Alphonse Capone: Gangster

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Born in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, Alphonse Capone achieved the American dream and so much more through the organized crime world, but with a life's career built on illegal acts, he still held together a family. Capone is the son of two Italian immigrant parents who came to America seeking a better life for themselves and their eight children. Capone was born into this world when America was in a severely fragile stage. With WWI’s aftermath and the great depression, it was not a time for a middle class person to become a multimillionaire, yet Alphonse cracked the code and did just that. It was evident from a young age that this man was made to be a dominant gangster. Al Capone may have been the most prominent gangster ever, but he was not…show more content…
A common misconception people think is that Capone was found guilty of murder after the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. When Capone’s long time rival, “Bugs” Moran, tries to have him killed, Capone sends his number one hitman “Machine Gun” Jack Mcgurn after him. On February 14, 1929, Machine Gun and his men facade as police and kill seven of Moran’s men. Moran barely escaped the danger and the real police could prove nothing against Capone or his men. After this event, the federal government was hot on Capone’s tail. A ruling by the Supreme Court in 1927 stated that income earned on illegal activities was taxable. “On orders from President Herbert Hoover to nail Capone, the federal government built a case against the crime boss for income-tax fraud, and in June 1931, he was indicted on charges of tax evasion” (3). Capone had a sentence of 11 years at a federal prison in Atlanta until he was caught trying to bribe guards. Because of his bribery attempts, Capone’s new home would be a federal prison, Alcatraz. “The maximum-security prison, intended to hold criminals who were especially violent or had other disciplinary problems, had received its first contingent of federal inmates earlier that August. Because Capone wasn’t a troublemaker while locked up in Atlanta, he likely was sent to Alcatraz as a way for the government to generate publicity for its tough, new facility” (1). Being sent to Alcatraz completely cut off his ties with the gang world he had based his life around. It was in Alcatraz that Capone’s health took a turn for the worse. At a young age capone contracted syphilis, while in prison he developed dementia. His health was so bad, after serving 6 years in prison, Capone was transferred to a mental hospital in Baltimore. He was slowly dying in the hospital when he was released and lived with his wife until he died at the age of 48 of

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