylish, he wore an eleven karat ring on his pinky. He also, wore Italian silk underwear. This style earned him his new nickname "Snorky" which meant sharp dresser. People didn’t see the evil in Al. He hired men to kill for him, Al himself killed four men in his lifetime.6 Al always made sure the public saw him as a hero. One time at a bar Al spilled his drink on a dancer's dress. He apologized and gave her more than enough money to buy a new one. Also in 1920 after his dad died Al he brought his whole family to Chicago. He brought his brothers into his business and supported his sisters and mom fully. Outside of the house and away from the public eye, he was a whole other person. He was lusty and unfaithful. Al drank all the time, slept with many women, and stayed away from home for long periods of time. When Al wasn’t drinking, gambling, and whoring around, he was studying his

One of the most successful Mafia bosses involved in bootlegging and prostitution was Charles "Lucky" Luciano. He was born in 1897 in Sicily, Italy. At the age of 9 he moved to the Lower East Side of New York. In 1920 he began his own prostitution

One of the largest Organized crime bust occurred in 2011. Close to 130 members of the New York City Mafia were arrested along with other East Coast cities. The Bonnanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese were all part of the New York’s five families. Members of each of the five families were arrested to include some of the