Eliot Ness
Bureau of Prohibition Cleveland Division of Police
(1903-04-19)April 19, 1903 – April 16, 1957(1957-04-16)
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois
Rank	Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau for Chicago in 1934 Director for Public Safety for Cleveland, Ohio

Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent, famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago, Illinois, and the leader of a legendary team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables.^[1]

Early life[link]

Eliot Ness was born April 19, 1903 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the youngest of five siblings born to Norwegian immigrants, Peter and Emma Ness. Ness attended Christian Fenger High School in Chicago. He was educated at the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, graduating in 1925 with a degree in economics. He began his career as an investigator for the Retail Credit Company of Atlanta. He was assigned to the Chicago territory, where he conducted background investigations for the purpose of credit information. He returned to the University to take a course in criminology, eventually earning a Master's Degree in the field.^[2][3]

Career[link]

1927–1931[link]

In 1926, Ness' brother-in-law, Alexander Jamie, an agent of the Bureau of Investigation (which later became the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935), influenced Ness to enter law enforcement. He joined the U.S. Treasury Department in 1927, working with the 300-strong Bureau of Prohibition, in Chicago.^[4]

Following the election of President Herbert Hoover, U.S. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon was specifically charged with bringing down gangster Al Capone. The federal government approached the problem from two directions: income tax evasion and the Volstead Act. Ness was chosen to head the operations under the Volstead Act, targeting the illegal breweries and supply routes of Capone.

With Chicago's corrupted law-enforcement agents endemic, Ness went through the records of all Prohibition agents to create a reliable team, initially of 50, later reduced to 15 and finally to just eleven men called, "The Untouchables". Raids against illegal stills and breweries began immediately; within six months Ness claimed to have seized breweries worth over one million dollars. The main source of information for the raids was an extensive wire-tapping operation. An attempt by Capone to bribe Ness' agents was seized on by Ness for publicity, leading to the media nickname, "The Untouchables." There were a number of assassination attempts on Ness, and one close friend of his was killed.

The efforts of Ness and his team had a serious impact on Capone's operations; the main task of the Untouchables was to deprive Capone of the income sources for the graft payments that were his greatest protection, with an ancillary concern being the maintenance of public awareness of the federal government's activity against Capone.^{[citation needed]} However, Ness had very little to do with the IRS prosecuting Capone for income tax evasion, which led to Capone's downfall.^[5] In a number of federal grand jury cases in 1931, Capone was charged with 22 counts of tax evasion and also 5,000 violations of the Volstead Act.^[6] On October 17, 1931, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and following a failed appeal, he began his sentence in 1932.^[7][8]

1931–1957[link]

Marker at Lake View Cemetery

Ness was promoted to Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau for Chicago and in 1934 for Ohio. Following the end of Prohibition in 1933, he was assigned as an alcohol tax agent in the "Moonshine Mountains" of southern Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee; and, in 1934, he was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio. In December 1935, Cleveland mayor Harold Burton hired him as the city's Safety Director, which put him in charge of both the police and fire departments. He headed a campaign to clean out police corruption and to modernize the fire department.^[9]

Billboard for Eliot Ness' 1947 campaign for mayor, seen in 1973

In 1938 Ness's personal life was completely transformed while his career began to have some ups and downs. He concentrated heavily on his work, which may have contributed to the divorce that year from his first wife Edna (Staley). He declared war on the mob, and his primary targets included "Big" Angelo Lonardo, "Little" Angelo Scirrca, Moe Dalitz, John Angerola, George Angersola, and Charles Pollizi. Ness was also Safety Director at the time of several grisly murders that occurred in the Cleveland area from 1935 to 1938. Unfortunately, what was otherwise a remarkably successful career in Cleveland, withered gradually. Cleveland critics targeted his divorce, his high-profile social drinking, and his conduct in a car accident, but he continued with the next Mayor, Frank Lausche.^[10]

Ness remarried in 1939, to illustrator Evaline Ness. The Nesses moved to Washington, D.C. in 1942 where he worked for the federal government, directing the battle against prostitution in communities surrounding military bases, where venereal disease was a serious problem. Later he made a number of forays into the corporate world, all of which failed from his lack of business acumen. In 1944, he left to become chairman of the Diebold Corporation, a security safe company based in Ohio. After his second divorce and third marriage, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Cleveland in 1947,^[10] after which he was expelled from Diebold. In the aftermath, Ness began drinking more heavily and spending his free time in bars telling (often exaggerated) stories of his law enforcement career. He also spent himself into debt. Ness was forced into taking various odd jobs to earn a living, including as an electronics parts wholesaler, a clerk in a bookstore, and selling frozen hamburger patties to restaurants. By 1953, he came to work for an upstart company called Guaranty Paper Corporation, which specialized in watermarking legal and official documents to prevent counterfeiting. Ness was offered a job because of his expertise in law enforcement. The company soon moved from Cleveland to the quiet rural town of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, where operating costs were lower. He made a decent income from GPC and moved with his wife and adopted son into a modest rental house. Once again, he enjoyed going to local bars and regaling amazed audiences with his tales of crime fighting. He collapsed and died at his home of a massive heart attack on May 16, 1957, at the age of 54. Collaborating with Oscar Fraley in his last years, he co-wrote the book The Untouchables, which was published a month after his death.^[11]

