Al Capone: A Criminal Mind

Alphonse Capone, born 1899 in Brooklyn New York, is one of the most famous criminals of all time. Capone was known as the eventual leader of the feared Colosimo mob in the 1925s with such notorious criminals as Johnny Torrio and Lucky Luciano (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2008). Also known in his affiliation with the historic St. Valentine's Day Massacre on February14, 1929 in which seven members of the Bugs Moran mob was plastered with machine gun bullets against a garage as the offenders posed as police officers (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2008). As many criminal justice professionals have questioned throughout the years; though, why do such notorious criminals commit the heinous crimes they commit? Are these criminals suffering from some underlying reasoning? This paper presents an analysis of the criminal history and mind of Alphonse Capone and indicators to explain why criminals such as Capone commit crimes.
Alphonse Capone, better known as Scarface, was born January 17, 1899 to Gabriel Capone, a barber and his mother Teresa (Carey, 2002). Capone had two brothers Ralph and Salvatore Capone (Carey, 2002). At fourteen years of age Capone dropped out of school and joined the gang of James Street Boys in which he graduated to the sister adult gang five years later known as the Five Points Gang (Carey, 2002). As a kid Capone held such jobs as a candy store clerk, bowling alley attendant, and a cutter in a book bindery (Chicago Historical Society, 1999). Capone earned his nickname by receiving a nasty cut across his left cheek while trying to evict a customer (Carey, 2002). In 1918, Capone was wed to Mary Coughlin and fathered one child, Albert "Sonny" Francis (Carey, 2002).

Although never convicted for the crimes, Al Capone's first indication as a criminal was a disorderly conduct charge while employed by Yale, a member of the gang, and the murder of two men in New York (Chicago Historical Society, 1999). In 1919, Capone moved to Chicago during the