The American Mafia

Alphonse Capone
1899 to Jan. 25, 1947.
"Snorky," "Scarface"

Capone was a brutal Neapolitan mobster who became a powerful force in the American Mafia.

Though he served as one of the architects of the nationwide criminal Syndicate, Capone never earned full acceptance by his Sicilian associates and, as a result, never completely controlled the underworld of his adopted Chicago.

Capone grew up in the Five Points Gang, which in the 1900s stretched from its original Manhattan domain into Capone's Brooklyn neighborhood. He was a fearsome enforcer for Five Points leader Johnny Torrio.

When Torrio later established himself in Jim Colosimo's Chicago vice rackets, Torrio and Frank Yale of Brooklyn arranged for Capone to make the move west in 1919.

Capone quickly rose to the top of the Colosimo-Torrio crime empire, which thanks to Torrio and Capone, included bootleg liquor among its enterprises. Torrio narrowly escaped death on Jan. 24, 1925, and retired, leaving the gang to Capone.

Al Capone's desire to control all of Chicago, including the local branch of the exclusively Sicilian Unione Siciliane, and his utter brutality ensured that the city's underworld was in a near constant state of warfare from 1925 to 1930.

His tinkering with the Unione appears to have caused a falling out with his old mentor, Yale. (Some believe Yale - a non-Sicilian - was nevertheless the national president of the Unione.) Yale also began hijacking his own shipments of imported liquor bound for Capone.

When Yale was murdered in 1928, Capone was initially not suspected. But weapons on the scene were linked to some subsequent hits set up by the Chicago gangster.

Capone is widely believed to have been responsible for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (FBI file) of rival gangsters in February 1929 and a horrific triple-murder in May of that year which put an end to a rebellious Sicilian conspiracy within his organization.

The bloodletting drew the attention of New York Mafiosi (who were likely far more upset by Capone's dispatching of prominent Sicilians and his meddling in the business of the Unione than they were for the Valentine's Day murders). At a mid-May conference of the nation's larger bootleggers in Atlantic City, Capone was scolded. He was reportedly ordered to allow himself to be arrested in Pennsylvania on a weapons charge. He remained in prison until the public outcry over his actions had died down.

When he emerged from prison, Capone found the nation's Mafia groups preparing for war and aligned himself with the faction led by New York's Giuseppe Masseria. As his part in the Castellammarese War, Capone sent regular financial contributions to Masseria and eliminated Castellammarese ally Joe Aiello in September of 1930.

Capone saw his New York ally destroyed by Charlie Luciano's treachery in April of 1931. But the Chicago gang leader hosted the crowning of opposing Mafia general Salvatore Maranzano as the new boss of bosses in order to heal the old wounds.

Luciano then disposed of Maranzano in September 1931. Capone quickly arranged another underworld convention. But Luciano refused the boss of bosses title and instead welcomed Capone and other Americanized Mafiosi into a new national Syndicate.

Capone would have only about a month to enjoy the new underworld order. His trial for tax evasion began in October. On Nov. 24, 1931, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison, in addition to more than a quarter million dollars in taxes, interest and fines. In jail, an existing case of syphilis began to eat away at his mind and body. He served about seven and a half years of his sentence.

He emerged from prison on Nov. 16, 1939, virtually incapacitated and was never again involved in underworld affairs. He retired to Palm Island, Florida, and died on Jan. 25, 1947. The causes of death were listed as stroke and pneumonia.

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