Personal life[link]

Ness was married to Edna Staley (1900–1988) from 1929 to 1938, illustrator Evaline Ness (1911–1986) from 1939 to 1945, and artist Elisabeth Andersen Seaver (1906–1977) from 1946 until his death. He also had an adopted son Robert (1946–1976).^[10] Ness' ashes were scattered in one of the small ponds on the grounds of Lake View Cemetery, in Cleveland.^[12][13]

Legacy[link]

A number of television programs and feature films have been made (loosely) based on his life. Some of the best-known of these include the 1950s/1960s TV series titled The Untouchables, which starred Robert Stack as Ness and which Walter Winchell narrated, and Brian De Palma's Oscar-winning film of the same title, The Untouchables, which starred Kevin Costner as Ness and also featured Sean Connery and Robert De Niro. Tom Amandes portrayed Ness in the short-lived TV remake of The Untouchables, which ran from 1993–94.^[14] Ness is also the subject of a series of novels based on actual events during his tenure as Safety Director in Cleveland, and a stage play, Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life, by Max Allan Collins^[15]. Ness is also a central character in Cosa Nosferatu, a fantasy novel that imagines Eliot Ness and Al Capone entangled with Randolph Carter and elements of the H.P. Lovecraft mythos. In The Proposal (film) (2009), US immigration officer Mr Gilbertson (Denis O'Hare) likens himself to Ness saying "I always get my man" after managing to deport Sandra Bullock's character from the country.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Ness, Eliot; Fraley, Oscar (1957). The Untouchables. Julian Messner. 
• Rasmussen, William T. (2006). Corroborating Evidence. Sunstone Press. ISBN 0-86534-536-8. 
• Badal, James Jessen (2001). In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders. The Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-689-2. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eliot Ness

• Find A Grave Web Site: Eliot Ness
• Dusty Roads of an FBI era, about Eliot Ness And The FBI
• Free Information Society, Biography of Elliot Ness
• another Biography of Elliot Ness

Sir Peter Charles Leitch, KNZM, QSM, (born 1944) is a New Zealand businessman, also known as The Mad Butcher. Although well known in New Zealand for the chain of butcheries he founded, Leitch is arguably just as well known for his charity, fundraising work and his promotion of rugby league.

Born in Wellington, New Zealand,^[1] he left school at age 15 to work as a newspaper boy. He gained a job as a butcher's apprentice at the age of 16. The business he started in 1971 had 37 stores throughout New Zealand as of 2010.^[2]

Leitch is known for his work for charity and for his enthusiastic support of New Zealand rugby league, the Mangere East Hawks and the Warriors, which has increased the sport's profile in New Zealand. He managed the Kiwi's victorious Tri-Nations campaign in late 2005. In recognition of his support of the Warriors the club have retired the #19 jersey in his honour.^[1] The Mad Butcher Suburban Newspapers Community Trust is a fundraising vehicle he helped create to benefit charities. Leitch is chairman of the trust, and the deputy chairman is David Penny, general manager of Fairfax Media Suburban Newspapers Auckland.^[3][4] He has also fundraised for Allergy New Zealand, Diabetes Auckland, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Macular Degeneration New Zealand.

He was voted the 41st most influential New Zealander by Listener Magazine in 2004.^[5] He has a memorable way of talking, not unlike an auctioneer, that has caused various spoofs of 'The Mad Butcher' that included the Radio Hauraki character 'The Bad Mutcher' on the Morning Pirates and Pulp Sport formerly had a character named 'The Mad Mad Butcher'.

In 2010, Leitch was made a Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to business and philanthropy.^[5][6][7] He was awarded a Queen's Service Medal in 1991 for charitable work.^[5]

Later that year he featured on the TV One program This is Your Life".

In 2011 he was made patron of the New Zealand Rugby League, replacing Helen Clark.^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mad Butcher Website
• Hawkes Bay Today (2006): Mad Butcher tells fans of Warriors: Get over it, accessed 7 June 2010.
• Academy Publishing: Maddening Simple Philosophy, accessed 7 June 2010.
• Howick and Pakuranga Times: The Times Interview - Peter Leitch, Explain Yourself to Dean Wedlake, accessed 7 June 2010.

