Al Capone's Life And Accomplishments

Al Capone was a master of his craft. A well known creator of mischief, he was a major name during the time of the Great Depression. He was known for bootlegging alcohol and stirring up crime. Al Capone would leave a legend to live on for years. Alphonse “Al” Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, NY (Al Capone). His father, named Gabriel Capone, was a barber. Teresina Capone, his mother, was a seamstress (History.com Staff). They immigrated from Italy when Gabriel was twenty-eight and Teresina was twenty-three (Schoenburg, 17). Al had a large family, being one of nine children (seven boys and two girls). Their names that they went by in America were James (or Jimmy), Ralph, Frank, John, Albert, Matthew, Rose, and Mafalda (May).

As mentioned earlier, he was suspended from his school at age fourteen and never returned, not even for college. Around the time he was expelled, he met Johnny Torrio, a key figure in his life. He joined Johnny’s group, James Street Boys. He eventually moved up to the Five Points Gang. One time, a young hoodlum struck Al across the left cheek with either a knife or a razor. This earned him the nickname “Scarface” (Al Capone). He was usually always in criminal action except for a brief gap of time after his marriage to Mae Coughlin when he was nineteen. This was just a short time after the birth of their son, Albert Francis. Al wanted to be a good example as a father, so he took a job as a bookkeeper in Baltimore. His father’s death in 1920 is what got him back into crime. Johnny Torrio came back into the picture and invited Al to join him in Chicago . Al gladly accepted the offer (History.com Staff). Johnny’s boss somehow died (there are rumors that Al or Frankie Yale may have killed him), and Johnny became boss. Johnny then retired in 1925, and Al was now the boss. Al was into many criminal actions: gambling, and prostitution included. He also took down his rivals and rival gangs to expand his territory. Al Capone was a rising name (Al

He was extremely famous for bootlegging. He actually made 60 million dollars every year by selling illegal liquor. He caused a ruckus in the 1924 mayoral election in Cicero. Johnny Torrio and Al had moved to Cicero because of the election of a new mayor in Chicago who wanted to remove corruption from the city. Now, for the election in Cicero, Al and Johnny were going to do whatever was necessary to have their candidate elected. On March 31, they took action. Some voters were killed from being shot. In 1926, he caused another commotion. Two of his enemies had been spotted in Cicero, and he ordered both them both to be shot. William McSwiggin, a man who had attempted to prosecute Al for a previous murder, was with these men, and he was killed along with them. One of the most famous events he was involved in was the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. At the time, Al was leading the trade of illegal liquor in Chicago, but there were some other contenders. One of them was “Bugs” Moran. In the past, Bugs had tried killing both Johnny and Al in the past, and he was now after a crucial member of Al’s group, “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn. Al and Jack made the decision to kill Bugs. Seven of Bugs’s men were assassinated on February 14, 1929 by Jack’s gunmen, who were posing as police. Bugs actually escaped what was supposed to be his assassination. Even though Al was actually at his home in Miami while this occurred, the