The Life And Times Of Al Capone Essay -- essays research papers

The Life and Times of Al Capone Alphonse Capone was born in New York City by two parents Gabriel and Teresa Capone. Capone's parents immigrated to the United States in 1893 from Naples, Italy. Capone came from a large family and was the fourth oldest of nine children. (Kobler 10). As a child, Capone was very wise when it came to living on the streets of New York. He had a clever mind when it came to street smarts. As far as school goes, Capone was a near-illiterate. He came from a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, so education was not a top priority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At about the age of eleven Capone became a member of a juvenile gang in his neighborhood. While this was taking place, around the year 1900, about eleven percent of all the foreign born population in the United States were Italian. Capone was forced to either deal with a miserable low wage job with a hopeless future or make an improvement for himself by committing first minor, then serious crimes. Al Capone's philosophy was that laws only applied to people who had enough money to live by them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While in the â€Å"Bim Booms† gang, Capone was taught how to defend himself with a knife, and with a gun. By the time Capone reached the sixth grade he had already become a street brawler. Capone never responded well to authority and for this very reason his schooling would soon come to an end. While attending school, Capone was responsible for beating a female teacher and knocking her to the ground. The principal of the school rushed in and punished young Capone and for this very reason he would never return to school again. (Sifakis 603)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After dropping out of school, Capone took up jobs such as working as a pin-setter at a bowling alley, and working behind the counter at a candy store. Capone was terrific at pool, winning every eightball tournament held in Brooklyn. He also became an expert knife fighter. Although the â€Å"Bim Booms† gang was the first gang Capone ever entered, he was quickly picked up by the â€Å"Five Pointers†. The â€Å"Five Pointers† was the most powerful gang in New York city. The gang was headed by Johnny Torrio, and was made up of over 1,500 thugs who specialized in burglary, extortion, robbery, assault, and murder. While working ... ...lecting Capone's income could be seized. Capone had never paid any type of income tax and for this very reason he was brought up on charges of tax invasion in front of the federal court. Capone offered the federal government $400,000 to drop the case against him, but they rejected the offer. Capone was convicted and given the maximum sentence which was a $50,000 fine, court costs of $30,000, and eleven years in jail. (Nash 116 ) Capone started his sentence in an Atlanta prison. In 1934 he was transferred to Alcatraz, also known as â€Å"The Rock†. Five years later he was released from Alcatraz as a helpless paretic, due to the untreated syphilis he got from prostitutes. Later that year, Al Capone was judged insane and was released to the care of his family. (Sifakis 613 )   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In January 1947 Capone had a massive brain hemorrhage and died. His body was removed from his estate in Florida and transferred back to the seen of his underworld triumph, Chicago. The family held a private ceremony at the cemetery, but were affraid of grave robbers taking the corpse so they reburied Capone in a secret place in Mt. Carmel Cemetery. (Kobler 122)