The gangster who ran Chicago. He built an empire on bootleg liquor and blood, only to be taken down by a tax man.
Al Capone is the ultimate symbol of the Roaring Twenties' underworld. A ruthless mob boss who loved the spotlight, he treated Prohibition as a business opportunity. He was a celebrity criminal, cheered by some as a Robin Hood and feared by others as a monster.
1. He got his scars in a bar fight
His nickname "Scarface" came from three scars on the left side of his face. He got them in 1917 while working as a bouncer in a Brooklyn inn. He insulted a woman, and her brother slashed him with a knife. Capone hated the nickname and often tried to hide the scars in photos.
2. He was brought down by accountants
Despite being responsible for countless murders (including the St. Valentine's Day Massacre), Capone was never convicted of violence. The FBI and Treasury Dept (The Untouchables) managed to convict him on tax evasion in 1931. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
3. He opened soup kitchens
During the Great Depression, Capone tried to improve his public image by opening soup kitchens in Chicago. He served three meals a day to thousands of unemployed men. It was a PR stunt, but it also fed hungry people when the government wasn't.
4. He ruled from the Lexington Hotel
Capone didn't hide in the shadows. He lived in a luxurious suite at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. He held press conferences in his pajamas and was a familiar face at baseball games and opera houses.
5. He had a bulletproof Cadillac
Capone owned a 1928 Cadillac V-8 Town Sedan that was heavily armored. It had inch-thick bulletproof glass, steel plating, and a police siren. Legend has it that the car was seized by the government and later used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor (though this is debated).
6. He was one of the first inmates at Alcatraz
Capone was initially sent to a prison in Atlanta, where he lived like a king, bribing guards for special treatment. To break his influence, authorities moved him to the newly opened Alcatraz in 1934. There, he was just prisoner 85, stripped of all privileges.
7. His mind was destroyed by syphilis
Capone had contracted syphilis as a young man and never treated it. By the time he was in Alcatraz, the disease had progressed to neurosyphilis, eating away at his brain. He became confused and disoriented. When he was released in 1939, he had the mental capacity of a 12-year-old.
8. He is responsible for expiration dates on milk?
A popular legend says Capone lobbied for expiration dates on milk bottles after a family member got sick from bad milk. While the mob did control the milk industry in Chicago (it was a cash cow, literally), there's no hard evidence Capone himself invented the expiration date. But he did enforce strict standards to drive out competition.
9. His business card read "Used Furniture Dealer"
Despite his massive wealth and fame, Capone officially listed his occupation as "Used Furniture Dealer" to explain his income.
10. He died in Florida
After his release from prison, a frail and sickly Capone retired to his mansion in Palm Island, Florida. He died of a stroke and pneumonia in 1947, surrounded by his family, far from the mean streets of Chicago.