Born to an immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York 1899, Al Capone was the most notorious gangster in Chicago (King, 1998). Al Capone had been raised in a wealthy family but had dropped at sixth grade to join gangs and other criminal activities. In 1921 he joined the Big Jim Colosimo criminal organization based in Chicago. The hang was led by Johnny Torrio. The organization rose after the implementation of the Prohibition Amendment, involving itself in prohibited brewing, distilling, and supply of beer and liquor, which at the time were viewed as "growth industries." After a brief period bootlegging, the group developed an interest in a genuine business in the cleaning and dying field where they established a close relationship with public officials, employee association, and labor unions. In 1925, Torrio was critically wounded in a botched assassination, that made him surrender from the criminal world, retiring to Brooklyn (King, 1998). Al Capone who had created a terrifying reputation in the cold-blooded gang rivalries would later succeed Torrio.
Al Capone reign at the helm of the organization was characterized by shootings and bitter engagements with rival groups. The wars were a result of a struggle between them to retain control to several areas of Chicago. Opposing gangs were often eliminated or invalidated brutally. The Cicero region of Chicago fell under the control of the Al Capone gang. Al Capone was known for his indulgence in custom suits, gourmet food, and drinks as well as a string of female companions. He was described as being flamboyant and mostly wore costly jewelry. With time he had established an intricate network of political alliances. He even had a direct influence on election mostly through intimidation and bribery. In Chicago politics, he was credited for Republican William Thompson victories in the 1927 mayoral race (King, 1998). To sum it up, Al Capone had cultivated a mafia around the gang and the city, involving himself in the criminal underworld and influencing the politics and law enforcement in the city.
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Al Capone downfall would begin with the St Valentine’s Day Massacre on February 14, 1928, where seven members loyal to the “Bugs” Moran gang were mercilessly shot against a garage wall by rival pretending to be police (King, 1998). The bloodbath was blamed on the Al Capone’s gang although at the time he was in Florida. Investigations on him were initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after he failed to appear in court feigning illness. Later on, he was charged for possessing a hidden weapon and was penalized to a prison term of one year after entering a guilty plea.
After his release, he was arrested on vagrancy charges when on a visit to the Miami Beach. The period that followed, he was involved in legal engagement with local authorities. The final blow on Al Capone came after he was arrested on the grounds of tax evasion. The years preceding his arrest, mob figures had been arrested and convicted on tax evasion with requiring hard evidence since they publicly led a lavish lifestyle and never filed tax returns. On such figure was Manley Sullivan, a South Carolina bootlegger. In 1932, Al Capone was tried and convicted eleven years in federal prison.
Before the Great Depression of the 1930s, the American Dream was at the heart of most people. The era is associated with having created some of the richest people in America, such as the Rockefeller and Ford. During this time, the view of the American Dream was that an individual could succeed in life irrespective of family history or social status. Al Capone's dream was to become wealthy and powerful. Though justified, he represented the class of people who sought the American dream any way they could, even if it meant through organized crime. With a large influx of immigrant also seeking the American Dream, Al Capone took advantage of them by banding them together under him to form a gang (Hipango, Smith, & Dana, 2014). These mostly ended in brothels, liquor, gambling and extortion rackets.
The involvement of Al Capone into organized criminality can also be viewed as reassuring the value of entrepreneurial endeavor by realizing independence as embodied in the American Dream. As captured by Fitzgerald (2003) in the “Great Gatsby” novel, illegal businesses offered the most available chances for realizing financial accomplishment and even some level of social recognition. Crime offered a hastened route to riches for the immigrants and for those native American joining the underworld of crime (Hipango, 2014). The Al Capone case has had a huge cultural and economic impact on American society. For example, a law passed during this time, and one that saw Al Capone arrested and convicted, argued that illegal money is taxable. The consequence is that the public tolerates illegal gambling with some viewing it as a legitimate business practice.
Al Capone was later transferred to the Alcatraz, a maximum security prison for the most notorious on allegations he was being favored in the former prison. After suffering from syphilis and developing mental breakdown, he was released after only seven years. He retired to his home on Palm Island where he succumbed to stroke and Pneumonia on January 25, 1947.
References
Fitzgerald, F. S., (2003). The Great Gatsby . New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Hipango, W., Smith, R., & Dana, L. P. (2014). Prohibition and the American Dream: an analysis of the entrepreneurial life and times of Al Capone. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business , 21 (1), 1. doi:10.1504/ijesb.2014.057912
King, D. C., (1998). Al Capone and the Roaring Twenties . Michigan, MI: Blackbirch Press.
