St. Valentine Research Paper

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (and More) Capone’s public popularity began to fade after he became associated with extreme violence. Perhaps the most infamous crimes he is suspected of being in charge of is the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, where he hired men to gun down rival gang member, Bugs Moran. Of the seven men killed that day, however, Moran was not one of them, as it was rumored that he had sensed the ambush and escaped before anyone else realized what was happening (“Al Capone,” FBI.gov). The police immediately knew who had staged this gang-inspired massacre, however, Capone was in Florida at the time, yet again making it nearly impossible for the local law enforcement to acquire evidence that would prove his involvement

After this event he began to keep a much lower profile, attempting to stay out of the media as much as possible, but it has been noted that he engaged in at least one more destructive act of violence before he abstained for good. Suspecting that two of his peers had betrayed them, he invited them over to dinner before he brutally beat them to death with a baseball bat (“Al Capone,” Biography.com). The most interesting aspect of this event from a psychological standpoint is not the fact that he killed two men, but it was how he did. Observing an age old tradition, he gave the men a great feast and pretended to be great friends with them before murdering them. This gives the researcher a look into the mind of Capone, as he could have just as easily had the men shot while walking down the street, or in any other creative way that he could think of. However, by inviting them over to dinner, he was able to have power over the two of them, and just when the two men thought that they were probably all friends, Capone betrayed them. In Capone’s mind, this was an act of revenge, as the men had betrayed him, and it was also a way to send a message out to the rest of his business relationships. This all shows that Capone was not only ruthless and intelligent, but also power hungry who could not stand to have his pride stepped