Alphonse Gabriel Capone (abt. 1899 - 1947)

Born about 17 Jan 1899 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Josephine (Coughlin) Capone — married 30 Dec 1918 in New York, United States

Died 25 Jan 1947 at about age 48 in Palm Island, Dade, Florida, United States

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Biography

Al Capone is Notable.

Al "Scarface" Capone was a notorious gangster during the heyday of bootlegging and prohibition. ^{[1] [2]}

The Beginning

His parents, Gabriele Capone and Teresina Raiola, were immigrants from Italy. ^[3]

The official birth of Alphonse Gabriel Capone was on 17 Jan 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. ^{[3] [1] [4]} However on the 1900 Census of Brooklyn, NY he was recorded with his family 2 years old and born in May 1898. ^[5]

Al and his mother

Al was a dissident from an early age and was kicked out of the Catholic schools. ^[1] Growing up, his mentor was Johnny Torrio, a gangster. ^{[3] [1]} At the time of the draft for World War I, Al was working as a paper cutter for United Paper Box Co. in Brooklyn, NY .^[4] He was 5'7" tall, medium build, with grey eyes and dark brown hair.^[4] He hadn't yet acquired his legendary scar. ^[4]

Al Capone married on 30 Dec 1918 in New York to Mary Mae Josephine Coughlin. ^{[3] [6]} Mae, an Irish gal, worked as a sales clerk in a neighborhood department store. ^{[citation needed]} Their son, Albert "Sonny" Francis Capone, was born 04 Dec 1918. ^[3]

Supposedly Al's grand niece, Mae Coughlin was not Sonny's biological mother. Al had a relationship with a young woman who died in or shortly after childbirth, and Al's mother Theresa, "arranged" the marriage between Mae and Al, with the understanding that Mae would raise Sonny as her own. ^[7] Mae reportedly couldn't have children, so she agreed and raised and loved Sonny as her own. ^[7] The infant contracted syphilis from his mother, and dealt with the side effects his entire life. ^{[7] [3]}

Wanting to go straight for his family's sake, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland with Mae and Sonny, and worked as a bookkeeper. ^[6] Following the death of his father, though, he answered Torrio's call and headed for Chicago, Illinois. ^[6]

Following their move to Illinois, Al lived with his wife Mae and son in a large home in Chicago Heights. ^[6] When Al's father died in 1923, the rest of his family moved to Chicago, Illinois to be closer and lived in a house provided by Al. ^[6]

The Chicago Capone home

He also owned Capone Estate at 93 Palm Island in Biscayne Bay near Miami, Florida which he had purchased in 1928. ^[2]

Al loved baseball and frequently attended games.^{[citation needed]}

Scarface

Al worked as a bartender at the Harvard Inn in New York City. ^[2] One night a man named Frank Gallucco came in with his sister and Al made an "unfavorable comment" about her. ^[2] Frank pulled out a pocket knife and slashed Al's face, leaving him with a permanent scar, four inches long across the left cheek, the origin of his nickname "Scarface". ^[1]

He began his life of crime in Brooklyn with Tarrio's Five Points Gang. ^{[3] [1]}

About 1921 Al moved to Chicago, Illinois to work for Johnny Torrio, a "gentleman gangster" with specific ideas and codes of honor concerning his business enterprises. ^{[3] [1]} He was famous for being a numbers racketeer but did keep a good income from prostitution coming in on the side. ^[3] Al became the head of the "Chicago Outfit", a crime syndicate during the Prohibition era, focusing on illegal alcohol, following Torrio's retirement in 1925. ^[1] On the record, he stated he sold used furniture. ^{[citation needed]}

St. Valentine's and Alcatraz

Al Capone's plan to wipe out "Bugs" Moran went wrong at the St.Valentine's Day Massacre on 14 Feb 1929. ^{[3] [1]} It brought too much attention to the gangster and gave Eliott Ness what he needed to finally nab Capone. ^{[3] [1]} Eliott Ness was more than an aggravation to Capone, always busting up distilleries and stopping Capone's gang from making deliveries. ^{[3] [1]}

Al's Philadelphia Prison Cell

Federal charges in June 1931 involved income tax evasion for which he was convicted. ^{[3] [1]} There were twenty-two counts of tax evasion for a sum of over $2,000. ^[1] First sent to an Atlanta, Georgia Federal Prison, then after to California and the infamous Alcatraz Prison. ^{[3] [1]} On 16 Nov 1939 Al Capone was released after having served seven years, six months and fifteen days, and having paid all fines and back taxes. ^{[3] [1]} He returned to his villa in Miami, Florida to live with Mae and Sonny. ^{[8] [1]}

The End

Al Capone died on 25 Jan 1947 at his home in Miami, Florida of apoplexy and bronchopneumonia brought on by untreated syphilis. ^{[3] [9]} He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois ^{[3][10] [3] [1]} and reburied in March 1953 at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois, USA.^[11][12]

• Fact: Also Known As Al Capone
• Fact: Christening (7 February 1899) St. Michael St. Edward, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States of America
• Fact: Residence (1900) Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
• Fact: Residence (1910) Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States
• Fact: Incarceration (22 August 1934) Crime: Income Tax Evasion (Inmate No. 85) Alcatraz, San Francisco, California, United States
• Fact: Military Draft Registration (14 February 1942) Miami Beach, Dade, Florida, United States
• Fact: Burial (3 February 1947) Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery, Hillside, Proviso Township, Cook, Illinois, United States
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch ALPHONSE GABRIEL "AL" CAPONE

Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently also became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities, such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early 1920s to 1931.

