Al Capone example essay topic

Alphonse 'Scar Face' Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899, to an immigrant family. He was born with type O blood. People supposedly born with O type blood tend to have the drive to succeed in leadership quality. They are strong, certain, and powerful, as will be seen later. However Al Capones leadership was taken to the extreme. (4 Blood Types, 4 Diets Eat Right 4 Your Type) Certainly many Italian immigrants like immigrants of all nationalities, frequently came to the new world with very few assets.

Many were peasants escaping lack of opportunity in rural Italy. When they came to America they ended up as laborers, because they could not speak or write English. This was not the case with Capones family. Gabrielle Capone, Alponse's father was one of 43,000 Italians who arrived in the United States in 1894. He was a barber by trade and could read and write his native language.

He was from the village of Castell mare Distabia, sixteen miles south of Naples. (Encyclopedia Of World Crime) Gabrielle who was thirty years old when he arrived in America brought with him his pregnant twenty seven year old wife Teresina, his two year old son Vincenzo and his infant son Raffaele. Along with thousands of other Italians, the Capone family moved to Brooklyn near the Brooklyn navy yard. (Encyclopedia Of World Crime) Gabrielle's ability to read and write allowed him to get a job in a grocery store, until he was able to open his own barber shop. Teresa in spite of a growing bunch of boys, took in sewing piece work to add to the family helpings. Her third son Salvatore was born in 1895.

Her fourth son and first to be born in the new world was born on January 17, 1899. His name was Alponse. The Capones were a quiet, conventional family. Laurence Bell green says 'The mother... kept to herself'. Her husband Don Gabrielle made more of an impression (Blood Letters and Bad Men). Nothing about the Capone family was inherently disturbed.

The children and parents were close, there was no apparent mental disability, and no traumatic event. In May of 1906, Gabrielle became an American citizen. Within the family his children would always be known by their Italian names. Shortly after Al was born, Gabrielle moved the family to a better area in an apartment over his barber shop at 69 Park Avenue in Brooklyn. Moving into a broader ethnic universe allowed Al to escape the insularity of the solidly Italian neighborhood. There is not a question that exposure would help him as the head of criminal empire.

(The Mafia Encyclopedia) At the age of five in 1904, he went to public school on seven Adams street. Educational prospects for Italian children were very poor. The school system was deeply prejudice against them and did not encourage a higher education, However, Al did quite well in school until the sixth grade when his steady record of B's deteriorated rapidly. At fourteen, he lost his temper at the teacher; she hit him and he hit her back. He was expelled and never went to school again. About this time his family moved from their house on Navy street to 21 Garfield Place.

This move had a huge influence on Capone, because he would later meet his wife Mae and gangster Johnny Torrio there. A few blocks away from Al's house was the headquarters of one of the most successful gangsters on the East coast. Johnny Torrio was a new breed of gangsters, among other members were Lucky Luciano. (Compton's New Century Encyclopedia) Torrio was physically small, learning early in life on the street that brains, ingenuity and the ability to make alliances were critical to survival.

Torrio was a role model for many boys in the community. Capone, like many other boys his age, earned pocket money by running errands for Johnny Torrio. Capone himself belonged to many gangs such as the South Brooklyn Rippers and then later the Forty Thieves Juniors and the Five Point Juniors. About 1920, at Torrio's invitation, Capone joined Torrio in Chicago where he had become an influential lieutenant in the Colosimo mob. Torrio soon succeeded to full leadership of the gang with the violent demise of big Jim Colosimo, and Capone gained experience and expertise as his strong right arm. In 1925, Capone became the boss when Torrio, seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, surrendered control and retired to Brooklyn.

Capone had built a fearsome reputation in the ruthless gang rivalries of the period. The area of Cicero became a head quarters of the Capone mob. Perhaps the St. Valentines Day massacre of February 14, 1929, might be regarded as the culminating violence of the Chicago gang era. As seven members of associates of the 'Bugs' Moran mob were machine gunned to a garage wall by Capone's men, Capone himself was in Florida. On requests of the United States attorneys office, bureau of investigation agents obtained statements to the effect that Capone attended race tracks in the Miami area, he made a plane trip to Bimini and a cruise to Nassau. (Blood Letters and Bad Men) Capone appeared before the federal grand jury in Chicago on March 20, 1929, and completed his testimony on March 27.

As he left court he was arrested for contempt of court, Which was a year in prison and a one thousand dollar fine. He posted five thousand bond and was released. On May 17, 1929, Al Capone and his body guard were arrested in Philadelphia for carrying concealed weapons. Within sixteen hours they had been sentenced to terms of one year in prison each. Capone served his time and was released in nine months for good behavior on March 17, 1930. On February 28, 1936, Capone was found guilty in federal court on the contempt of court charge.

He was then sentenced to serve six months in the Cook County jail. His appeal on that charge was subsequently dismissed. Meanwhile, the United States Treasury Department had been developing evidence on tax evasion charges. In addition to Al Capone, his brother Ralph 'Bottles' Capone, Jake 'Greasy Thumb' Guziak, Frank Nitti and other mobsters were subjects of tax evasion charges. On June 16, 1931, Al Capone pled guilty to tax evasion and prohibition charges.

He then boasted to the press that he had struck for a two-and-one-half year sentence. But the presiding judge informed him he, the judge, was not bound by any deal. Capone then changed his plea to not guilty. (Crimes and Punishment) On October 18, 1931, Capone was convicted after trial, and on November 24, was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison. He was fined fifty thousand dollars and charged seven thousand six hundred and ninety two dollars for court costs. In addition to two hundred and fifteen thousand plus interest due back on taxes.

The six month contempt of court sentence was to be served concurrently. While awaiting results of appeals, Capone was confined to the Cook County jail. Upon denial of appeals, he entered the United States penitentiary at Atlanta, serving his sentence there at Alcatraz. Following his release, he never publicly returned to Chicago. He had become mentally ill. In 1946, his physician and a Baltimore psychiatrist concluded that he had the mentality of a twelve year old child.

Capone resided on Palm Island with his wife and immediate family, in a secluded atmosphere, until his death due to a stroke and pneumonia on January 25, 1947. In conclusion, Al Capone was a very strong, powerful, and deadly man which was seen in many of the cases stated. Al Capone influenced people back then and he will continue to influence people forever.