Gangster: Al Capone's Childhood

Feared by many, followed by most. Who would’ve thought someone coming from a religious household would soon make the world sense the wrath of Al Capone, the criminal mastermind. The man who showed no remorse towards anyone that interfered with his principles. The one who took a different perception on life and eventually composed his own set of rules. Certainly in doing so would lead others and their lives.
The most notoriously known gangster, Alphonse Capone was the first from his family to be born in America. His parents, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, migrated from southern Italy and came to Brooklyn, New York searching for better living qualities for their eight children. His father made a living from being the local barber and his mother
was a seamstress. Once they were able to move out of the tenements, they settled down in the Park Slope neighborhood on the outskirts of Brooklyn. As a child, Capone was rebellious, constantly getting in trouble from fighting and he received repetitive spankings at school. One day, Capone had had enough of the beatings and struck back at the teacher. After that incident, he was expelled at the age of 14 and never returned to school. Of course being exposed to extensive cultural connections brought out a lot of the man in which was considered by many, the public enemy number one. Not only living in Brooklyn would he get his street smarts, hefty attitude and confidence, but also where he would meet his future love and clan advisor/soon-to-be partner (“What Crimes Did Al Capone Commit?”).
Long-time friend Johnny Torrio made Capone known to gangster Frankie Yale before taking off to Chicago due to a previous gang related incident that almost cost him his life. Yale hired him as a bouncer/bartender at the Harvard Inn located in Coney Island. Meanwhile, in Chicago, Torrio was in control of a gambling and prostitution racket. In 1920, the ratification of the 18th amendment meant that the sale and consumption of alcohol was prohibited. Torrio put forward all his attention into his brightest idea yet: bootlegging. He immediately sent for Capone, him being a former bookkeeper and having dexterity with numbers was exactly what Torrio wanted. After the notice, Capone moved him and his entire family to Chicago. Subsequently, enormous amounts of money started coming in, and Capone was officially promoted as partner. Torrio’s motto was all about maintaining a low profile and a presentable foreground which was a must when running a racketeering field. Business was booming. They represented a new aurora in a criminalized enterprise turning it from a vigorously savage culture to a united corporation (“Al Capone Biography”). After Torrio grew immensely paranoid from the constant corruption, he retired in 1925, making Capone emperor of organized crime. The Four Deuces—Torrio’s headquarters, included three floors: first for show room/speakeasy, second was a gambling hall, and the third was a brothel. This all now belonged to Capone. As Capone grew more comfortable in the business, he began to grow a reputation. Even though he got out of most trouble by bribing people infiltrated with government and police departments, he was familiar with drunk driving and being quite the agitator. Years went by and law enforcement became harsher, cracking down on other gangs in the area. This made Capone very aware and cautious towards his every move. This lead to one the deadliest major events in the prohibition era: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. In 1929, the rivalries between the north and south gangs put the closing roar in roaring twenties. Exploitation flooded the streets of Chicago. Murder turned into massacre, but mobs never saw it as inhumane because it was something they grew up around. To them, it was just a way of handling affairs. Both leaders from each side knew Chicago was a fertile ground to sell alcohol. Northside executive, George “Bugs” Moran, was looking into expanding whilst Al Capone wanted to take over more territory. Someone had to cross no man’s land. They triggered one another and put a threat to each other’s life quite a few times before. On February 14, 1929, four men dressed as police officers entered Moran’s headquarters, founded on 2122 N Clark St., lined up seven henchmen against the wall and mowed them down cold blooded. It was the most gruesome scene any citizen had ever witnessed. Everyone knew this was the turning point of prohibition. They made a stand and pressured law enforcement to put an end to mob violence (“Al Capone: Scarface”).
For the most part, Capone was a very interesting man.
He was well respected for everything he did for the city, the majority of the Italian population considered him a community leader. When he was 28 years old, his organization brought in over $105 million dollars (“Mafia”). He gave back to the city that built him his kingdom. During the Great Depression, Capone was one of the first to help out around town founding multiple soup kitchens, providing daily milk to the schools of Chicago to help fight rickets, and gave job opportunities. The government began to fail without him. Police needed his payoffs, for their civil service salaries did not cut it, newspapers needed the image of “Scarface” in order to continue selling papers, and the speakeasies needed his supply of alcohol to stay in business. Capone always knew how to get around to people. Before the civil rights era arose, Capone’s willingness to work with African Americans displayed his ability to build an extended economic alliance which contributed to his public power. One of his famous sayings was, “you can get much farther with a kind word and a gun then you can with a kind word alone.” (“Al Capone Icon”). He was a criminal who used the media to entertain and mislead the
public.
Months went by and the Treasury Department had been funding enough evidence to incarcerate Al Capone for tax evasion in 1931. During his trial he had stated, “They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.” (“Al Capone”). During the time they were gathering evidence, rumors began crossing headlines of local newspapers. Capone was among the earliest prisoners at Alcatraz. Four years in serving his term there, he began to suffer from syphilis that he had contracted from a prostitute in earlier years. His health was slowly deteriorating. He became disoriented, developed a shuffled walk, battled dementia, and experienced convulsions. This, at the time, was something that could not be healed. He was released from jail early due to his health issues. Capone found himself spending the final days in his Miami estate with loved ones. Capone’s contraction of pneumonia was what worsened his well being. Al Capone suffered from a stroke and passed away on January 25, 1947 at the age 48. (“8 Things You Should Know About Al Capone”)
Chicago college students, at the time of his death, chose Mr.
Capone as one of the top ten most outstanding persons in the world along with Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, and Henry Ford. Overall, I believe Al Capone was a very influential man who has lead many individuals to their ideologies today. He was a very humble person who always knew family came above all. He believed in no bad way of doing business, as long as it got the job done. What I found the most appealing is that he made sure every person affiliated with him had money in their pockets and food on the table. Whether he was viewed as evil or a community leader, his presence was impossible to ignore; for he was a man with a mission that used ways like crime in order to succeed. The dominance, boundless leadership skills, and wicked ways he contained made him the blueprint of what we know as mob history. Making sure he left his imprint for many generations to come. A name whose challenged the laws of man and that will definitely live on
forever.