Al Capone was one of the most notorious gangsters of the first half of the 20th century. Based mainly in Chicago, Capone made hundreds of millions of dollars in various illegal businesses such as bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, racketeering, and various other mob activities. Although also a philanthropist, Capone was a ruthless killer who believed in eliminating his competition. A true understanding of this crime czar’s career can be gained from studying his beginnings after sixth grade in New York, his relocation to Chicago, the growth of his empire, his arrests, and prison time, and his deathbed in Florida.
Beginnings
Mr. Capone started his career in violence at a very young age. In the middle of his sixth grade year, Al beat up his mathematics teacher (“Al Capone Biography”). His teacher had given him a C- on a test, and Al thought that he deserved a better grade (“Al Capone Biography”). Instead of talking to school officials, Al took matters into his own hands (“Al Capone Biography”). This ended his formal schooling, and
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A little more unorthodox perhaps, but a very effective way to learn the tricks of the trade, Al began to run errands for Giovanni “Johnny” Torrio (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Torrio gave Capone small jobs, and Capone received a small amount of pocket money as well as hands-on lessons about the gangster trade (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). Torrio was the lieutenant in the notorious Five Points Gang, and was Al Capone’s major mentor in the gangster business (“Al Capone Arrest Records”). As Al did more and more work for Torrio, Torrio began to trust Al more and more. Some of the other jobs that Torrio had Al do were bartending and bouncing at brothels, as well as running a smaller brothel (“Alcatraz Historical Society”). All of these businesses not only proved very lucrative, but also helped Al Capone to learn the finer points of being an early twentieth century