The Mob

When most people think of the Mob they think

of Scar Face or moonshine runners, but the mob
existed long before these events. The American
Mob began with Italian immigrants that were
involved in not quite legal activities. Many people
believe that this helped to contribute to the antiimmigrant sentiments of the time. Before the
1920s the Mob was not necessarily taken very
seriously as they were not very large. But then on
January 16th 1920 everything changed, prohibition
went into effect and alcohol became the new gold
currency. Many street lords were quick to notice
and take advantage of this new source of income
and the Mob as we know it began to form.

Major Faces in the Mob

Al Capone
Think of the Mob what is the first
name that pops into your head. If it isnt Al Capone
then youre the odd one out. Al Capone is one of
the most if not the most iconic figure of the Mob.
Known as an extremely powerful nearly
untouchable crime lord Capone was often seen as
impossible to bring down. Capone in recent years
has been compared to a drama queen by several
historians, and this makes sense. During the

1920s everybody wanted fame and fortune so why

wouldnt Capone want the same
things. Many people have speculated
over time about how Capone may
have started his life of crime but no
one really knows on the other hand
how Capone became a crime boss we
do know. In his younger years Capone was involved
in many less than legal activities from bootlegging
to Prostitution, he started his big time criminal
career as second in command to Frank Torrio a
notorious crime boss and ruthless murderer known
to kill anyone who interfered in his operations,
eventually Torrio angered the wrong people and
decided to retire leaving his empire to Capone. One
of the acts Capone is most known for although
never officially linked to is the saint Valentines day
murder which resulted in the death of multiple men
at the hands of fake police officers. Capones reign
finally ended in 1931 when he was arrested for tax
evasion and imprisoned, two years later he died of
syphilis.

John Dillinger
No one man in the Mob was more
feared in his time than John Dillinger
he may not have had a network of men
under his control he may not have had
permanent territory but he was
ruthless and willing to do whatever he
had to be done to accomplish his goals and his
goals as far as most were concerned were to live
the most comfortable life he possibly could for as
long as he could. From a young age Dillinger was
shall we say at odds with the law and really any
kind of authority. In his younger years he was
arrested multiple times for petty crimes and
getting in bar fights but eventually he wised up and
began to plan out his heists, this gave him a great
deal of experience for later years. Eventually in his
later years he moved on to bank robbery with a
crew of other small time criminals looking to make
a name for themselves. In total Dillinger and his
crew robbed 18 banks four police stations and six
train stations making a total of over 350,000
dollars. In the end thats what made him one of the
most feared men alive.

Pretty Boy Floyd

Charles (Pretty Boy) Floyd was many
things. To a large portion of America he
was a ruthless bank robber, to the FBI
he was one of the most wanted men
alive, and to Oklahoma natives he was
a hero. We may never know who he
truly was but we do know that Floyd was definitely
connected to 25 bank robberies and was attributed
with over 60, Floyd himself killed 10 people
possibly more and his actions resulted in over 15
more deaths. In 1934 Charles Floyds long lasting
chase with the police ended in an apple orchard in
Ohio where he was shot and killed by pursuing
police officers.