1. Capone meets Lucky Luciano
Al Capone was born in Brooklyn and at a very young age he dropped out of school and ran the streets of Brooklyn with Lucky Luciano. The leader of the gang was Johnny Torrio who in the 1920s requested Capones help in Chicago.
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| Bugs Moran HQ where the massacre occurred |
2. St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Capone wanted to get control of Chicago’s north side which was run by Bugs Moran. Capone devised a plan where members of a gang that was associated with his family would pose as cops. Once they had Moran and several members of his gang held up, they would assassinate them. Capone had stationed lookouts across the street in a second-floor apartment. The only problem with Capone’s plan was that the lookouts had no idea what Bugs Moran looked like in person. Bugs Moran was a heavy-set man, not obese but he had a bit of fat on him, one of the men in his gang looked like him, Albert Weinshank. Capone’s lookout’s thought that he was Bugs Moran and they notified the gangsters posing as cops. The plan was set in motion and soon the fake cops arrived at Moran’s headquarters. The unsuspecting Moran gang believed that the cops were real, so they listened to all the commands given to them. The fake cops ordered the men inside the garage and made them face the wall. That morning Moran had overslept and when he was walking to his headquarters he saw Capone’s men dressed in police uniforms. Moran thought they were real Capone’s and he left the area. Machine gun fired erupted and at the end, 7 of Moran’s gang were assassinated, and unsuspecting bystanders believed that the fake cops were real cops, so nothing was done to attempt to stop the fleeing cops. Capone had managed to be away in Florida at the time, so this absolved him of the crime.
3. Capone sent to Prison
Al Capone was not sent to prison for his criminal activities, gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, bribery, narcotics trafficking, robbery, “protection” rackets, and murder. Capone was sent to prison because he failed to pay his federal taxes. A series of events led to Capone getting arrested and convicted. In February of 1929 Capone was subpoenaed to appear at a grand jury in Chicago. Capone and his attorney devised a plan where he had Broncho-pneumonia. The FBI got involved and found him at a horse track in Miami. Capone was cited for contempt of court. A couple of months later Capone was arrested in Philadelphia for carrying concealed weapons, he was given 1 year in prison. A year later he was released, and turned over to authorities in Chicago, he was given a 6-month sentence for the contempt of court charge. Treasury agents conducting their investigation into Capone’s enterprises eventually secured a conviction and a 11-year sentence, and 80000 dollars fine.
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| Capone mugshot before release from prison |
4. Capone becomes ill
Capone was sent to an Atlanta prison to do his time. Upon his arrival he was diagnosed with Syphilis and Gonorrhea. At the time there was no cure for Syphilis. Syphilis is what Capone would die of years later. Before Capone was paroled from prison he was wondering around the medical ward, confused and disoriented.
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| Chicago Mayor Bill Thompson, Capone helped with his election |
5. Capone and Politics
Al Capone and his outfit were able to operate in the City of Chicago the way the did because he had many politicians, and cops in his pockets. Capone financed the election of then Chicago Mayor Bill Thompson. Using this strategy, he Capone moved his operations over to Cicero, where he was able to do the same thing and install his own Mayor. Capone was a capitalist and a Machiavellian. He profited off the prohibition of alcohol and bought the Chicago government that protected his interests.
6. Capones Customized Car
Capone wanted to protect himself from drive bys and hit squads. Capone managed to get a car that was customized for protection. The car was a 1928 Cadillac with 3000 pounds of armor to include a bullet proof gas tank. Capone had the car colored to make it look like a cop car. The car could travel up to 120 milers per hours, it had bullet proof windows and it was equipped with a police siren. The Cadillac’s back window could drop for the sole purpose of returning fire. The cost of the car was a whopping 20000 dollars. In today’s dollars that would equate to 294,907.60.
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| Al Capone scar
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7. Capone Scar
Al Capone was not a fan of the infamous nickname given to him, Scarface. Capone received the car after getting slashed in the face because he insulted a woman at the Harvard Inn located at Coney Island in New York. The nickname was given to him by the media.
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| Al Capone Guilty verdict jury slip |
8. Jury that convicted Capone.
The Jury that convicted Al Capone was handpicked by the judge. The judge determined that most men drank therefore they needed to be picked. In those days’ women were not selected for jury duty. The judge determined that any man that drank would not convict a bootlegger especially during the prohibition era.
9. Capone was responsible for expiration dates on dairy products.
In the late 1920s, Capone feared that the end of prohibition would put a dent into his illegal rackets. Capone wanted to make money in a legit way. One of his relatives became ill after drinking bad milk. Capone saw the dairy business as a way of making money. Prohibition was coming to an end and Capone had many trucks that he used for alcohol deliveries. The trucks could easily be converted over to be used to deliver milk. Al Capone acquired a milk business, the Meadowmoor Dairies. Then Caponed lobbied the city of Chicago to pass an ordinance that would require expiration dates on bottles of milk.
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| Rago Brothers Funeral Home Chicago, IL |
10. Capone funeral arrangements
Al Capone died on January 25, 1947 and Sonny (Capone’s son) announced funeral arrangements to the press corps that was waiting outside of his Florida mansion. A hearse arrived at the home and took a casket away. The next day a funeral was held for Capone at Philbrick Funeral home in Miami, FL. Actor Desi Arnez paid his respects to Capone, although I am not sure of their relationship. After the Capone funeral in Miami his body was transported in a car to Chicago. On February 1, 1947 Capone’s body was buried at Mount Oliver Cemetery in Chicago’s south side. In 1952 his body was relocated to Mount Carmel Cemetery to be near his mother’s body. The burial site remains there to this day. Mount Carmel Cemetery is located in Hillside, Illinois.
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