The winner of the worst
Al Capone was the most well known gangster of his time. He was surpassed by no one(although some people did rival him.) Al started young in the crime business and under the tutelage of his mafia boss, Johnny Torrio, he learned the way of the mafia and rose to power. He made his base of power in Chicago, growing into the biggest crime corporations ever known.
Early BeginningsAl Capone came into the world on January 17, 1899. He started his life of crime at a very young age. He was part of two "kid gangs" that had formed called the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors. He quit school during grade 6 at the age of 14 years old.
Start of his businessAl Capone needed to first learn how to do business before becoming a business leader himself. He showed his potential when he murdered two men in New York. Due to the etiquette of the gangland, Capone was never charged. Yale sent him to Chicago to wait for things to cool off. When he was there, he fell under the tutelage of John Torrio, and started learning the trade. Before long, he was Johnny's right hand man in taking care of the whole business.
Crime Boss CareerWhen Torrio decided to leave Chicago after being shot at by rival gang members, Al Capone stepped up to the plate and became the new crime boss. He proved himself as a better crime boss than Torrio, expanding the industry between 1925 and 1930. At his peak, he was earning a lucrative 100 million dollars a year. Corrupt Chicago Mayor William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, Jr. decided that ol' Capone was bad for his image and so hired a new police chief that drove out Capone from Chicago. Capone then went to Florida and bought his house there. However, he kept up his criminal dealings.
Malevolent yet benevolentEverybody knows the evil side of Al Capone. I mean, it is one of the only reasons you may know the guy! However, there is another side to him. He did some very nice things. They won't be enough to balance his evil deeds, but they still matter. He was the first one to open soup kitchens after the stock market crash of 1929. He also paid for clothes and goods for the needy. Also, while in Florida, Roddy Burdine, a highly respected member of Community Chest, a nonprofit agency that raises money for the poor, visited Capone and received a very generous donation from Capone, albeit it was returned later for some reason. Al Capone was not all good, but he was not all bad either.
HQ LocationCapone had headquarters in Chicago in the Four Deuces at 2222 S. Wabash, the Metropole Hotel at 2300 S. Michigan Avenue, and the Lexington Hotel at 2135 S. Michigan Avenue. He expanded into the suburbs, sometimes using terror as in Forest View, which became known as "Caponeville." (You think they can make a more unique name). Sometimes he simply bribed the people in charge along with the police as in Cicero. He established suburban headquarters in Cicero's Anton Hotel at 4835 W. 22nd Street and in the Hawthorne Hotel at 4823 22nd Street. He pretended to be an antique dealer and a doctor to hide his headquarters.
DownfallCapone fell due to one one of the most nonviolent charge possible:tax evasion. This is a guy who has done many horrible things and he is now being arrested for text evasion. He had to serve several; years in prison, which is when he stayed at Alcatraz. He started showing syphilitic dementia. while in prison. He died later on from pneumonia and was buried with his father and brother at Mount Carmel Cemetery.
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