Who Is The Most Famous Gangster In Chicago?

Which Gangster Is Chicago’s Most Famous?

The Legacy Of Chicago's Most Notorious Gangster

Chicago has a reputation for a lot of things, and one of the most notorious is gangsters. Chicago in the early 20th century was a primary battleground for organized crime and the city produced its share of infamous criminals. Of all such criminals, one name rises to the top as the most famous, Al Capone. His role in the crime scene of the city, especially during the time of Prohibition, placed him as a prominent and feared figure. In this blog, we are reviewing Al Capone and how he came into power, plus the lesson he left over in Chicago.

Who Was Al Capone?

Alvin Capone, whose full name is Alphonse Gabriel Capone, was born in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. He relocated to Chicago in the early 1920s and immediately became a part of the criminal underworld of the city. Capone was not some ordinary gangster, as he was the face of organized crime when alcohol sales were banned during the Prohibition time in Chicago. His criminal enterprise expanded into bootlegging, gambling, and even what would today be regarded as prostitution.

Capone ascended to prominence quickly, and by the mid-1920s had seized control of the Chicago Outfit, a crime syndicate that dominated much of the city. The Outfit morphed into one of the United States’ most dominant crime organizations through the command of Capone.

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The Empire of Al Capone and the Period of Prohibition

Prohibition, from 1920 to 1933, was the national ban on the sale of alcohol in the United States. This was the only law to lower alcohol intake, but it also caused a large need for illicit alcohol. Such demand was a windfall for organized crime figures like Capone and his Chicago Outfit.

Capone seized the moment by establishing illegal breweries, speakeasies, and clandestine bars that were happy to keep the booze coming. This brought him millions of dollars in profits in this illegal trade, enabling him to run his fiefdom. Wealth and power meant the means to bribe politicians, law enforcement, and even judges, making his arrest impossible.

Capone's Influence on Chicago

Not only did Al Capone master the underground business, but he once owned the city of Chicago. His riches opened up a social door to some of the most powerful people in the city. One thing that assisted the meteoric rise of Capone was his skill in influencing politics and law enforcement.

However, many of Chicago’s citizens saw Capone as a folk hero, in spite of his criminal activities. He lent millions to charitable efforts like soup kitchens and relief programs and thus was very popular in some neighborhoods during the Great Depression. His contrast to the generals who led those occupations was, however, mainly perceived as a mere cosmetic form of benevolence, helping keep the populations in these areas in check during the subsequent senatorial period.

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, which occurred on February 14, 1929, is one of the most infamous events associated with Al Capone. In this massacre, gunmen dressed as police killed seven members of a rival gang. Capone was never charged with the massacre, but it is widely assumed he ordered the killings in an attempt to eliminate competition.

The massacre shocked the public and gained national attention for the violence of organized crime in Chicago. The infamous nature of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, together with Capone's emergence as a name synonymous with crime, made him a household name.

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Capone’s Downfall

Al Capone was the number one mafia but all this power eventually broke his criminal empire. In the early 1930s, federal authorities— most especially the Treasury Department and its agents— were intent on destroying him. Although Capone was suspected of many nasty deeds, authorities hit brick walls when it came time to convict him of murder or bootlegging.

Finally, Capone was arrested and convicted for tax evasion— something that was more easily proven than the crimes of violence he could be charged with as of 1931. He received a sentence of 11 years in federal prison and was transferred to the notorious Alcatraz prison. Capone was released after only about seven years because of his poor health, but however much damage he had done at that point, his criminal empire had already been dismantled. He spent his last years in relative obscurity, dying in 1947, having succumbed, in part, to syphilis.

Al Capone's Legacy

While Al Capone's life of crime was over once he was locked up, he left an enduring mark on Chicago's history. Capone's marks in Chicago's organized crime have been well recorded over the years that followed, making him perhaps the most famous gangster ever to emerge from the city.

Capone has long since found a permanent spot in history as his rise and fall have been detailed in countless books, films, and documentaries. While his story is an unappealing footnote of Chicago of the early 20th century— a sick addendum of blood and betrayal— it also points to the man. Capone was a criminal, but he changed the city more than almost anyone else ever could, and he impacted crime-fighting techniques in Chicago.

Chicago, in many ways, has evolved and changed, but the legends of Capone and his time continue to be part of the rich tale of Chicago. The Al Capone story is one of rise, power, and ultimate downfall. There is no doubting his impact on Chicago during his reign and in the years after he was locked up. Aside from his crimes, Capone earned his notoriety partly due to the sensationalism of Chicago crime on radio, newsprint, and cinema, which combined to create a mystique to his name that few others associate with Chicago Gangsters despite the organized crime landscape of the city changing over decades. He was a symbol of the law versus crime blurred in between, and Chicago was the battleground they fought over.

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