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How Did Al Capone Cause Crime

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Ratified on January 16, 1919, the 18th amendment outlawed the transportation, sale, and manufacture of alcohol in the United States. The goal of prohibition was to lower crime rates. Conversely, it caused crime rates to skyrocket. Speakeasies, illegal bars, popped up all over the nation. One of the most famous men to run these clubs was Alphonse Capone. Al Capone was one of the most successful and influential gangsters in US history. Al Capone created a multi-million dollar empire of crime in Chicago, altered the face of crime, and managed to be a family man simultaneously. Alphonse Capone was born on January 17, 1899, into an Italian immigrant family living in a tenement in Brooklyn, New York. Al Capone is unique in that he was not …show more content…

Young Capone is known to have served in two “Kid Gangs”, the South Brooklyn Rippers and Forty Thieves Juniors. Kid gangs are groups of delinquent children known for vandalism and petty crime which were relatively common in New York at the time. Eventually, Alphonse joined the James Street Boys gang (“Al Capone, Organized Crime”). Which was lead by Johnny Torrio at the time (“Al Capone.” FBI). After Torrio was seriously wounded during an assassination attempt, Capone took over, allowing Torrio to retire to Brooklyn. Al, along with the James Street Boys, gambled, ran prostitution rings, and bootleg rackets. He broadened his power by gunning down rivals. Although, it is unknown how many people that Al has killed. There was never any evidence to convict him. ("Al Capone, Organized …show more content…

Al’s involvement in organized crime increased the crime rate, the very thing that the prohibition laws were created to lower. Consequently, these laws were repealed. Alphonse Capone was one of the most legendary mobsters in history. He created a multi-million dollar empire of crime in Chicago who altered the face of crime.

Works Cited:
“Al Capone, Organized Crime.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 3 Jan. 2018, www.biography.com/people/al-capone-9237536. “Al Capone.” FBI, FBI, 20 July 2016, www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/al-capone.

Capone, Alphonse. Letter to Albert "Sonny" Capone. N.d. MS. Alcatraz, California.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Al Capone.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 16 Oct. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Al-Capone.

Westrich,Jacque L.,Hodgins, W.C.,Clagett, H.N. (1931). IRS.gov,

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