Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone

1. Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone

2. Background • Born in Brooklyn January 17, 1989 • 8 siblings • Parents were Italian immigrants • Father was a barber and mother was a seamstress • Attended a strict parochial Catholic school • Expelled from school at age 14 for hitting a female teacher in the face • Worked at candy store and bowling alley

3. Background (cont.) • Was influenced by gangster Johnny Torrio at a young age which led to his affiliation with small gangs including the Junior Forty Thieves and the Bowery Boys • Then he joined the Brooklyn Rippers and then the more powerful Five Points Gang based in Lower Manhattan

4. Crimes • First crime committed was when he was 14 he struck a female teacher in the face which led to his expulsion from school • First arrest however, was a disorderly conduct charge while he was in the Five Points Gang • Murdered two men while in New York • Gang etiquette meant no one admitted to hearing or seeing a thing so Capone was never tried for the murders • He hospitalized a rival gang member then gang leader, Frankie Yale, sent him to Chicago so things could cool off Disorderly Conduct- Unruly behavior constituting a minor offense

5. Crimes (cont.) • Capone started to work for his old mentor, Johnny Torrio and he became a bootlegger • When Johnny was shot and left Chicago, Capone took over the outfit and gained control of speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries at a reported income of $100,000,000 a year • Corrupt Chicago mayor William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson did dirty business with Capone • Capone planned the St Valentine’s Day Massacre which took place on February 14, 1929 killing 7 members of a rival gang

6. Most recent crime • On March 13, 1931, a federal grand jury met secretly on the government's claim that in 1924 Al Capone had a tax liability of $32,488.81 • Capone was later charged with twenty-two counts of tax evasion, totaling over $200,000 • The judge sentenced him to eleven years, $50,000 in fines and court costs of another $30,000 • His bail was denied

7. Evidence • IRS and Police had accounting records from a raid on Hawthorne Hotel • The accounting records were the only evidence found. This is why it took so long to finally arrest Al Capone

8. Quotes/Nickname • “This American system of ours, call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you will, gives each and every one of us a great opportunity if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it.” • “You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.” • Got the nickname “Scarface” after being attacked by Frank Galluciogetting three slashes to the face • In photos, Capone hid the scarred left side of his face saying the injuries were war wounds

9. Cool Facts • He was the first to open soup kitchens after the 1929 stock market crash and he ordered merchants to give clothes and food to the needy at his expense • Baptized with the name “Alphonsus Capone” • Capone’s specially-outfitted, bullet-proof Cadillac was seized by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1932 and later used by the government as Franklin Roosevelt’s limousine • Capone’s drink of choice was Templeton Rye whiskey from Templeton, Iowa

10. Sociological Theory The Differential Association Theory is the best sociological theory to describe Al Capone’s criminal acts. Al Capone was influenced by criminals like Johnny Torrio when he was just a young boy. He grew up being exposed to gang life and many different crimes. If Capone wasn’t influenced by Torrio he might not have become such a notorious gangster. When Capone started in small gangs, he did small crimes like disorderly conduct. He then kept moving up in the ladder to more powerful gangs. The entire time he was in each gang he was influenced by the other gang members and the gang leaders. He learned the ways of the gangs and how to do each crime without getting caught. In the more powerful gangs he did more serious crimes like murder. He also became a bootlegger with his old mentor Torrio. Here the things that Torrio taught him came into play and he became one of Torrios’ best bootleggers. In conclusion, Al Capone’s behavior is best classified under the Differential Association Theory.

11. Rehabilitated or Punished? • If Al Capone was still alive today, I believe he should be punished. He was a bootlegger, he murdered people, owned speakeasies, committed tax evasion, and he did many other crimes. The crimes that he did were very serious and are unforgiveable. If someone did these crimes in todays society they could possibly be given the death penalty. If he were alive today, he should face the consequences of his actions and be given life in prison and very high fines.