From the son of Italian immigrants to America’s most notorious criminal: Al Capone died 75 years ago. But his inglorious legend lives on to this day – and earns his descendants money.
San Francisco – That the notorious mafia boss was a physical and mental wreck by the end of his life doesn’t dent his reputation. Even 75 years after the death of Al Capone, there is still a lot of money to be made with the gangster icon.
Only a few days after his 48th birthday, the man with nicknames like “Scarface” (scar face) or “Public Enemy No. 1” died on January 25, 1947. The death certificate listed pneumonia and a stroke as the cause of death. Long-term syphilis had added to the criminal king. The FBI, citing doctors at the time, notes that Al Capone’s last mental state was that of a 12-year-old child.
Profitable business
But the fascination with the name Al Capone continues. An auction of over 170 items from his estate last October raised over $3 million. Capone’s favorite pistol – a Colt M1911 – had been estimated at $150,000, but an anonymous bidder ended up paying over a million for the gun.
Also auctioned were family photos, jewelry, his marriage bed and a handwritten letter to his only child, son Sonny. “Here is your dear father, who loves you with all his heart…” he wrote in 1939 from his cell in the notorious Alcatraz prison. At the auction in Sacramento, California, the three-page letter went under the hammer for more than $56,000.
Three surviving Capone granddaughters had parted with personal belongings, including a diamond-encrusted matchbox. He was “particularly fond of them,” said granddaughter Diane Patricia Capone in a video published by the auction house.
He always used the matches to light his cigars. “He rarely held a cigar in his hands.” Capone also had another side that most people would not know. She remembers him as a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Merciless underworld boss
The more well-known side of the man, on the other hand, is less endearing. The son of Italian immigrants, born in New York in 1899, was considered one of the most notorious criminals in the USA in the 1920s and 1930s. As a teenager, he came into contact with organized crime in Chicago and rose to become the boss of the underworld. Capone and his henchmen have been credited with murder, extortion, bribery, and alcohol smuggling. Prohibition, the ban on alcohol at the time, made Capone rich and powerful.
The bloody “Valentine’s Day massacre” is also said to be on his account. With the assassination attempt in Chicago in 1929 he wanted to eliminate a rival gang. Seven men died in the hail of bullets.
But the authorities could not convict Capone for years. The declared “Public Enemy No. 1” bought the protection of corrupt politicians, judges and police officers with bribes. Publicly, he liked to present himself as a benefactor, businessman and good family man – until a sensational lawsuit about unpaid taxes became a stumbling block.
In prison for tax evasion
In October 1931, after nine hours of jury deliberation, Capone was found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced to a maximum of eleven years in prison.
In May 1932 he began his sentence in the state penitentiary in Atlanta, two years later he was transferred to the notorious prison island of Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. When he was released early in 1939, he needed nursing care. Syphilis had attacked his brain and his health had deteriorated drastically in prison.
Capone, who had been married to Mae Capone of Irish descent since 1918, moved to their house near Miami Beach in Florida. There, in 1928, he bought a white colonial-style villa with a swimming pool, in which he spent the last years of his life in isolation.
The old Capone villa is still there. The luxury property on the artificial Palm Island has changed hands several times in recent years. Most recently last October when it was sold for over $15 million, US media reported. Meanwhile, a group is campaigning to protect the historic house from demolition. The Save the Al Capone Mansion campaign has received over 25,000 signatures.
Capone’s inglorious legend lives on in many books and films. Director Brian De Palma’s star-studded Hollywood epic The Untouchables (1987) earned Sean Connery the only Oscar of his long career – for Best Supporting Actor. He played a cop who works with Treasurer Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) against Capone. With a few extra pounds, Robert De Niro turned into “Public Enemy No. 1”. dpa
