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Lauren Wyland

Professor Riley

English 1201-1V3

7 March 2022

Within the Shadows

Crime. It comes in many forms and from many places. One popularized by the media is

in the form of the mafia. It’s a topic I’ve found interesting since my freshman year of high

school. I even did a presentation on the Sicilian mob. Ever since then, I’ve been interested to

learn more about how they operate, and the people involved—especially now since I’ve been

writing a show about it. I’m aware that crime is still considered a bad thing in our society—but

in this world there’s a balance between good and evil. I’m interested in covering parts of the

American mob, since that’s where my show takes place. There are always two sides of a story,

and each mob has their own way of running things. For this paper, looking into one of the most

well-known mob bosses—Al Capone—is just one example to consider. It will take part in

developing an opinion of the mafia (whether good or bad) through what he did during his time

alive, family life, and power.

According to the FBI website, Al Capone —also known as Scarface— was born in

Brooklyn, New York in 1899. In 1920, he joined Johnny Torrio in Chicago where he had

become a lieutenant in the Colosimo mob. This is also the same year he moved from New York

to Chicago. Here they found the Prohibition Amendment, illegal brewing, distilling and

distribution of beer and liquor to be major growth industries, so they took advantage of that—
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mostly due to the illegal liquor trade was run by amateurs there. Capone later became boss in

1925 when Torrio was badly injured during an assassination attempt. The FBI began

investigating him in 1929 due to his reluctance to appear before a federal grand jury in response

to a subpoena. Amongst other arrests, the largest conviction was of tax evasion and prohibition

charges in 1931. After serving his time for a little over seven years in the U.S. Penitentiary in

Atlanta and Alcatraz, he suffered from paresis derived from syphilis—so he went to a Baltimore

hospital after released. He then resided in the secluded area of his Florida home with his wife and

family until his death in 1947.

According to historian Tim Samuelson, Chicago was wide open for exploitation when

Capone took control. It was in the center of everything, had great transportation (lake, river,

railroads). Capone first targeted its red-light district—the Levee, which was located on the South

side of Chicago. Authorities typically turned a blind eye to this area because they thought a

growing city just needed these districts to grow and flourish. This left Capone to do pretty much

whatever he wanted. With the Colosimo mob, he supplied bootleg liquor and running protection

rackets (when mobsters/money gangsters “extort money from victims in exchange for freedom

from molestation” according to Collins dictionary). Afterwards he began taking control of

gambling and prostitution. He kept away form these affairs on the south side and focused on the

Green Mill Bar in Northern Chicago, which the syndicate took control of in 1920s. This bar only

served alcohol to people with a lot of class and money. For example, women had to wear a hat

and gloves while men were required to wear suits just to get in. This shows the kind of crowd

Capone preferred to associate himself with.

The alcohol sold at the Green Mill was either smuggled by Capone or produced in one of

his breweries. If he couldn’t sell enough, his men would threaten the owner to sell more. This
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method of doing things made Capone a lot of enemies during his time, this caused him to always

be on guard. The bar even had a secret passage for an escape route in case of a raid (which is still

there today). The route also could have likely been used to transport alcohol. Due to all these

factors, Capone was able to turn Chicago into big business for himself in just a couple of years.

He also managed to pay off city officials to continue to turn a blind eye to what he was doing.

Bill Thompson, Chicago’s mayor at the time, was one of them. The situation later changed in

1923 when he was voted out of office and replaced by William Dever, who was much stronger

with enforcing the law. This caused Capone to need to change his plans, which will be discussed

in more depth later in this research.

As mentioned before, Al Capone was arrested for only a few crimes despite being under

suspicion of many more. Amongst gambling and sex trafficking rings, there’s one crime that

hasn’t been completely solved to this day: the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929. It’s said

that “…seven members or associates of the “Bugs” Moran mob were machine-gunned against a

garage wall by rivals posing as police. The massacre was generally ascribed to the Capone mob,

although Al himself was in Florida.” (FBI) Throughout my research, the story mostly stays the

same with a source or two stating that Capone only claimed to be in Florida, such as the History

website suggests. It is unclear if he truly was in Florida at the time, but considering more sources

stated that he was, it may be safe to assume it’s true. The History documentary goes further into

depth of the massacre by explaining that that there were two men posing as cops—once the mob

members were lined up, two more men came in through a different entrance.

