NBA LABEL
AL CAPONE

Al Capone

(Chicago 1927)

In 1927, Al Capone, the most famous gangster in history, was making a fortune from his criminal activities. In that year alone his income was $105 million (the average law-abiding US citizen in 1927 was taking home just $2,400 a year in pay). Capone's ill-gotten gains came from the protection business, gambling, brothels and the illegal liquor trade.

AL (short for Alphonse) Capone had been a juvenile delinquent and gained his "Scarface" nickname after he was slashed across the cheek while working as a nightclub bouncer. The small-time thug traded up to become the head of a huge villainous organisation, believed to be responsible for at least 300 murders. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, in which 7 members of a rival gang were lined up against a garage wall and gunned down, is probably the most notorious and bloody killing attributable to Capone's reign of terror in 1920s Chicago.

Unlike the usual criminal, Capone encouraged publicity, and was keen to see his name and picture in the newspapers. This self-publicist adopted a flamboyant style of dressing which included lime-green suits and brilliantly-coloured silk ties. Even Capone's gangland thugs had their own trademark - a grey felt hat with a black silk band.

Capone employed a range of tactics - from murder to bribery - to silence anyone who could testify against him to the police. In 1929 the Justice Department formed a special ten-man squad under the leadership of Eliot Ness. Ness himself survived three assassination attempts and the crime-busting squad became famous as "The Untouchables".

But it was Capone's huge illegal earnings that led to his downfall. Indicted for tax-evasion, Capone initially pleaded guilty in the hope of a short sentence. The Judge refused to agree to a brief imprisonment and Capone chose to go to trial. He was acquitted on some counts but convicted on others. He still expected a short sentence - he was jailed for 11 years. Capone's reign of terror was over.



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