Born in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City to Italian immigrants, Capone became involved with gang activity at a young age after having been expelled from school at age 14. In his early twenties, he moved to Chicago to take advantage of a new opportunity to make money smuggling illegal alcoholic beverages into the city during Prohibition. He also engaged in various other criminal activities, including bribery of government figures and prostitution.

Despite his illegitimate occupation, Capone became a highly visible public figure. He made donations to various charitable endeavors using the money he made from his activities, and was viewed by many to be a "modern-day Robin Hood". Capone's public reputation was damaged in the wake of his supposed involvement in the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, when seven rival gang members were executed.

Capone was convicted on federal charges of tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to federal prison; he was released on parole in 1939. His incarceration included a term at the then-new Alcatraz federal prison. In the final years of Capone's life, he suffered mental and physical deterioration due to late-stage neurosyphilis, which he had contracted in his youth. On January 25, 1947, he died from cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.

"Al kept his wife, mother, and son at the family home in Chicago, but also kept this apartment building at 1600 Austin Blvd., in Cicero, as a crash pad for late night parties. Not far from his Cicero business headquarters, this unassuming home was protected by a heavy steel door (which appears to have been replaced -- see below), a 8 foot backyard fence, underground escape tunnels, and two or more bodyguards prowling the grounds at all times.

The block is one of the most well-kept in Cicero, but the current owners seem to have purposely allowed the shrubbery to obscure the entry and windows."--https://chicagocrimescenes.blogspot.com/2008/10/al-capones-cicero-hangout.html

--- Life Summary:

--nickname "Scarface Al" --son of Gabriele Francesco Saverio Capone and Teresina Raiola --father immigrated from Angri, Salerno, Campania, Italy --crime boss in Chicago for 7 years --1918 married Mary Josephine Coughlin in Brooklyn, NY; 2 children --1931 sentenced to federal prison at age 33 --1939 paroled --1947 died age 48 after stroke and cardiac arrest

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16} Al Capone at Biography.com, accessed 28 Sep 2017.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Wikipedia Contributors, Al Capone accessed 28 Sep 2017.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17} "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVJ1-B13K : 13 Dec 2015) citing memorial#2845, Find a Grave; for Alphonse Capone, d: 1947; buried: Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA; Find A Grave: Memorial #2845 & Find A Grave: Memorial #170
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXY6-PB8 : 12 Dec 2014), citing National Archives and Records Administration in Washington DC; NARA#M1509; FHL#1754393; for Alphonse Capone, 1917-1918; res: #48, New York City, New York, USA.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSFK-MBZ : accessed 13 Aug 2017) citing National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC, 1972; NARA#T623; FHL#1241050; ed#159, sheet#5A, family#96; for Alfonsa Capone in household of Gabriele Capone, res: Election District #7, Borough of Brooklyn, Ward#11, New York City, Kings County, New York, USA.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} Al Capone on History.com, accessed 28 Sep 2017.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Capone, Deirdre Marie, "Uncle Al-the Untold Story from Inside His Family", Recap publishing 2012.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VTH8-QSW : accessed 18 Aug 2017) citing Records of the Bureau of the Census 1790-2007; National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC, 2012; USA Census#16; RG#29; NARA#T627; roll#581; ed#13-42A, sheet#2A, line#28, family#42, for Alphonso Capone, res: Election Precinct #31, Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, USA.
9. ↑

   Death Certificate

10. ↑ "Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago, Cemetery Records 1864-1989" database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2HJ-4YPJ : 31 Oct 2016) citing FHL#1,613,260; for Alphonse Capone, d: 04 Feb 1947; buried: Mount Olivet, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA.
11. ↑ "BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QKNK-LZ3N : 8 Oct 2015), Alphonse Gabriel Capone, died 25 Jan 1947; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), buried: Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, USA.
12. ↑ "Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago, Cemetery Records, 1864-1989," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2HF-XNGJ : 11 March 2018), Alphonse Capone, 30 Mar 1953; citing Hillside, Cook, Illinois, United States, Hillside, Cook, Illinois, United States,Mount Carmel, Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,487,390.

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 26 January 2024, 01:52), entry for Alphonse Gabriel Capone (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:L55Y-ZWG ); contributed by various users.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q80048, en:Wikipedia
• FBI. "Alphonse Capone." vault.fbi.gov. Accessed 10 Apr 2016. https://vault.fbi.gov/Al%20Capone
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS2R-HVD : accessed 28 Sep 2017) citing National Archives and Records Administration in Washington DC, 2002), NARA#T626; roll#427; FHL#2340162; ed#336, sheet#6B, line#68, family#95, for Mary Capone in household of Theresa Capone, res: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA.