Born: 1899
Died: January 25, 1947
AKA: “Scarface”
Like many of his associates, Al Capone rose from the ranks of poor street thugs to the upper level of Chicago’s underworld. As one of the nation’s most powerful mobsters, he seemed untouchable—until the government charged him with taxfraud as a means to put him in prison.
Born on January 17, 1899, Alphonse Capone was the fourth of nine children. His parents immigrated from Naples, Italy, and settled in New York. Raised in the tough Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Capone left school after the sixth grade after becoming involved in a fight with one of his teachers. He never returned to school.
At a young age, Capone became involved with small-time street criminals operating in his neighborhood. As a member of the James Street Gang, he became close friends with the gang’s leader, Johnny Torrio. The two remained lifelong friends, as did Capone and Lucky Luciano, who later became one of the most prominent criminals in the country.
Capone eventually graduated to the James Street mob’s senior gang, the Five Points gang. Still in his teens, he worked as a gunman for the notorious New York gang.
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