Despite his crimes, Capone did some acts of charity during his time alive as well. Both

the documentary from the History YouTube channel and separate History article mentions how

Al Capone ran a soup kitchen during the Great Depression. In the article titled “Mobster Al
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Capone Ran a Soup Kitchen During the Great Depression,” by Christopher Klein goes into more

detail about how the kitchen came about. One thing Klein mentions is, ““He couldn’t stand it to

see those poor devils starving, and nobody else seemed to be doing much, so the big boy decided

to do it himself,” a Capone associate told a Chicago newspaper.” This goes to show that even a

mobster can have their heart in the right place. Furthermore, in the History documentary, the

researchers managed to interview Deirdre Capone—Al Capone’s great-niece. They traveled to

South Chicago to visit the old family home that he once lived in. It’s said that in the span of

thirty years, four generations of Capone’s resided in this house. As they went through the house,

Deirdre recalled the purpose of the different rooms, from the small blue meeting room to Al’s

own bedroom. There were even large sums of cash stacks laying out in the open in a room that

she claimed was usually locked when she was little. After some time, the researchers asked if

Deirdre had any memories of the mobster. Her response was, “Oh, I’ve got lots of memories. He

taught me to sing. He taught me to play the mandolin. Bouncing on his knee. He was my family.

This was all my family. I felt safe here. Uncle Al was a good family man.”

Even though Capone was a rich man, his family home showed a small and modest living

space. But it’s said he also purchased an apartment on the other side of Chicago too. It’s rumored

that it was where he took his mistresses and a place to let go for him. The private parties there

were apparently filled with alcohol and cocaine. Mirrors lined the bedroom in a suggestive way

and so on. As described, even though he might have been known to some as a good family man

to some and sometimes did things for charity, there was still a darker side of him that was still a

criminal. Despite this though, when briefly interviewed for in 1926 he claimed, “I’m innocent.

I’m a gambler and businessman, but I’m not in the murder game, and I know nothing about any

bootlegging or beer running…In all my life I’ve never harmed a single man. I’ve never hurt a
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soul. When they came past my hotel three weeks ago and fired about 20 machine guns into the

front window a lot of innocent people were hit (this is regarding an assassination attempt) I’m

paying their doctors’ bills and for the damage done to cars that were parked in front of the

building.” (Newspapers) How much of what he said is true is unknown, but it gives a different

perspective of Al Capone as a person.

Al Capone’s power and intimidating nature played a large role in why he managed to be

successful. As discussed four paragraphs previously, Capone needed to flee alongside his

business in 1923 due to the election of a new mayor—William Dever. With him in charge,

Chicago authorities began to properly enforce prohibition. This caused Capone to take himself

and his business into the suburbs. He ended up going around five miles away from downtown to

Cicero. Since the area was so far off, it’s theorized that he was able to easily exert his power over

the area. What once was a quiet suburban area was soon turned into the largest gambling hotspot

west of Atlantic City. John Russick of the Chicago History Museum stated that the main reason

Capone chose this area was due to the fact he knew its officials could be bought. In other words,

the political system in Cicero was both weak and immensely corrupted. He turned the area into a

place where disputes were settled by shooting. In 1924 when elections were held, his men would

be stationed to intimidate voters with beatings, threats, and even repots of them being inside or

around the polling booths with guns drawn so they’d vote for who Capone wanted. In the end, he

was successful and able to have control over the entire town—able to do his business in full

public view.

The Hawthorne Hotel was the center of illegal business in Cicero and was the location of

Capone’s headquarters. Since he didn’t have the law to worry about, he had rival gangs instead.

This was such a concern that even being surrounded by armed guards wasn’t safe. As mentioned
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before, Capone narrowly missed being assassinated in 1926 while inside the hotel. Besides that,

though, he was able to control 250 premises from this hotel—it’s not wonder he had such a large

target on his back. But he wasn’t done. Once skyscrapers were being built in the heart of

Chicago, legitimate businesses were making more money than him. This made him want to

return to where he was before. In 1928, he paid $250,000 to make sure a favorable mayor would

be elected. Then he moved back to the downtown area to operate in plain sight yet again. He did

so by setting up headquarters in the Metropole Hotel, where he used 50 suites to do so. By 1928,

he was able to rent just about every single room. Due to the hotel being located at the center of

Chicago, it was apparent he wasn’t going to hide. The people in charge of the city tolerated him

if his criminal acts were kept out of sight (which led into the Valentine’s Massacre of 1929.

