The Infamous Gangster: Al Capone

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.

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 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.

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

Al Capone “You can get a lot farther with a smile and a gun than you can with just a smile” (Alchin). This is a quote said by the gangsters Al Capone during the 1920’s. Al Capone was an infamous Italian gangster that most people

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, 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

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 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

Introduction 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).

Al Capone is arguably one of the most notorious and popular gangsters in American crime history. However, Capone is more than the classical gangster stereotype he is so often associated with. Capone was an intelligent criminal that used the environment of America at the time in order to rise to

near-illiterate. He came from a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, so education was not a top priority.      At about the age of eleven Capone became a member of a juvenile gang in his neighborhood. While this was taking place, around the year 1900, about Capone was very grateful to Torrio. Torrio first set Capone out to do all of his “dirty work”. Capone was sent to beat up loan shark victims

It was the early 1930’s and it was the biggest crime wave in U.S history. The U.S passed a new law that it was illegal to sell, or drink alcohol. This angered many men and caused chaos in every city of the U.S. But there was a man named Al Capone who broke all these rules. He snuck many alcohol and sold so much, that he became rich out of it.

Mr. Fallon a close contact with Al Capone was able to answer a few questions that many others have wondered about Al Capone. One of the questions that were asked was if Al Capone as young has been violent and had the mentality he has now. Mr. Fallon mentioned that he was not in fact he was a good son to his parents and was with them every day. Then we asked “if al capone was a good kid then how did all this violence cause by him came to be.” And Mr. Fallon explained, “Even though he was a good son he had some interactions that were not that good. He was involved in different gangs: The Junior Forty Thieves, The Bowery Boys, and the notorious Five Points Gang. And ones he left with Torrio to Chicago that's where Capone became famous. He handled many jobs for Torrio and started gaining experiences, after Torrio retirement Capone became the man in charge.” Mr. Fallon was then asked if this gave more power to Al Capone. “Yes he was able to buy policemen to cover him and anything that he did. Prohibition brought big amounts of money to

Alphonse Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of Gabriel and Teresina Capone who were recent Italian immigrants . They were a poor family of 9 children that came to America looking for a better life. Capone’s father was a barber and his mother was a seamstress. Al Capone went on to become the most infamous gangster in American history. Capone moved out around the time he was in 6th grade to a better home in the outskirts of the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. Here that he would meet both his future wife Mary Coughlin, and his mob mentor Johnny Torrio. As a former petty thug and bookkeeper Capone brought his street smarts and his expertise with numbers to Torrio’s Chicago operations. Torrio recognized Capone’s skills and