Research Paper On Al Capone

Who was Al Capone? Alphonse Capone, who became known as “Scarface” was born in January 1899. His parents, along with two brothers immigrated from Italy in 1894. He rose to notoriety as the leader of the Chicago mafia during the Prohibition era. He had a personal fortune estimated at 100 million dollars as the head of the infamous crime syndicate. Al was sent to prison in 1934 for tax evasion. He was a significant figure in the mafia, becoming one of, if not “the” most famous mob boss in America. In June 1894, Gabriele Capone and his family boarded a ship to the United States. With them they brought two sons, Vincenzo and Raffaele (Bergreen 5). Teresa was expecting their third child, Salvatore. The children adopted American names;

“He was a quick learner who spoke fluent English and was a good student, routinely earning the equivalent of B grades. He was especially quick with numbers and figures, but he was far more expert at playing hooky and seldom went to school long enough to demonstrate his natural ability. He always said he learned much more about life by being in the streets. He thrived there because he knew instinctively how to adapt to whatever he encountered. In school there were so many rules and regulations that created frustrating situations in which he often found himself unable to control his behavior” (Bair

In his lifetime, he only endorsed one check and he never had a bank account in his own name. He dealt exclusively in cash. After the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, he was charged with contempt for failing to appear in a Chicago court for questioning. Since the contempt citation was issued by a federal court, the FBI became involved in investigating Capone’s activities. This led to inquiries into his business practice with authorities building a paper trail. The also tracked down witnesses that could testify about his crimes. The FBI along with the Treasury Department and the IRS worked together to dig up enough dirt on Al Capone to convict him on tax evasion (Clark). In June 1931 Capone was indicted for federal income tax evasion. In October he was tried, found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison along with fines and court costs (Britannica.com). Al was sent to an Atlanta penitentiary in May 1932 and was transferred to the new Alcatraz prison in 1934. After serving only seven years in jail, Capone was released in 1939 suffering from “the general deterioration of paresis (a late state of syphilis)” (Britannica.com). He was examined by his physician and a psychiatrist and both concluded that Capone had a mentality of a twelve year old child (fbi.gov). After his release he never returned to Chicago; now, a powerless recluse, he resided on Palm Island with his family until his death in January