Refer to paragraph 5 for more information).

Due to the severity of the Massacre and how Capone was still suspected of being the

mastermind behind it, this shook Chicago to its core. This caused him to become the main public

enemy, and police no longer could turn a blind eye with the citizens in a frenzy of fear. Since no

one could ever for sure link him to the crime, they had to try a different method. This led to him

being persecuted for the tax evasion mentioned in the second paragraph. When convicted in

1931, he was ordered to spend 11 years in a federal penitentiary. He then filed an appeal and was

taken to the Cook County Jail—one of the largest maximum-security facilities in the United

States—to wait to hear what would become of him. He was also able to use his power and

influence on the outside to get favors on the inside. With this he was able to change his living

conditions from within the Cook County Jail by getting more space, special guests, and even able

to continue his operations from within jail walls. After being there for six months, he spent the

next seven years in different penitentiaries plus his time in Alcatraz. After his release, his mental
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and physical state had deteriorated greatly. According to the FBI website, in 1946 his physician

and a Baltimore psychiatrist both concluded Capone then had the mentality of a 12-year-old

child.

Overall, Al Capone has made an unforgettable impact on how many see mafias today,

especially in America. He managed to be successful and get his way through whatever tactic he

could think of. He became so powerful and rich to the point he managed to take over a small

town because he could easily do so. He had the resources and exploited the weakness of others.

His story has even inspired movies such as 1987’s The Untouchables and 2020’s Al Capone.

Despite his criminal acts, he also had a loving family of his own and was seen as a good family

man. Even though it’s possible there could have been ulterior motives, he still ran a soup kitchen

that helped people during the Great Depression and other nice things for the citizens around him.

There have been many other mob bosses throughout history, but not many can measure up to the

infamy of Capone. Good or bad, he is still an interesting individual to explore, and I will be

using this research to further develop my mafia show. Again, this information was never

intended to sway the opinion of the mob or Al Capone one way or another—but to merely

expand and delve a little deeper into the criminal underworld.

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Works Cited

"Al Capone | Federal Bureau of Investigation." Federal Bureau of

Investigation, www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/al-capone. Accessed March 6, 2022.

“Al Capone: The Bootlegging King: Read More about His Criminal Empire during Prohibition.”

The Mob Museum, 17 Apr. 2018, themobmuseum.org/notable_names/al-capone/. Accessed

March 6, 2022.

Hipango, Waata, Jr., et al. “Prohibition and the American Dream: An Analysis of the

Entrepreneurial Life and Times of Al Capone.” International Journal of Entrepreneurship and

Small Business, vol. 21, no. 1, Nov. 2013. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESB.2014.057912. Accessed March 6, 2022.

History.com Editors. (2009, November 9). St. Valentine's Day Massacre. History.com. Retrieved

March 20, 2022, from https://www.history.com/topics/crime/saint-valentines-day-massacre

Klein, Christopher. "Mobster Al Capone Ran a Soup Kitchen During the Great

Depression." HISTORY, 5 Apr. 2019, www.history.com/news/al-capone-great-

depression-soup-kitchen. Accessed March 6, 2022.

“Lost Worlds: Al Capone's Secret City of Chicago (S2, E10): Full Episode: History.” YouTube,

HISTORY, 15 July 2020, youtu.be/w5mHmjb0M2U. Accessed March 6, 2022.

“Protection Racket Definition and Meaning: Collins English Dictionary.” Protection Racket

Definition and Meaning | Collins English Dictionary, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd,

www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/protection-racket. Accessed May

""Scarface" Al Capone claims in interview that he is "innocent" and not in "the murder game" –
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Newspapers.com." Newspapers.com, www.newspapers.com/clip/23227483/scarface-al-capone-

claims-in/. Accessed March 6, 2022.