Al Capone

Al Capone came to Chicago in 1919 where he got his start in the bootlegging business. His mentor, John Torrio, saw potential and within a few years Capone became a full partner in Torrio’s saloons, gambling establishments and brothels, and when Torrio left Chicago, Capone inherited the business. “Capone controlled speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling house, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries at a reported income of $100,000,000 a year.”(Chicago Historical Society) Capone “was skillful at isolating and killing his enemies when they became too powerful … (and) operations were quick and complete and Capone always had an alibi” (Chicago Historical Society). His most famous (alleged) murders were the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre on February 14, 1929. The scene was “the main liquor headquarters of bootlegger George ‘Bugs’ Moran’s North Side gang” (Chicago Historical Society). “It was ‘Bugs’ Moran whom the gangsters were seeking … when they lined up seven gangsters in the shipping headquarters of the gang and blew them to death with a thousand bullets – a massacre which shocked the nation” was the fear felt just months after the shooting (Sullivan, 262). Moran’s men were tricked. “Capone’s crew had arranged for a large delivery of bootleg whiskey to the garage that day.”(Bousquet, 298) The booze never came. “Masquerading as police officers, wearing uniforms borrowed from cops on the take, Capone’s men lined seven of Moran’s men against one wall of the garage and riddled them with bullets.”(Bousquet, 298) Capone was never connected to the murders and therefore never charged with anything relating to the murders. Capone had an alibi, he was in Florida, but everyone knew who was behind the attack. “So brazen was the attack that came to be known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre that Capone’s ironfisted control of the Chicago mob was never again seriously challenged.” (Bousquet, 299) Instead, Capone went to jail for income tax evasion.

Prohibition

Prohibition itself is a major event in the history of the United States, and the fact that Prohibition was not merely a law but an amendment shows just how popular it was at the time (Mennell, 161). Despite the amendment, bootlegging sprang up quickly and other businesses soon followed. Al Capone and other leaders of organized crime made boatloads of money, and violence stemmed from these groups' desire to make more money.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

The murders that occurred on February 14, 1929 are now a symbol of the power and corruption that came out of the time known as Prohibition. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is tied to Al Capone, likely the most famous crime boss and gangster of all time. Seven men were gunned down by a combination of weapons including the famous Tommy gun by men wearing police uniforms. This event happened because of the underworld fueled by Prohibition; speakeasies and brothels and brew houses became money-makers for these organized groups which attracted young men wanting to make both money and names for themselves.