Alfonso Capone: American Gangster

From bootlegging to being the most wanted by the FBI, Alfonso Capone is one of the most well-known American gangsters. ¨Chicago didn’t seem to be to Capone’s liking; therefore, he changed Chicago to fit his needs”(Rose Keef xxiii). America’s most famous gangster, Al Capone followed the steps of Johnny Torrio by demanding respect through fear as he battled other mobs in Chicago.
Al Capone was an Italian man who believed he was an American. “Al Capone always insisted he was an American, born and bred, and so he was, but his Italian heritage formed and informed every aspect of his life and career” (Bergreen 24). Al Capone was from a poor family but the money didn’t seem to matter to them. The family was a big thing to the Capone’s and they were …show more content…
“If any man could have said to have invented Al Capone, to have been responsible for making him into what he eventually became, that man was Johnny Torrio” (38). Al was never into any trouble other than being suspended from school. He was never involved in violence of any kind or been in a juvenile center. With that being said, Capone was then entered into the world of violence by his mentor. “Al Capone’s first encounter with violence as a tool of business came through his mentor, Johnny Torrio, who, though a peace-loving man himself, knew intimately the uses of force, bribery, and fear”(46). By this time Capone was still a teenager becoming part of a gang to gain money for himself and his boss. Torrio introduced Capone to many gangs but only one caught his attention. Joining the Five Pointers gang along with Lucky Luciano, a former gang member Capone entered his first mob (Kobler, John 31). Al had a way with words when it came down to convincing others to join the mob for he knew people would do anything for money. “He had ties to Manhattan, especially the notorious Five Points gang, for decades a fixture that boroughs underworld, an army numbering over a thousand young Italians available for hire by politicians, anti-union businesses, or anyone else willing to pay them to create mayhem”(Bergreen 38). Along with this mayhem, Capone was charged with disorderly conduct and homicide. They arrested Capone three times during his days as a Five Pointer, once for disorderly conduct and twice for suspicion of homicide, but they didn’t have enough information towards the charges(Kobler, John 33). This led Capone to feel as if he could get away with

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