Uncle al capone summary biography

For More Information

Hornung, Rick. Capone's reign of terror gave the city of Chicago a reputation as a gangster-infested place that it would hold for years, even after he was long gone. He could even influence elections by having members of his gang intimidate people into voting the way he wanted.

Released on parole in 1939, Capone spent the rest of his life at his estate in Palm Island, Florida, where he died on January 25, 1947.

Success in Chicago

In 1919 the U.S. government approved the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, a law prohibiting (or preventing) the manufacture, sale, and transport of liquor.

If I break the law, my customers … some of the best people in Chicago, are as guilty as me."

Capone protected his business interests, which also included gambling houses, by waging war on rival gangs. He was one of seven children born to Gabriel and Teresa Caponi, who came to the United States from Italy in 1893.

Capone worked at odd jobs for a while but found his calling when a gangster named Johnny Torrio (1882–1957) hired him to work in a bar owned by Torrio's friend. He was a cold-blooded criminal who killed hundreds of people without a second thought.

Pasley, Fred D. Al Capone: The Biography of a Self-Made Man. 2nd ed. He paid off mayors, governors, and other elected officials to allow his crooked operations to continue. Capone worked as a bartender and enforcer for Torrio and was arrested many times for assaulting people, but Torrio's influence saved him from jail. Deirdre offers a true portrait of an American family and gives a decidedly different look at her favorite uncle, endlessly depicted as the iconic mastermind behind some of the century’s most brutal killings.
For all the dissension, for all the pain, there comes a moment in our lives where we have to stand up and say: This – the good and the bad – is who I am, says Deirdre Marie Capone.

Protecting these businesses also often involved either bribing or beating up public officials. It is the only book ever written about America’s most notorious mobster by someone who knew him well.
Already a best-seller on Amazon, Deirdre’s fascinating memoir tells what really happened in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, what the ‘outfit’ was really all about, and what the ‘family’ were really like, especially the one person she confided in more than anyone – her Aunt Maffie (short for Mafalda – the Italian princess she was named after); a strong woman with whom she shared a close bond as one of the only two girls in the Capone family.
Uncle Al Capone is packed with absorbing stories about Al and his family, along with never-before-published photos and authentic Capone family recipes for the food that Al and his family enjoyed.

As Capone's profits continued to grow, he began to act as if he were a well-to-do businessman rather than a vicious criminal. She succeeded.
That is, until her past caught up with her on the day her nine year-old son came home from school and announced they were studying Al Capone in a class project. She and her husband agreed it was time to tell the kids but she was afraid for them – she had not wanted them growing up shunned by others or not having other kids to play with once they knew her name.

In Chicago he joined the Five Points Gang and quickly moved up its ranks. Torrio knew Capone did not mind violence and often had him beat up people who were unable to repay loans. Between 1927 and 1931 he was viewed by many as the real ruler of Chicago.