Scarface was the nickname gifted to Al Capone due to the noticeable slash across his right cheek. The story of his famous scar was caused by a physical altercation between him and a man by the name of Frank Gallucio. It began with both men enjoying a night out when Al Capone began to hit on a Frank Gallucio’s sister, Lena. Neither Frank Gallucio nor Lena were fond of Capone. Gallucio and Capone got into a heated argument that quickly escalated into Gallucio attempting to plunge his knife into Capone’s neck, however, he missed - due to his intoxication- and sliced the cheek of the infamous gangster.
Years later, Al Capone would become arguably the most famous gangster of all time, running a multi-million dollar operation during the 1920s. He did so by illegally selling alcohol, along with being an avid participator in the world of prositution and gambling, and through his affiliation with numerous murders. Despite these heinous crimes, Al Capone was never convicted of any gang-related charges, instead, the federal government found that the notorious gangster was guilty of tax evasion between 1929-1930. Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, in 1931.
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The federal government was desperately trying to convict Al Capone on whatever charges they could contrive, to finally put an end to his criminal activity. The US government was justified in the conviction of Al capone on tax evasion-related charges because it prevented: bootlegging, murder, and other illegal gang-related activities.
The movement of Prohibition was widely influenced by the temperance movement that began well into the early 1800s. This vast movement gained popularity through woman activists and Christians everywhere, however it fizzled out throughout the century. The idea arose once more, this time, during the post-World War I era, the major contributions being: the 16th amendment, morality, women’s suffrage, and World War I.
The 16th amendment, otherwise known as the federal income tax, replaced taxes on alcohol for the federal government. This amendment stopped the federal government from making profits off alcohol and gave the prohibition movement the argument that the alcohol industry was useless.
Morality was also a huge factor in the prohibition movement. Many groups and organizations believed that the prohibition movement would deter crime rates and domestic violence. Women’s Suffrage greatly influenced the prohibition movement, in fact, it was mostly women who supported this ever since the temperance movement first began. The reasoning for this great deal of support was partly because intoxicated men would come home and then abuse their wives. Many women believed that the banning of alcohol would end their domestic abuse at home.
Finally, World War I played a role in the prohibition movement as well. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Shepard Act, the act that prohibited alcohol in the District of Columbia as a strategy for his political gain during World War I. These factors historians greatly believe contributed to the prohibition reform during the 1920s.
Manhattan was full of dangerous gangs like the Dead Rabbits, Five Points, Daybreak Boys, The Bowery Boys, and more. These gangs ruled Manhattan throughout the late 1800s and well into the 1920s-1930s. History stories states “Throughout the 1850s, the Dead Rabbits excelled at robbery, pick-pocketing and brawling… Rabbits mostly dabbled in petty crime, they were also famous for… their street fights with the Bowery Boys turned into a bloody riot that killed a dozen people” (Andrews). During prohibition, gangs were responsible for petty crimes, gambling, prostitution, and most were affiliated with murder, therefor making them branded for being dangerous.
Another famous gang of New York is the Bowery Boys who were known to have excessive wealth and had legal employment, their rivals were the Dead Rabbits- as mentioned before. The Daybreak boys were infamous for stealing ship’s cargo in the early hours of the morning. To join this ruthless gang, members were required to have killed at least one person to be initiated. History Stories states that “... the daybreak boys were supposedly responsible for more than 30 murders” (Andrews).
Finally, there was the Five Points Gang, which was started by Paul Kelly, a gangster in the late 1800s. He created a new gang with members from several other gangs including the Dead Rabbits. The Five Points were most famously known for robbery and prostitution rings. Al Capone would later join the Five Points and create his empire at the pinnacle of prohibition.
During the prohibition era, the consumption of alcohol was seen as unacceptable in the eyes of many. However, gangsters like Al Capone thrived off of this time by making millions of dollars through bootlegging. It is estimated that Al Capone had made 60 million dollars annually from selling alcohol, alone, today that money would be worth 833 million dollars. If Al Capone would not have been convicted and detained he would have made an additional 120 million dollars, from selling alcohol.
Al Capone was successful in bootlegging through mapping out specific locations in which he could import liquor these locations included: breweries and distilleries in Chicago, other states, and Canada. He distributed the alcohol most commonly through speakeasies, and delivery trucks. During his reign as the most prominent gangster in Chicago, Capone controlled over 10,000 speakeasies. To get away with the crimes Capone illegally bribed politicians and police, so he could continue with his operation. If anyone were to confront the gangster on his illegal activities, they would risk execution. Not only did the conviction of Al Capone prevent further bootlegging, but it also prevented additional murders that would have taken place if it were not for the US government’s involvement.
The US government was justified in the conviction of Al Capone because it prevented murders, potentially saving lives of many, that would have been fallen victims of Al Capone and his gang, the Five Points. It is estimated that Al Capone murdered dozens upon dozens of people, and directed the murder of hundreds more. It is believed by many that the Five Points were responsible for one of the most famous massacres in history, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Al Capone had quite a few enemies that had accumulated throughout the years from his role as a ruthless gangster, one of them being the North Side Gang. The North Side and Five Points were huge rivals and things heated up between the two on February 14, 1929. Seven North Side gangsters were shot to death by men disguised as police officers in a garage on Chicago’s North Side. Many had believed the shooters were Five Points, and that Al Capone was the master-mind behind the massacre. Despite this, Al Capone was in Florida during the time of the massacre and was never formally charged with the murders of the seven men.
