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Alphonse Capone
Alphonse Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 17, 1899. He had six brothers, two sisters, and was the first of his siblings to be born in the United States. His parents Teresina and Gabriele were Italian immigrants who moved to America in 1894 along with 43,000 other Italians (Crime Library). The Capone family was a quiet, conventional, law-abiding group of people who did not come from a criminal background, were not abusive or psychotic, and were very close to each other. Alphonse’s name outside his family’s home in Brooklyn was Al. It was said to be more American. It was not because of Al’s family that he was introduced to a life of crime. A couple of blocks from Al’s home lived one of the most successful gangsters on the east coast. Johnny Torrio took Al under his wing and paid him to run errands for him. It is through Torrio that Capone received his first taste of criminal activities. He was also taught /“the importance of leading an outwardly respectable life, to segregate his career from his home life/” (Crime Library). By living under strict rules and having a wholesome childhood with a well rounded father, the question of whether Al Capone, one of the criminal czars of American History, could have had a good side to him has sparked controversy among many researchers.
Al Capone was a sort of apprentice working under Johnny Torrio. Torrio had faith in Capone and after a while started trusting him with larger tasks than running errands. In 1919 Al Capone followed Torrio to Chicago in order to pursue his early criminal career. Torrio introduced Capone to Frankie Yale, a very aggressive gangster who built his empire on muscle. This was the complete opposite from the small Torrio who was considered a gentleman (Al Capone Museum).
Torrio helped Capone get a job bartending at the age of 18 at one of Frankie Yale’s bars called the Harvard Inn, located on Coney Island. Capone was a bartender but occasionally waited tables and was a bouncer as well. It was at the Harvard Inn where Capone received his notorious nickname, Scarface. He was waiting a table with a beautiful girl who was having lunch with her brother. Capone made a comment about the young lady’s physical features that struck rage in her brother who was sitting across the table. The man’s name was Frank Gallucio. Gallucio stood up and punched Capone in the face. Al became very aggressive and in order to defend himself, Gallucio pulled out a knife and cut Capone’s face three separate times. When Capone’s wounds healed, they left highly noticeable scars that were the basis of his new nickname Scarface. When Frankie Yale received news of Capone and Gallucio’s incident in the bar, the situation was not taken lightly. Yale forced Capone to apologize to Gallucio. Fortunately for Capone, Yale was a very violent man himself and accepted the apology (About). Frankie Yale showed Capone different ways to acquire business than Torrio’s teachings had. Yale coached Capone on how to prosper through brutality and force. Yale made money by loan sharking, prostitution, and offering protection for local businesses. The protection offered included damaging other businesses that offered the same services in order to increase the volume of sales, security, etc. It was at the age of 22 that Capone took a major step in the criminal community by being promoted to Johnny Torrio’s partner versus his employee. Capone who had once turned down offers to run brothels, was now partially in charge of running thousands. This was a large step in criminal corruption for Capone. As time went by it was known that Capone had complete intentions of taking over all of Chicago. Capone expanded his operations into a town outside of Chicago named Cicero. Al even brought his older brother Frank Capone into the operations to help manage brothels and gambling. When the government of Chicago found out about the violence that Capone’s operations were causing in Cicero, they sent out 79 unmarked police cars armed with officers bearing shotguns. When the police spotted Frank Capone walking down a side street they opened fire and ended Franks life. It was apparent that Al had led his brother down the path of corruption and paid for it dearly (Al Capone Museum). Such violence continued when a small time gangster was turned down for a loan by Capone’s best friend Jack Guzik. The man that was turned down assaulted Guzik striking rage in Capone. Al tracked the man down and shot him in the head while in full view of the people sitting at the bar. However the witnesses in the bar would not testify against Capone, knowing the power he yielded. Capone was becoming more powerful and violent. By this time the newspapers had made Capone out to be a horrible criminal. The violence went on as the power grew. Al would be responsible for more violent attacks and massacres including the notorious St. Valentines Day Massacre, thus sealing Al Capone’s fate as one of America’s most notorious criminal czars. Despite Capone being responsible for multiple murders and running an empire based solely on criminal activities, the question posed is whether or not Al had a good side to him. Growing up was proof that Al was raised in a wholesome environment with his father who worked hard and obeyed the law. His mother was very caring for her children and they had an overall close relationship. Growing up, Al worked normal jobs and was known for going straight home to his mother after work. Al attended school