Al Capone
By: Max • Essay • 1,364 Words • February 26, 2009 • 1,582 Views
Essay title: Al Capone
Al Capone
Thesis: From racketeering, bootlegging, and brotheling, Alphonse Capone is one of the
most well known and influential gangsters in history.
Al Capone, born to Gabriele and Teresina Capone, was born in Brooklyn, New
York. At age 5 he starrted school at Public School no.7 on Adams street. Al's school
had outbreaks of violence. Male Students engaged in fist fights with female teachers. At
age 14 he engaged in a fight between himself and a teacher. He was expelled and he
never returned to school again.
One of the biggest impacts on his life was when he and his family moved across
town. This is where he would meet his wife, Mae and gangster Johnny Torrio. Al was
exposed to Johnny Torrio because Johnny's headquarters was only a few blocks away. Al
earned pocket money by running errands for Johnny Torrio. "Torrio taught Capone the
importance of leading an outwardly respectiable life to segregate his career
from his home
life, as if maintaining a peacefull, conventional domestic setting somehow excused or
legitimized the venality of workingin the rackets. I was a form of hypocrisg that was
second nature to Johnny Torrio and that taught Capone to honor" (A&E Biography. Al
Capone, Scareface). Like youths of his time he ran in territorial gangs at first he was with
the South Brooklyn Rippers, then the Forty Thieves, and lastly the Five Point Juniors.
Capone worked hard at boreing jobs he cut paper and other odd jobs. One of his jobshe
worked at the Harward Inn as a barr tender and a bouncer. He became popular to his
customersand his boss.
One day he waited tables on a young man and his female companion. She was
Beautiful to the young Capone. He leaned over and told her, "Honey, you have a nice ass
and I mean that as a compliment." The young man hit Al. Al's temper began to rise. The
man pulled a knife and cut him three times in the face. The young man told Lucky
Luciano what happened. Then Luciano went to Frankie Yale. Then Frankie, Luciano and
the young man came together to dispense
some justice on Capone. Capone ended up just
appoligising to the man and the young woman. Frankie Yale liked Capone and decided to
take him under his wing. He showed Capone strong arm tactics, bookkeepping, loan
sharking, extortion, exacting tribute from pimps and bookmakers and also how to offer
protection to local busisnesses. Al met Mae Loughlin and didn't marry her until their child
was born. Afterwards focused on a ligetiment career
. So he moved to Baltimore and
was a bookkeeper for Peter Aiello's construction firm.
After the death of his father in 1920, he rusumed his relationship with Johnny
Torrio and moved to Chicago where Torrio had expanded his rackteering game. The
flesh trade was big at this time and the biggest pimp of them all was Big Jim. Big Jim
brought in Torrio to run his opperation. Big Jim was asssassinated by Yale, so Yale could
take over his outfit but Torrio was able to maintain the multi-million dollar a year
business. When Prohibition came about Johnny had to over see thousands of
whorehouses, gambling joints, and speakeasies. In 1921 Torrio became partners with the
young Al Capone. He made Al the fulltime manager of the Four Deuces in the Levee
area.