The Rise Of Al Capone Essay Research

The Rise Of Al Capone Essay, Research Paper

History Written Assignment:The Rise Of Al Capone

Al Capone is definitely one of the most ruthless and notorious crime czars of all time. He was a self made man and earned millions upon millions of dollars illegally, whether it is through bootlegging or gambling joints and many more ways. Al’s father Gabriele was one of the 43,000 Italians who arrived in the U.S in 1894. He brought along his wife Teresina, his 2 year old son Vincenzo and his infant son Raffalelle. He moved into a small neighbourhood in Brooklyn to settle down. Teresina gave birth to her third son in the New World, Salvatore in 1895, then on January 17, 1899 Alphonse (Al) was born. Later children born were Amadeo, Ermino, Umberto, Matthew, Nicholas, Rose and Mafalda. ” The Capone’s were a quiet, conventional family.” (Bergeen)

At the age of in 1904, the young Al went to public school; educational prospects for Italian children were very poor. Al did quite well in school until the sixth grade when his steady record of B’s deteriorated rapidly. At 14, he lost his temper at a teacher, she hit him and he decided to hit her back. He was expelled and never went to school again. ” About this time his family moved from their place on Navy Street to 21 Garfield Place.”

(Schoenberg) This move would have a lasting impact on Capone because in this new neighbourhood he would meet the people who would have the most impact on his future: his wife Mae and the gangster Johnny Torrio.

A few blocks away from the Capone house on Garfield, was a small building that was the headquarters of one of the most successful gangsters on the East Coast. ” Johnny Torrio was a new breed of gangster, a pioneer in the development of a modern criminal enterprise.” (Schoenberg) From Torrio, young Capone learned valuable lessons that were the foundation of the criminal empire later built in Chicago. ” He was a role model for many boys in the community. Capone like many other boys his age were running errands for Johhny Torrio. Over time, Torrio came to trust young Al and gave him more to do. In the meantime Al learned by observing the wealthy and respected racketeer and the people in his organization.” (Bergeen) In 1909, Torrio moved to Chicago and Al fell under other influences. Kids growing up in Brooklyn ran in gangs of all different races. ” Capone was a tough scrappy kid and belonged to the South Brooklyn Rippers and then later to the Forty Thieves Juniors and Five Point juniors.” (Kobler) He still lived at home and did what he was expected to do when he quit school which was go to school and help support the family. For about 6 years he worked at boring jobs at munitions factories and then as a paper cutter. ” He was a good boy, well behaved and sociable” (Bergeen) Then Al met Frankie Yale who was the opposite of the peaceful Torrio, Yale built his turf on muscle and aggression, and was both feared and respected. Yale opened up a bar on Coney Island called the Harvard Inn and on the recommendation of Torrio hired 18 year old Al Capone to be a bartender.

Capone’s job at the Harvard Inn was to be the bartender and bouncer and, when necessary, to wait on tables. In his first year, Capone became popular with his boss and the customers. Then his luck turned suddenly when he waited on the table of a young couple. The girl was beautiful and the young Capone was entranced. He leaned over her and said, “Honey, you have a nice ass and I mean that as a compliment.” The man with her was her brother Frank Gallucio. He jumped to his feet and punched Al. Capone flew into a rage and Gallucio pulled out a knife to defend himself. He cut Capone’s face three times before he grabbed his sister and ran out of the place. While the wounds healed well, the long ugly scars would haunt him forever. Al’s insult caused a bit of an uproar. Gallucio went to Lucky Luciano with anger and Luciano went to Frankie Yale. Yale made Capone apologize for the incident. ” Capone learned a valuable lesson from this experience, which was to restrain his temper when it was necessary.” (Shcoenberg)

“Yale took Capone under his wing and impressed upon the younger man how business can be built up through brutality. Yale was resourceful and violent man who prospered by strong-arm tactics.”(Schoenberg) At the age of 19, Al met a pretty blond Irish girl named Mae Couglin, who was 2 years older then he was. Albert Francis Capone was born on December 4, 1918. The couple married shortly after and Johnny Torrio became the godfather of the baby. Sonny (Capone’s son’s nickname) seemed ok at birth, he was in fact the victim of congenital syphilis. Year’s later Al confessed to doctors that he had been infected before he was married, but he believed that the infection had gone away. With a wife and a baby to support, Al focused on a legitimate career. He stopped working for Frankie Yale and moved to Baltimore where he worked as bookkeeper for Peter Aiello’s construction firm. Al did very well. He was smart and was very reliable. When Al’s father died November 14, 1920 his life took a turn for the worse. He resumed his relationship with Johnny Torrio, who had during theyears expanded his racketeering empire to Chicago. Torrio beckoned from Chicago and early in 1921 Al accepted.

“When Al Capone came to the city in 1920, the flesh trade was becoming the province of organized crime. The kingpin of this