Al Capone: One of the Most Ruthless Men of All Time

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

When Torrio was released from jail he was to worried that Moran would try another assassination attempt and decided to give his whole operations to Al Capone. Al Capone was now the most infamous crime boss in Chicago, George Moran, who was jealous of Al Capone, wanted to control the south side of Chicago before Al Capone could.

In 1921 Capone was called upon by Torrio and left for Chicago. (Bardsley) It was in Chicago that Al Capone gained the power and moved up the ranks in the Chicago underworld of prostitution, prohibition, racketeering, narcotics, and murder. (FBI - How the Law Finally Caught Al Capone) Johnny Torrio vast empire in Chicago consisted

It took time and persistence for Al Capone to become a leader, and to be considered the notorious criminal he was, and due with the guidance of Johnny Torrio, a mob leader in Chicago, Al Capone became the man he was set to be when came to Chicago. In the award-winning book “American Decades” it states “... in 1919 after the 18th amendment went into effect, bootlegging operations opened up and drew in immense wealth. In 1925, Torrio retired, and Capone became the crime czar of Chicago, running gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging rackets and expanding his territories by the gunning down of rivals, and rival gangs.” (Bondi).

The famous “Al” Capone. Planting his roots in Chicago Illinois, he quickly became the “ Crime Czar of Chicago” by expanding his bootlegging operations into other ventures such as gambling, and prostitution. Whenever he felt challenged or threatened by another gang or individual he would resort to having his bodyguards ( as Al Capone remained unarmed to present status) gun them down and using them as an example for future rivals. The whiskey trail he was running from New York to Chicago was making Capone a very rich man. Everything was going good for Scarface until the Supreme Court made a ruling that all bootleggers had to pay an income tax on any and all alcohol being moved.

Before Capone became extremely wealthy and known for his atrocious acts, he was living a harsh, difficult life. Alfonso Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York. Capone’s parents were immigrants from Italy and earned a low income. Capone and his family lived in a disorderly, poor neighborhood. It is clear to see that the Capone family struggled to make a living when Diane Yancey stated, “In the Capone apartment, heat came from two stoves...a pipe in the hallway supplied cold water, and a small shack in the backyard served as a communal toilet” (13). Despite the rough living conditions, Capone’s parents managed to keep Capone and his siblings healthy.

Even though many recognize Al Capone as a nuisance, he did well for the people in the community. Better known as Scarface he left a huge impact on the world after he died. The ones who showed respect got respect and the ones who didn’t got what he thought they deserved. Capone wrecked havoc in Chicago, Brooklyn and Florida. He was the reason for the collapse of the law and order in the United States during the early 1900s. Capone’s rise in the gang world was tremendous.

Capone’s family were a tight-knit Italian family. There was nothing in Capone’s childhood or family life that could have predicted the rise of America’s most notorious gangster. Robert Schoenberg author of ‘Mr. Capone’ had said, “...No reason to believe that any of the children would grow up to be anything other than perfectly respectable and they

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

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.

The family was a gentle family that never caused trouble. Nothing about the family seemed violent and there was no event in Capone’s life that sent him into the crime he did, Capone just wanted to make money (Crime Library). Al Capone, the “King of Chicago” showed signs of violence at a young age that eventually led to a large life of crime. During Capone’s time in school, he hit a female teacher that kicked him out. He had always wanted to be a gangster and this allowed him to start his path towards it (Woog). Capone quit school after the sixth grade to join a gang (FBI). Capone joined the Brooklyn Five Points Gang. The two leaders of the Five Points Gang, Frankie Yale and Johnny Torrio played a role in Capone transforming into a gangster (Woog). Torrio would later become the greatest influence on Capone (Al

Born in 1899 to poor immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York, Capone went on to become the most infamous gangster in American history. At the height of Prohibition, in 1920, Capone’s multi-million dollar Chicago operation in bootlegging, prostitution and gambling amassed estimates of 100$ million a year (completely tax free). Capone along with gangster mentor Johnny Torrio, established levers of control throughout the government gaining them a leg up on the competition and anyone who could not be bought off, killed off. They were accredited with bribing officials, rigging elections, and many other nefarious actions they required. Responsible for many brutal acts of violence, Capone, ordered many hits on his opponent’s, and lawmen be damned if they got in his way. The most infamous being the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, in Which he ordered the assassination of gangster rival “Bugs” Moran. Consequently, Capone, never brought to justice for his racketeering, or well-organized murder, until finally being indicted for federal tax evasion in 1931. Capone served six and a half years, and after being released, he died in 1947 in Miami. The gangster’s life captivated the public’s imagination, and his persona has been preserved in many movies and books inspired

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.

Al Capone is widely known as the most ruthless gangster in the United States due to his involvement in violence due to the illegalization of the distribution and consumption of alcohol, the Prohibition Act. Most of Capone’s profits came from his disobedience to the act which was successful due to the few tactics he utilized. Throughout the 1920s, Capone was known for being a successful criminal and almost made Prohibition nonexistent. Capone is credited for most of the illegal distribution of alcohol by using violence to threaten opposing gangs. Al Capone was the most successful distributor of alcohol due to bribing law enforcements and violence against opposing gangs(Yauncey). Capone was a very successful criminal throughout the 1920s

“ The evil genius of all gangsterdom was Al Capone, first haled to Chicago at 23 by Johnny Torrio, who was at the time boss of the Windy City’s underworld” (Edey 175). By the time Capone took control in 1925 he controlled all the speakeasies in Chicago, which were estimated to be at 10,000, and had a gang 700 strong to enforce his reign (Edey 175). During Capone’s reign “Chicago suffered upwards of 400 gang murders a year” (Edey 175).