Al Capone: One Of The Most Ruthless Men Of All Time Essay -- essays r

Al Capone: One of the Most Ruthless Men of All Time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ultimate symbol of a gangster rule, is a guy by the name of Al Capone, who dominated the Chicago underworld by committing many crimes: such as illegal gambling, extortion, prostitution, and alcohol distribution during prohibition. Capone’s life of gang activity started at a very young age. He created a multi-million dollar empire of crime in Chicago. He has been referred to as one of the most ruthless men of all time (Stockdale 45). He was a smart businessman, good family man, and a generous person, that lived a life full of murders and other crimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gabriele Capone was a barber that lived in Naples, Italy who decided to escape a bleak rural life in the promise of work and success in the New World. He was one of 43,000 Italians who arrived in the U.S. in 1894 (Stockdale 7-8). Gabriele was 30 years old and he brought his 27-year-old wife, Teresina and their three sons. He was planning to start a barbershop when he got to America. On January 17, 1899, Teresina gave birth to their fourth son named Alphonse Capone (Bardsley 2). The Capone family lived a very normal life with no problems or events that would explain why their sons chose a life of crime. In 1907, Gabriel moved his family into an apartment over his barbershop in an Italian district in south Brooklyn. This move exposed Alphonse to a different kind of life on the streets. He became a member of a junior gang called the Forty Thieves Juniors, which taught its members the art of petty vandalism. The gang taught him how to use violence to get what you want . When he was 14 years old, Al got expelled from school and never went back after he got mad at his teacher and hit her. By this time, Al Capone was destined to live a life of crime (Stockdale 9-11).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By the time Al was 14 years old, he was an experienced streetfighter and had learned how to use a knife and gun successfully. He became a good leader of the junior gang and was introduced to the Five Points Gang in Brooklyn by Frankie Yale and John Torrio. He began working for Frankie Yale who was an important figure in the adult gang in Brooklyn. Al was 16 years old and was helping control Yale’s prostitution, gambling, extortion, and protection rackets (Schoenberg 23-25). Al Capone worked at the Harvard Inn as ... ...). Capone never went back to doing any gang activity because of his illness. Then on January 21, 1948, Al Capone suffered a massive brain hemorrhage. Capone regained consciousness and was able to talk with his family. Then a few days later he caught pneumonia and died of a heart attack on January 25. His body was buried in Chicago on February 4. The site of his grave became a famous tourist attraction so they moved the body to an unpublicized spot in Mount Carmel Cemetery. His tombstone read, â€Å"My Jesus Mercy (Bergreen 605-609).†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Public service is my motto. Ninety percent of the people in Chicago drink and gamble. I’ve tried to serve them decent liquor and square games. But I’m not appreciated. I’m known all over the world as a millionaire gorilla,† said Al Capone (Bergreen 16). Alphonse Capone redefined the concept of crime into an organized endeavor modeled on corporate enterprise (Stockdale 45). He dominated the Chicago underworld through illegal gambling, extortion, prostitution, and alcohol distribution. Capone eliminated all of his opponents and avoided prosecution for the crimes that he committed. He was the ultimate symbol of a gangster rule.