until the age of fourteen. At that specific time and location it was normal for Italians to leave school early and start working to help support their families (Wikipedia). It was in Chicago that Al Capone performed most of his good deeds. He had several speakeasies throughout Chicago that he preferred live music be played at. Al often hired African American jazz musicians to play at his clubs. He would go as far as to importing jazz musicians from southern states such as New Orleans to play at his clubs in Cicero and Chicago. By doing this Capone actually helped some of today’s famous jazz musicians obtain the fame they currently carry. He hired musicians such as Joe E. Lewis, Louis Armstong, and Fatty Arbuckle to play for his clubs and paid them very well to do so. Such actions spoke a lot about Capone’s characteristics, especially since most Italians during the time period were very reluctant about opening up to other cultures, particularly African Americans. Capone however was an exception. He was very open-minded and respected all cultures, never stereotyping or discriminating. This allowed Capone to generate even more business and became respected and liked by people of all cultures (Larsen, Rich). While Capone was living in Chicago one of his family members obtained illness from drinking expired milk. This did not sit well with Capone. He decided something needed to be done. Al Capone along with a couple of fellow gangsters opened a dairy named Meadowmoor Dairies. It was because of Capone that the Chicago City Counsel passed a law stating, the date when milk should be sold by was to be stamped in an area visible by the consumer. This law is current to date and has saved many people from drinking expired milk and acquiring possible illness (Unusual Guide To Chicago). Al Capone was responsible for opening up soup kitchens all over Chicago during one of the most troublesome times in history. These soup kitchens saved thousands of people from starving during the depression. Al Capone did not only open them, but he would go down to the soup kitchens and help serve the meals. These soup kitchens cost Capone thousands of dollars every day to keep running. It is said that Capone had a soft spot for people that were struggling (Larsen, Rich). Transporting liquor in major quantities all over the city is far more than one man can accomplish by himself. There needed to be people packing the liquor, transporting it, collecting money, etc. Capone had hundreds of employees working for him at any given time. Everyday working class citizens could work for Capone during the depression and make enough money to support a family. Capone was responsible for employing people when job opportunities were near impossible to find (Two-Gun Hart). The Saint Valentines Day Massacre without research appears to be Capone’s organization lashing out in violence over nothing but territory. However, leading up to the massacre there was a series of assassination attempts on Capone by the Bugs Moran’s gang that was gunned down on St. Valentines Day. One attempt in particular took place at a restaurant in Cicero. Capone was eating breakfast with his bodyguards when Bug’s men pulled outside of the restaurant and fired machine guns riddling the place with bullets. Innocent bystanders were injured and there was a large amount of damage to the restaurant. Capone made sure that the damage was fixed and that everyone injured were treated to the best medical care possible, all paid for by Capone. Although Capone was a criminal leader he did not like putting innocent people at risk. All of the attacks by the Capone organization showed that he went out of his way to make sure only his targets were injured and not innocent bystanders. Capone never killed without discernable, provoked motivation.
When Capone was sent to Alcatraz prison, he showed remorse for the things he had done. While attending a service at a chapel in Alcatraz, the pastor asked the inmates attending if any of them would like forgiveness for the things they have done. Capone stood up and pleaded for his forgiveness to the pastor. He was released from prison in November 1939. After falling deathly ill from syphilis, Capone decided to retire. Later during his retirement Capone started growing increasingly ill. Al had spent many of his final days praying and asking forgiveness (Larsen, Rich). Looking at the worse side of Al Capone, it is found that he was a drinker, gambler, had sex with prostitutes, killed people, was the head of a large criminal organization, and was responsible for adding corruption to an already corrupt city. He was good at what he did and because of that he became a rich and famous criminal czar. He is still one of the most well know criminals in American history. He is most remembered for his ability to take power and prosper with it through illegal acts. Looking at the better side of Al Capone, it is found that he grew up clean, worked hard for a living, took care of his family members, was a generous man, created employment opportunities during the depression, fed the homeless, and was culturally diverse. Capone saved many innocent people from starvation and from becoming homeless. His generosity helped the lives of thousands, and many people had great respect for him. While retired Capone became religious and hoped to receive forgiveness for his life of crime. On January 25, 1947 Alphonse Capone died in his Palm Beach mansion from bronchopneumonia (New York Times).
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