Between 1920 and 1921 there was a 24% rise in crime and a 78% rise in homicide. The 1920’s was the era of prohibition causing bootlegging to become a big crime, along with prostitution. Al Capone was one of the most prominent criminals during this time. He was guilty of crimes such as murder, hiring hit men, bootlegging and prostitution. Al Capone was by far the worst criminal in the 1920’s because of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and the Adonis Club Massacre. Being involved with a gang or leading one you come into contact with other criminals and gangs, and worked closely with colleagues. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was an unfortunate retaliation made by Al Capone and Jack McGurn. Bugs Muran was a rival along with the North Siders gang, …show more content…
Al Capone and Jack McGurn together made the decision to go against Muran together, after having to deal with situations made such as Muran attempting to kill Al Capone's associates and Jack McGurn himself. On February 14, 1929 Capone who was in Florida at the time checked into a hotel, and Jack was also away from the situation to look innocent when it was brought to light. This act was carried out by McGurns men, and a bootlegger. A bootlegger had gathered Bugs Moran and the gang into a garage to buy alcohol, The idea was to have the men outside in police uniforms with stolen police cars to fake a police raid. When the men believed they saw Muran they got into the cars and went to the garage. Once they entered the garage the bootlegger had believed they were caught and began lining up against the wall along with others involved. McGurn's men took the firearms from the bootleggers and began shooting, seven men were killed in cold blood that morning. However, at the end of this massacre the one person who was wanted dead the most by Al Capone and Jack Mcgurn had escaped, seeing the police cars before the even even transpired.
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.
They battled for years over their control of liquor in speakeasies and making more money than the other. Eventually, their rivalry inflated and 7 of Moran's men died by 5 of Capone's men dressed as police officers. Capone's men were armed with tommy guns and shotguns and the real police officers found 80 bullets on the ground in the garage. ”They crumpled and fell, shot thru by dozens of bullets. Frank Gusenberg(Morans Henchman) died in a hospital a short time later,
Although most of Capone's competition eventually gave-up (or were shot dead), Bugs Moran was still causing "Big Al" a great deal of trouble. As a result, Capone devised a plan to get rid of Moran, too. On the morning of St. Valentine's Day, 1929, Bugs Morgan was late for a meeting at his warehouse. Waiting for a shipment of whiskey, his men were already there.
Dylan Yoder Yoder 1 Ms. Hickam Reading and Writing 18 Dec. 2015 Al Capone Al Capone is one of America's most notorious gangsters. His life of crime started when he dropped out of sixth grade. He joined a notorious street gang. The mob he was in grew when probation started by selling beer and liquor. They also profited by buying businesses and joining unions.
Crime in the 1920’s In the 1920’s, a large group of gang members, more commonly known as gangsters took their chance to make as much money as possible and acquire as much respect and rank as they could so they would not have to worry about altercations with the police or other rival gangs. However, throughout their troubles in becoming wealthy and powerful they had to break the law on several occasions. Especially, when it came to making money, earning respect and becoming more powerful than other rival gangs.
Mellon had to gather enough evidence to prosecute Capone for Prohibition violence. After gathering enough evidence, the Treasury agents had to work with the U.S. Attorney to start prosecution of Capone and other gang members (Bradsley 20). On March 17, 1929, Capone was arrested in Philadelphia for carrying concealed weapons, and was prisoned until March 17, 1930. In 1931, the Internal Revenue Service’s Intelligence completed the investigation on Capone and began to trial him. The prosecution for Capone began in the early spring of 1931.
The fake police lined the seven victims along a wall without a struggle, then killing them with machine guns and shotguns. They did not actually get Bugs Moran. Photos of the bodies shocked the public, and the photos damaged Al Capone's reputation severely. And it took only a couple of days before he was sent into court. Al Capone was first sent to prison for carrying a gun in philidelphia, in Eastern State Penitentiary in Philidelphia, where he spent about nine months.
In the 1930’s, criminals were viewed inadequate from the public. The public’s perception on these inadequate criminals was that they wanted death penalties for them. Furthermore, the police prohibited people from drinking alcohol. Because of prohibition, organized crime has become terribly and extremely increased such as bank robbery, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and gambling. More than 12,000 murders were happening every year in America by 1926.
Nobody knew what Al Capone had planned. The climax of the feud happened on February, 14th 1929. Al Capone sent his men to the north side garage of Chicago where Morgan ran his bootlegging business. He had two of his four men dress like police and raid the garage. Capone's men lined up seven of Morgan’s men.
When people hear the name “Al Capone”, they usually don’t associate it with a hero. However, various acts carried out by the 1930’s mobster, such as opening soup kitchens for the poor, led some to call him a modern day Robin Hood. This being said, Al’s violent and illegal ways cannot be ignored, making Al Capone a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a person or character who has positive intentions, yet has a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall. Although Al Capone was born in rough conditions, and grew into the notorious mobster that he was, he also should be remembered for all of the good that he did for the world.
He would kill his enemies and friends. Even said, he also killed some of his employers. (Nash 78) The Conferees agreed that Capone would be arrested for carrying a gun and spend a year in jail after what had happened to Moran’s men. After this, Capone bought a whole floor of a hotel and practically took over that hotel on Michigan Avenue.
Capone was smart about how he appeared in the public and in media he always wore suits and pulled it off by acting like a respectable businessman. Capone had a secret bootlegging trail from Chicago to New York. This trail made Capone more money than he ever dreamed of. But during a one of the bootlegging runs McSwiggen got shot and killed by one of Capone’s henchmen. Nobody got convicted due to lack of evidence.
Capone knew of his and had lookouts across the street. One of them thought they saw Moran himself and told the other members who were nearby. They arrived in a police car and police uniforms and pretended to be raiding the warehouse. They “lined the seven men inside up against a brick wall, and then raked them with machine-gun fire and shotgun blasts” but to bystanders, with the men in uniform, it seemed like it was normal police action during an arrest (Morrow). He was never
Al Capone Al Capone, a mob boss. In 1920s the mob was at its peak. The mob made alcohol, had prostitutes and gambled during the prohibition. The prohibition was when the 18th amendment was passed, the 18th amendment banned alcohol in the United States. Capone was one of the more well known mob bosses.
In the year of 1920 the United States created a law that banned the importation, production and distribution of alcohol illegal. This law started a long 13 year period called prohibition. Prohibition created a new way of life for many Americans including an new era of gangsters and organized crime. This new time in America created a large group of gangs and mob bosses, the most renowned being Al Capone or “Scarface” as he is more commonly known as. Al Capone was one of the most known gangster of this time, he was most known for his associations with bootlegging.