Al Capone and Organized Crime in the 1920’s

Al Capone ran many illegal businesses including bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and murders. There were many gangs in the world of organized crime and Al Capone's was at the top. Al Capone was the most infamous gangster in the 1920's.

Being a highly know and revered gangster was a big business. Money was made fast and very easily. Bootlegging alcohol was by far the most profitable in the 1920's; this was because of the prohibition of alcohol. Gambling was another business that paid off; stations sanctioned for gambling were set up all over cities. Prostitution and murders were also crimes that made gangsters quick and easy money.

Alphonse Capone was the biggest force in organized crime. He started his career of crime in Boston as an apprentice to Johnny Torrio. There he earned the unforgettable nickname "Scarface." It was in a bar when Capone made some rude comments about a woman. Minutes later, the woman's brother sliced Capone in the face.

This man was a friend of Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Al Capone was punished and forced to apologize. Al Capone did not become a leader until he went to Chicago. At the time he was still an apprentice to Johnny Torrio.

In the middle of the gang violence and bootlegging was Chicago, the government was very weak which made it easier to do crime. Capone entered the city of Chicago in 1920. At the time, "Big Jim" Colosimo ran things. He made about $50,000 a month. Torrio and Capone started their business with four gambling joints/whore houses in Chicago. These underground places were known as deuces. In Chicago Capone met a man who would be his friend for life, Jack Guzik. Guzik and his family lived off prostitution. After Guzik was roughed up by gangster Joe Howard Capone let his temper flare. It did not his cause when Howard called Capone some foul names. Soon after the verbal altercation Capone shot him in cold blood. There was no conviction and it was becoming more and more clear that Capone was becoming extremely powerful. He obviously had connections in the law to not be convicted.

Al Capone finally got a taste of leadership after a few years of partnership with Torrio. Torrio left Capone in control of their areas to take his sick mother back to Italy. Capone was at the top of a Chicago suburb known as Cicero. At the age of 25, Capone was one of the most powerful men in Chicago, but being such a force also made him a target for rival gangs.

Soon Capone was stronger than almost every gangster in America in the 20's. He was the most feared man in Chicago, but he didn't earn it bootlegging, pimping, or gambling. Al Capone had to kill men that got in his way. That is how Al Capone became the most powerful gangster ever.

Of all the murders, the cause of many may lie in the hands of the prohibition act. The act started on January 16, 1920. It stated that liqueur that is a beverage can not be manufactured, nor sold, nor be hauled on the face of the earth, but there were many people against this, a lot of those people were gangsters and other thugs. But they didn't just talk about it; many men became bootleggers and racketeers. The profits made by this were enormous. Bootlegging led to a tremendous rivalry between a lot of gangs.

Al Capone was in constant danger because he was one of the top bootleggers.

One of Al Capone's rivals was the gardener Dion O'Banion. Dion was a rival bootlegger whose behavior had to be controlled. He killed men whenever and wherever he wanted. O'Banion even went as far as tricking Torrio which sent him to jail. Something he did wrong