Detaining Al Capone prevented many other murders that would have occurred if it were not for the US government’s involvement. One example of a murder that could have been prevented occurred during the spring of 1929. Capone had found out that 3 of his gang members had double-crossed him. In a furious rage, he had the three men tied to chairs, Capone then proceeded to continuously hit the men with a baseball bat, breaking their bones one at a time. After Capone grew tired of the torture, the three men were shot in the head and left for dead. This is the biggest indication that the US government was rightful in the conviction of Al Capone. If it were not for the US government’s dedication in charging the notorious gangster with any charge they could muster, Capone would have been running his operation for many more years, with many more victims.
Capone was affiliated with much more than bootlegging and murders in which he was most commonly known for, he was also involved with prostitution rings and gambling establishments. In fact, Al Capone made one tenth of his money from gambling, that being 10 millions dollars. During the prohibition era gambling was popularized more than ever before appearing as forms of roulette, card games, and horse race betting. Gambling establishments were primarily run by gangsters, like Al Capone, himself. The allure of gambling during this time was due to the hardships of the Depression, many who partook in it were hoping to beat the odds and win it big. Gambling establishments were able to operate successfully because of the power gangsters had over government officials. Al Capone was able to expand his gambling establishments toward the suburbs of Chicago because of his status. Although not as serious as the numerous murders that Capone had committed and ordered, gambling was unjustified and illegal, thus adding to the numerous things Capone could have been convicted of. This further portrays that the government was rightful with the conviction of Capone.
Al Capone and the five points were also widely known for their involvement in prostitution rings. John Torrio, a member in the five point gang, was a huge organizer in prostitution rings in Chicago, he later passed the business down to Capone. Capone had gotten Syphilis due to his involvement in prostitution rings, he would later die of the disease in 1947. While Capone had an involvement in prostitution rings, he favored other organized crimes such as bootlegging and gambling, as mentioned before.
Lastly, Capone had a huge involvement in another organized crime, labor racketeering. All the gangs in Chicago during this time were linked to labor racketeering. Labor Racketeering being the act of committing crimes through extortion, or coercion. A racketeer then (often forcing) attempts to collect money from another person, gang, or legitimate business. This was a way that many gangs obtained money repeatedly and consistently. This was especially dangerous when the labor racketeering was between two gangs. Often one gang would intimidate the other to gain a percentage of the inferior gang's profits. The percentage demanded was sometimes so steep, that it would ruin the inferior gangs' business. If the superior gang did not gain the percentage of the profits they would often kill the inferior gang. Another tactic of intimidation used by Al Capone was that he had his rival's speakeasies and gambling establishments raided and demolished. A large factor in Capone’s success was labor racketeering, anyone associated with him had to pay a certain percentage. This organized crime is illegal on 35 separate counts that Capone could have been charged with if it weren’t for the lack of evidence and corrupt government officials. However, it shows that Capone’s charge on tax evasion serves an underlying purpose, punishing the gangster for his countless crimes such as murder, bootlegging, extortion, gambling, solicitation, and numerous more charges.
The US government was not justified with the conviction of Al Capone, Capone v. United States case, because there was no evidence of gang-related activity, which was the clear motivation for the US government to convict the gangster. The US government was unable to convict Capone because he created plausible deniability, making sure there were no connections between him and the crimes he authorized. The US government used conspiracy to back up their investigation on Al Capone, they found that the Gangster was guilty for not filing his taxes. Al Capone was later convicted: on three felony accounts of willfully attempting to evade and defeat income tax between 1925 and 1927 and on two counts with the charge of a misdemeanor for failing to file returns in 1928 and 1929. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, had a fine of $50,000, and had to pay $250,000 with interest on the taxes he originally failed to pay. Capone violated the 16th amendment in which states, “ Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration” (US constitution). However, the conviction was unconstitutional because it violated the 6th on two counts. Firstly, the conviction violated the 6th amendment by denying Al Capone of an impartial jury, with the highly publicized case. It was difficult for the jurors not be biased, with newspaper titles such as “Massacre Confession Puts Capone In Shadow Of Chair!” and “Chicago Gangsters Slay Prosecutor With Machine Gun.” Additionally, the US government violated the 6th amendment by not having evidence to convict Al Capone, Capone’s attorney stated, “...there is not a scintilla of evidence that he willfully attempted to defraud the government out of income tax” (Albert Fink). This, therefore, shows that Capone’s trial was unconstitutional.
The US government was sustained with the conviction of Al Capone- three felony counts of willfully attempting to evade and defeat income tax between and two misdemeanors with the charge of a misdemeanor for failing to file returns- because it deterred the gangster from bootlegging, murder, and other illegal gang-related activities. The primary reason why this conviction was so justifiable was because it prevented Capone and potentially deterred his gang, the five points, from continuing with their murders. Secondly, it stopped Al Capone’s empire from bootlegging because their infamous leader was locked up. Lastly, it prevented Al Capone’s numerous illegal activities such as bootlegging, gambling, organizing prostitution rings and brawls, and labor racketeering. This thereby declares that the case of Capone v. United States was constitutional and justifiable. This is important for readers to know about because Al Capone had a huge influence during the 1920s through the 1930s, and still leaves a legacy today as arguably the most famous gangster of all time. It’s important to think about how such a powerful man was taken down by the US government and goes to show that nobody is above the law.
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