Top 10 Interesting Facts about AI Capone

Al Capone around 1935 by Wide World Photos, Chicago Bureau (Federal Bureau of Investigation)-Wikimedia

Top 10 Interesting Facts about AI Capone

Alphonse Gabriel Capone was a 20th-century American gangster and businessman, specifically between the years 1925 to 1929. His nickname was Scarface. AI Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in New York City. His parents were Italian Immigrants. Capone joined gang groups as early as when he was a teenager.

He moved to Chicago to serve Johnny Torrio, as a bodyguard in his young adulthood (the early twenties). AI Capone got to learn from Torrio the tactics to lead a criminal syndicate of illegal supply of alcohol with political protection for smooth running. Capone became the leader of the bootlegging business when Johnny retired.

He expanded the business through increasingly violent means that got him to prison. Capone in prison was diagnosed with syphilis that later severely damaged his brain and due to his ill health, he was released from prison. He died on January 25, 1947.

Get to know the gangster, AI Capone, in this; Top 10 Fascinating Facts about AI Capone:

1. Born and died in January

AI Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in New York City and died on January 25, 1947.

2. AI Capone hailed from New York, not Chicago

Photo of Young AI Capone with his mother-Wikimedia

Capone was known for heading a mob in Chicago. He, however, was born and spent his early years in Brooklyn, New York. Capone was born to Italian immigrants Gabriele Capone (father) who was a barber and Teresa Capone (mother) a seamstress. So, his life was not at all affluent which forced him to seek a better life any way he could, becoming a gangster.

3. Al Capone dropped out of school in sixth grade

AI Capone in his early school years showed no signs of criminal behavior. Capone hung around a bad crowd, which made him lose interest in academics, dropping out of school in sixth grade.

He showed violent behavior in an incident where he hit a female teacher in the face after she gave him a beating for misbehaving. The principal, upon hearing the case, gave Capone a second beating. He never showed up for school after that.

4. AI Capone joined gang life in his early years

Al Capone at Terminal Island in California photo by U.S. Federal prison officials-Wikimedia

Capone joined Manhattan’s Five Points, Gang, after dropping out of sixth grade. He was a member of several young gang groups like the James Street Boys and South Brooklyn Rippers. Capone was mainly involved in petty crimes while in these groups. But, while at it, he mastered the art and confidence of committing a crime and built networks that propelled him to become a notorious criminal.

5. The mob boss, AI Capone, was nicknamed Scarface

Scarface logo by Moi (logo crée)-Wikimedia

Capone had many nicknames, and Scarface is the most famous, given to him by the press. The name came from three noticeable scars on his face that he got while bartending at Harvard Inn. AI Capone made inappropriate remarks to a lady at Harvard Inn that angered her brother, who inflicted the scars on Capone.

Capone was attacked with a knife, targeted to stab his neck. The attacker, being drunk, missed Capone’s neck and slashed his cheek. He disliked the name and was embarrassed by it. Capone often attributed his face scars as being war wounds he got in France as a militant, which he never was.

Capone among his crime associates was Big AI(Fellow), to his friends he was Snorky(slang for spiffy) because of his sharp dress. The press dubbed Capone Scarface.

6. The mobster Al Capone was mentored by Johnny Torrio

AI Capone met Johnny Torrio while allied to the James Street Boys, forming a close connection. Capone worked for Torrio until he moved to Chicago in 1909 to work for Big Jim Colosimo. Johnny linked AI with Frankie Yale in 1917 who headed the Five Points gang. Yale offered Capone a bouncer and bartender position at his bar, Harvard Inn, where he got his scars from.

AI Capone was invited by Johnny Torrio to Chicago when he began to head the business left by Big Jim Colosimo after his suspected assassination, in 1920. Capone being at Torrio’s side gave him the experience of running illicit businesses which they considered a potentially fast-growth industry.

AI Capone and Johnny build a profitable business in bootlegging until Torrio left Capone to head the business. After surviving an attempted assassination by their rivals.

7. AI Capone, was a mob leader at 26 years

Al Capone in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Pennsylvania Department of Corrections / FBI-Wikimedia

AI Capone became the leader of the syndicate he ran alongside Jonny Torrio. This was after Torrio left Chicago, having survived a gunning down in January 1925 at his home in Illinois. Capone was Torrio’s key aid. So, 26-year-old Capone assumed power in place of Torrio.

8. AI Capone mob pulled as high as $100 million a year

Capone led a business that included all manner of illegal activities such as racketeering, gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging. AI Capone fascinated many including the press, with his sharp dress which gave the foundation of the picture to portray a mobster on screen.

AI argued that the majority of people in Chicago were into drinking and gambling. Thus, he offered them services they loved and for that, he was referred to as an illegal business operator. AI Capone’s syndicate in an estimate brought in $100 million on an annual basis

9. AI Capone was suspected to be the mastermind of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

The famous crime Massacre took place on February 14, 1929. When members of the Moran gang were shot in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Chicago. The Morans were seven, and they stood against a garage wall in a straight line as they were shot. AI Capone was suspected to be behind the killings as the Morans were a rival gang. But, Capone was never convicted for the case, rather it remained pending.

10. The mobster AI Capone, had a good side

Capone’s surprising act of humanity was witnessed during the great depression period. AI fed Chicagoans in hundreds in his soup kitchen. The majority of the people had lost their jobs and putting a meal on the table was impossible.

Check out this bonus point;

AI Capone’s conviction was for tax fraud

AI Capone was considered a notorious gangster. But was never convicted for the big crimes he was alleged to have committed. Capone’s imprisonment came after Eliot Ness’s expose of AI’s fraudulent businesses. 

Eliot, a federal agent, revealed Capone’s involvement in prohibition violations. They raided illegal breweries linked to Capone as well as his operational areas for the bootlegging business in Chicago. Capone was rather convicted of tax evasion for his businesses in 1931 which put him behind bars.

Eliot and his team were referred to as the untouchables as they declined to accept bribes. Eliot Ness’s memoir spawned a movie and TV Series. Ness served as director of public safety in Cleveland. He bid for mayor in 1947 and lost. Eliot in his final years was given to excessive drinking, and he died the same year the “untouchables” was published in 1957. Ness died in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, in 1957.

AI Capone while in prison was diagnosed with syphilis that advanced greatly and severely damaged his brain. Doctors claimed his brain damage was to the extent that his mental capacity was equal to a 12-year-old. After his release from prison in November 1939, Capone kept his life out of the public eye. He died on 25, January 1947 at 48 years.