Al Capone - a True American Hero

Al Capone was one of the greatest American gangsters in history. "Even though he was unbelievable smart, he dropped out of school, he dropped out of school at age 14 in the 6 Th. grade. (Kobler, John. Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone.) He got involved with crime at a very early age, and he never failed to stir up trouble. Between working 3 jobs and being in a gang, Capon had much worse problems to deal with. Problems like shelter when nighttime came. He later graduated to the notorious Five Points Gang in Manhattan where he ended up working at the "Yale's Brooklyn Dive', with another gangster named Frankie Yale. (Schoenberg, Robert J. Mr. Capone: The Real-and Complete). He also worked at the Harvard Inn as a bartender and bouncer. It was there he received his nickname "Scare Face" His infamous facial scars were received when he got into a brawl with a patron's brother. Cappone ended up meeting his future wife and mother to his child in 1918. He Mary "Mae" Coughlin at a dance on December 4, 1918. Then (Alsop, Kenneth. The Bootleggers). Cappone's and Mae got married that year and his first son was born. One thing about Cappone was that no matter the crime he always had an alibi. Cappone also had his own famous killing style. This involved his men renting an apartment across the street from the home of the victim and shooting im when he came out. Cappone's first arrest was a disorderly conduct charge while he was working for Yale. He murdered a lot of men in NYC because of gangster etiquette "no one ever saw a thing". Cappone's combination of physical strength and intelligence encouraged his protege. (Nash, J. Blood Letter and Bad Men). Soon Cappone was helping another gangster who went my Torio; He helped mange his bootlegging business. Cappone's most notorious killing was the St. Valentines Massacre (Bowettiger, John. Lake Jingle: Chicago on the Spot) On February 4th 1929 four of Cappone's men entered a garage at 2122 North Clark Street. Because two of Cappone's men were dressed like policemen the victims put their hands up, dropped their weapons and were immediately shot. Cappone's men fired over 150 shots into those men. Cappone eventually got nailed for not paying his taxes and the judge that heard his case sent him to prison. He had earlier tried to bribe the jury but "the judge had changed the entire box at the last moment."