It was during the prohibition heyday that that Alphonse Gabriel Capone called popularly as Scarface is known to have led the Chicago Mafia Family. He started his obscure life as Brooklyn tough and later on became the most known American mobster of all time. He dealt in various illegal activities like Prostitution, gambling and illegal liquor during the 1920s and earned the distinction of being a violent person of the country.
A Mafia legend
On his orders, people in hundreds were murdered. Even after killing many with his own hands, he never got convicted of violent crime. However, he got imprisoned for tax evasion and by his release, he had become insane, while the organized crime world has passed by him. He is said to have died leaving a mayhem legacy, which according to historians is yet to get surpassed by anyone.
His early life
It was on 17th January 1899 in Brooklyn that he was born to Teresina and Gabriele Capone, Italian immigrants. His father was a barber, while mother sewed for a living. His two brothers joined him in bootlegging, but the third is known to have become federal agent.
His stepping into the criminal world
At the age of 14, he got expelled from school for hitting a teacher. He run small time gangs like Junior 40 Thieves and Bowery Boys and later on moved on to Five Points Gang, which at that time had full control over Lower Manhattan’s criminal activities. He was able impress a Brooklyn Billiards hall owner and criminal syndicate leader named Giovanni Torrio, popularly called ‘Papa Johnny’, involved in opium trafficking, prostitution and gambling.
He got hired as bartender in 1917 at Harvard Inn, which as Coney Island tavern that was owned by Frankie Yale, Torrio’s partner. It was at this place that Al had earned his nickname ‘Scarface’ due to an incident took place, where the brother of a woman to whom Al had passed lewd comments had cut him on the face’s left side three times.
During the prohibition period, Torrio took over the Chicago Outfit and had made Capone to rise in ranks. Both had developed a strong liquor business that centered more upon the Southern Side as well as Cicero, the neighboring town. Capone created a corrupt political system for backing him in his different ventures. With Torrio out of the way due to his decision to retire from the criminal scene after his involvement with O’ Banion and his failed assassination, Al Capone was given the reins of the Chicago Outfit.