“Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness, I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not how you’ll remember me!”Said by Al Capone. Capone is known to be one of America’s most famous gangsters in the prohibition era. His crimes are still much known in today’s time like the “St. Valentine’s day Massacre”. Al Capone was arrested for tax evasion and not for the many of crimes he was suspected of committing like murders and bootlegging.
Besides most other gangsters Al Capone was born into a poor Italy immigrant family. His father was a well respected Italian barber. After getting expelled at the age of 14 for hitting a female teacher he never went back to school (http://www.biography.com/people/al-capone-9237536#early-life). Even though he never finished the sixth grade Al Capone was very intelligent and by the age twenty-six he was running Chicago’s criminal underworld. He began his career under the wing of criminal boss Johnny Torrio
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It was hard to find investigators to work the case, because a lot of police officers would take bribes from Al Capone and his gang to stay quit, many were afraid for their lives and the safety of their families. Thanks to Elliot Ness, The Untouchables, Bureau of Revenue, investigator Frank Wilson, and a federal judge James Wilkerson, was the reason for the conviction of Al Capone. To convict Capone they needed an inside job the only one who took it was Eddie O’Hare giving information to the government for two years and later was gun down by two men (Linder). Another agent pretended to be a gangster from Philadelphia to get inside information from Capone’s men named Michael Malone (www.myalcaponemuseum.com).The United States government decided to go with the tax charges because they felt that tax evasion would stick better than prohibition violations
He came in with a smile as he looked at the jury while wearing a mustard colored suit, then arrived Judge Wilkerson who asked the bailiff to trade jurors with Judge Edwards. Capone was unsettled after realizing what Wilkerson did and it made him nervous. The trial lasted from October 5 to October 17. When it came to the Final Decision Capone was founded guilty for failed tax return from 1924-1929. Wilkerson sentenced him with eleven years in jail, which was the longest sentencing for tax evasion.
Despite the severity of this illegal activity Capone tried to pay off the Chicago police but couldn't pay off the U.S Treasury Department which led to Capones arrest. As stated in (Go.galegroup.comAlCaponetaxevasion). “Capone was Indicted for federal income tax evasion in June 1931, he was convicted in October. Capone received a sentence of eleven years in prison, first served in Atlanta and then at Alcatraz, the notorious prison in San Francisco bay.” although the risk for gambling and bootlegging was high Capone still managed to make millions in todays money and the result of his criminal reign was that he was sentenced eleven years in prison because he failed to report his earnings to the U.S Treasury Department, and if he did they would more than likely want an explanation as to where all of the money he illegally earned came from, and this is eventually what got him caught and thrown in
Despite all of the crime Capone was implicated in, there was no evidence that would allow law enforcement to make a serious charge stick. They decided if they couldn’t get him on a charge such as murder, they would have to find something else. Since Capone did not report his illegally acquired earnings to the IRS they decided they could put him away for tax evasion. In prison he was able to complete his job of sewing soles onto shoes, but it was evident from the letters he sent from prison that his mentation was deteriorating. Capone was eventually moved to Alcatraz island.
Later Torrio left the gang and now Capone was in charge, he was more organized than Torrio in the gang. After, he got involved with the St. Valentine's day massacre killing the Moran’s gang members to destroy the Moran’s gang. Later was in jail from a tax evasion from hundred million dollars was a evaded. These were the reasons why Al Capone was a villain and was a criminal in the U.S. Al Capone was born in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York as an immigrant.
Then the case went to trail (the court). Capone was found guilty of five charges, this was three felonies (crimes) and two misdemeanours (smaller crimes or bad deed). Capone got sentenced to pay a fine of 50 thousands dollars, and he also was sentenced to 11 years in jail. No one had ever got sentenced to worst punishment for tax
To this day, Chicago has a huge problem with gang violence, which may have even started because of Capone business. The crime rate today might not be as high if Capone was not as successful as he had been. He also helped the public realize alcohol and criminality were not appropriate solutions to social problems. Because of Capone, the FBI was established as an efficient and low-abiding enforcement agency. While Capone could bribe politicians and Chicago’s police, the FBI held a level of honesty that no one can live up to, even now.
From being in a courthouse multiple times and getting off scot-free, to finally getting nailed and put away for some time. Finally, Capone had fallen, and he wasn’t getting back up from this one. Despite the belief by some that Al Capone was kind hearted, in reality, he was the leading gangster during the Prohibition Era in Chicago. Showing no mercy to those who
The 20’s hit American history in many ways. Ranging from harmless flappers to dangerous mobsters and gang violence. During this time period, Al Capone was the master of selling illegal drugs, controlling brothels, and tax evasion conviction. Born in 1899, Alphonse Capone’s family migrated from Italy to the city of Brooklyn. Growing up, his family was extremely poor.
With good reason for at one point in time he had a 50,000-dollar bounty on his head (Pasley 6). Eventually, the federal government got involved and took matters into their own hands and got the president involved. Almost every day, they say that president Hoover would ask his secretary of treasury, Andrew Mellon, if they had caught that Capone fellow.
The final time Capone went down the court prosecuted him to the furthest extent the law would allow. The U.S. treasury themselves led
Public Enemy No. 1 Jordyn Pressley 3rd Block Alphonse Capone is probably a name that rings a bell for most of you. He was a brutal gang leader who lived in the 1900’s Chicago scene. Yet despite all of his heinous crimes, he still managed to slip under the radar of the police force for a long time. The people of “The Windy City” actually liked him and looked up to him, trusting him to help them in the times of prohibition and especially the Great Depression. Capone was a wolf in sheep's clothing who knew how to cover his tracks.
During the 1920’s gang related crime was a serious issue. The leader of all this violence and corruption was a man named Al “Scarface” Capone (“Al Capone”). This organized crime, dehumanization, and corruption, became the ultimate image of Chicago for people throughout the world. He was largely immersed in things like gambling, prostitution, and the illegal sale of liquor. He was not convicted for any of his crimes, even the St. Valentine's Day massacre of 1929, until he was imprisoned for tax evasion (Horan).
Sounds pretty low-key correct? False. Al Capone was one of the most involved mafia leaders during the Prohibition Era. What charges should he have faced? Bootlegging, extortion, and murder.
Capone was the most powerful gangster of his time, a very smart one. Capone is in many ways like Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, they both are smart and know how to not get caught in there illegal business. Jay was involved in the bootlegging business for a short time, he owned a drug store where the illegal drinks were sold by his trusted business partner Meyer Wolfshiem. Capone established himself in Chicago, he rose to notoriety. Capone wasn’t known to the public as a scary gangster but a “ Robin Hood of his time” he would regularly donate to charity and other organizations.
He started his bootleg business very young, he started to build up his business to become more successful This did cause some of his men to die or get injured very bad. Al Capone and his men did not cooperate with the police. But they did not care Al Capone was the best man there was in there eyes. They also did not want to get on his bad side. If they did they were destined to die.