Al Capone: Prohibition king, Chicago bloodbath and Alcatraz end

Capone's start in Chicago: Violence and tax evasion fall

On a cold January morning in 1925, a young man with a scarred face stepped out of a diner on Chicago's South Side. Moments earlier, he had been eating breakfast with his right-hand man, Jack Guzik, when a rival gangster suddenly shot Guzik. Without hesitation, the man, Alphonse Gabriel Capone, drew his Colt .45 and fired three shots at the assailant. This moment defined the world Al Capone would come to dominate – a world where violence was currency and loyalty was measured in blood. During Prohibition, Al Capone became the undisputed leader of the notorious Chicago Outfit in Illinois, earning millions from illegal alcohol, prostitution, and gambling. Despite his brutal power and countless crimes, including murder and widespread corruption, it was a far less dramatic charge – tax evasion – that ultimately brought down the infamous gangster.

From Brooklyn to Five Points: Scarface's early years

Al Capone's story, however, did not begin in Chicago's dangerous speakeasies, but in the crowded streets of Brooklyn, New York. He was born on January 17, 1899, the son of Italian immigrants from Naples, Italy, and grew up amidst poverty and ethnic conflicts. At just 14, he left school after hitting a teacher, an early sign of his ungovernable temper. His first steps into the criminal underworld in the USA were taken with the multi-ethnic Five Points Gang in Lower Manhattan. There, under the notorious gangster Frankie Yale, who ran the Harvard Inn tavern as a front for brothels, young Al Capone learned the brutal arts of extortion and protection rackets. It was at the Harvard Inn in 1917 that Al Capone acquired his iconic nickname 'Scarface,' after being slashed across the left cheek during an altercation with the sister of gangster Frank Galluccio. The scar became a permanent symbol of his perilous, violence-ridden life.

Chicago 1919: Capone's power rise and North Side attempt

When Al Capone arrived in Chicago, Illinois, in 1919, the city was characterized by political corruption and an intense struggle for control over the newly enacted Prohibition. His mentor, Johnny Torrio, invited him to help build their bootlegging empire. Torrio, a tactical leader who preferred strategy over raw violence, quickly saw the potential in young Al Capone. 'He has a head for business and the nerve for war,' Torrio reportedly said. They established their base in the suburb of Cicero, where they systematically bribed and corrupted local authorities. Al Capone's brother, Frank Capone, was even elected to the city council after a brutal election campaign involving kidnappings of political opponents. But in 1924, everything changed when Johnny Torrio was shot down by members of the rival North Side Gang, led by Dean O'Banion. Although Torrio survived, he chose to retire to Italy and handed over his entire empire to the 25-year-old Al Capone.

Chicago Outfit: Capone's empire and luxury at Palm Island

Under Al Capone's leadership, the Chicago Outfit exploded, growing from a regional gang into a nationwide criminal organization often compared to the traditional Mafia. In addition to illegal liquor, Al Capone controlled a network of approximately 6,000 speakeasies, 250 brothels, and countless illegal gambling dens in Chicago and the surrounding area. It is estimated that his annual revenue reached a staggering $100 million – equivalent to about $1.5 billion today – much of which came from whiskey. However, Al Capone was more than just a brutal gangster; he was a master of public relations. He donated large sums to charity, established soup kitchens during the Great Depression, and always appeared impeccably dressed. 'I give people what they want. What's more American than that?' he rhetorically asked a US journalist. This double life was highlighted when, in 1928, he purchased a lavish mansion on Palm Island in Miami, Florida, where he hosted parties for politicians and Hollywood stars.

St. Valentine's Day 1929: FBI's hunt for Capone intensifies

On February 14, 1929, Chicago's gang wars reached a bloody climax that shocked the entire United States. At ten-thirty in the morning, a black Cadillac pulled up in front of a garage on North Clark Street. Seven men, including several of Al Capone's arch-enemy Bugs Moran's closest henchmen, were forced against a wall and brutally mowed down with machine guns by men disguised as police officers. This event, known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, was one of the most infamous murders of the Prohibition era. Although Al Capone himself was at his residence in Florida, all evidence pointed to his Chicago Outfit. The massacre significantly increased public outrage over gang violence and led federal authorities, particularly the FBI, to intensify their pursuit of Al Capone.

Capone's tax case 1931: Key evidence by Frank Wilson

After years of unsuccessful attempts to prosecute Al Capone for murder, smuggling, and other violent crimes, US authorities finally found his Achilles' heel: tax evasion. Persistent IRS agents like Frank Wilson tracked Al Capone's extensive financial network through complex front accounts and false names. A crucial piece of evidence was a ledger from one of his many brothels, meticulously recording $27,000 in earnings on a single night – enough to prove a significant income he had not declared to the tax authorities. The subsequent trial against Al Capone in 1931 was a media sensation. The prosecutor presented a mountain of evidence, including Al Capone's own checkbooks, documenting millions of dollars in expenses. Despite the defense's attempts to explain away the large sums as gambling losses, the judge was unyielding. Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Atlanta to Alcatraz 1934: Syphilis ravages Capone's mind

Al Capone's initial time in prison in Atlanta was marked by unofficial privileges, including a private cell and specially delivered meals. But in 1934, he was transferred to Alcatraz, the notorious prison on 'The Rock' off the coast of San Francisco, designed to break the most hardened criminals. Here, Al Capone faced a harsh and unyielding reality. His first words to the guards were reportedly, 'It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked.' In Alcatraz, the effects of the syphilis Al Capone had contracted as a young man began to seriously take their toll on his brain. He suffered from hallucinations, forgot names, and cried over letters from his wife, Mae Capone. A fellow inmate later described him as 'a scared child, asking for his banjo so he could play music,' a distant echo of the feared gangster.

Paroled 1939: Syphilis dominates, Capone dies at 48

When Al Capone was paroled in 1939, he was a shadow of his former, powerful self. Advanced syphilis had reduced his mental capacity to that of a 12-year-old child. On his last birthday in 1947, at only 48 years old, Al Capone struggled to recognize his own son, Sonny Capone. The official cause of death was pneumonia, but the autopsy revealed that his brain was 'riddled like Swiss cheese' by untreated syphilis.

Legacy: Capone – Prohibition icon and the American dream

Today, Al Capone remains in history as a complex and contradictory figure – both the ruthless gangster and the charming public persona who fascinated the USA. His story is a tragic example of the American dream colliding with moral decay; a man whose great talent for business and organization was distorted by the lawlessness of the Prohibition era. As a former FBI agent noted, Al Capone was his own worst enemy, and without Prohibition, he might have achieved success legally. The Chicago Outfit still exists but has never regained the mythological status the organization achieved under Al Capone. At Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, Al Capone's grave lies beneath a stone inscribed 'My Jesus Mercy.' A few feet away, under an unmarked stone, rest the remains of his arch-enemy, Bugs Moran – separated in death, as they were in life, by a few feet and an entire world's history of organized crime in Chicago.

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