The Cleveland Torso Murderer
Map of Cleveland, Ohio
Background information
Also known as	Cleveland Torso Murderer, Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run
Killings
Number of victims	12 to 15
Country	USA
State(s)	Cleveland, Ohio

The The Cleveland Torso Murderer (also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run) was an unidentified serial killer who killed and dismembered at least 12 victims in the Cleveland, Ohio, area in the 1930s.

Murders[link]

The official number of murders credited to the Cleveland Torso Murderer is 12, although recent research has shown there may have been more. The 12 victims were killed between 1935 and 1938, but some, including lead Cleveland Detective Peter Merylo, believe that there may have been 40 or more victims in the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Youngstown, Ohio, areas between the 1920s and 1950s. Two strong candidates for addition to the list of those killed are the unknown victim nicknamed the "Lady of the Lake," found on September 5, 1934, and Robert Robertson, found on July 22, 1950.

The victims were usually drifters whose identities were never determined, although there were several exceptions. Victims numbers 2, 3, and 8 were identified as Edward Andrassy, Flo Polillo, and possibly Rose Wallace, respectively. Invariably, all the victims, male and female, appeared to be from the lower class of society—easy prey in Depression-era Cleveland. Many were known as "working poor," who had nowhere else to live but the ramshackle shanty towns in the area known as Cleveland Flats.

The Torso Murderer always beheaded and often dismembered his victims, sometimes also cutting the torso in half; in many cases the cause of death was the decapitation itself. Most of the male victims were castrated, and some victims showed evidence of chemical treatment being applied to their bodies. Many of the victims were found after a considerable period of time following their deaths, sometimes a year or more. This made identification nearly impossible, especially since the heads were often not found.

During the time of the "official" murders, Eliot Ness held the position of Public Safety Director of Cleveland, a position with authority over the police department and ancillary services, including the fire department.^[1] While Ness had little to do with the investigation, his posthumous reputation as leader of The Untouchables has made him an irresistible character in modern "torso murder" lore.

Victims[link]

Most researchers consider there to be 12 definite victims, although new evidence militates for including a woman dubbed "The Lady of the Lake." Only two victims were positively identified; the other ten were six John Does and four Jane Does.

^ †: The victim had six unusual tattoos on his body. One included the names "Helen and Paul" and another had the initials "W.C.G." His undershorts bore a laundry mark indicating the owner's initials were J.D. Despite morgue and death mask inspections by thousands of Cleveland citizens in the summer of 1936 at the Great Lakes Exposition, the "tattooed man" was never identified.
^ ‡: Victim was possibly "Rose Wallace". Dental work was considered a close match by police and her son (who felt certain that the victim was his mother). Exact identification could not be achieved because the dentist who carried out the work had died years before. Doubts remained because the body was estimated to have been dead for a year whereas Wallace had only been missing for 10 months.

Possible victims[link]

Several noncanonical victims are commonly discussed in connection with the Torso Murderer. The first was nicknamed the Lady of the Lake and was found near Euclid Beach on the Lake Erie shore on September 5, 1934, at virtually the same spot as canonical victim number 7. Some researchers of the Torso Murderer's victims count the "Lady of the Lake" as victim number 1, as well as "Victim Zero".

A headless, unidentified male was found in a boxcar in New Castle, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1936. Three headless victims were found in boxcars near McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, on May 3, 1940. All bore similar injuries to those inflicted by the Cleveland killer. Dismembered bodies were also found in the swamps near New Castle, Pennsylvania during the years 1921 to 1934 and 1939 to 1942.

Robert Robertson was found at a business at 2138 Davenport Avenue in Cleveland on July 22, 1950. He had been dead six to eight weeks when found and appeared to have been intentionally decapitated.

Suspects[link]

Two suspects are most commonly associated with the Torso murders, although there are numerous others occasionally mentioned.

On August 24, 1939, Cleveland resident Frank Dolezal, who was arrested as a suspect in Florence Polillo's murder, died under suspicious circumstances in the Cuyahoga County jail. After his death it was discovered that he had suffered six broken ribs—injuries his friends say he did not have when arrested by Sheriff Martin L. O'Donnell some six weeks prior. Most researchers^{[citation needed]} believe that no evidence exists that Dolezal was involved in the murders, although at one time he did admit killing Flo Polillo in self-defense. Before his death, he recanted his confession and recanted two others as well, saying he had been beaten until he confessed.

Most investigators^{[citation needed]} consider the last canonical murder to have been in 1938. One suspected individual was Dr. Francis E. Sweeney.^{[citation needed]} Sweeney worked during World War I in a medical unit that conducted amputations in the field. Sweeney was later personally interviewed by Eliot Ness, who oversaw the official investigation into the killings in his capacity as Cleveland's Safety Director. During this interrogation, Sweeney is said to have "failed to pass" two very early polygraph machine tests. Both tests were administered by polygraph expert Leonard Keeler, who told Ness he had his man. Nevertheless, Ness apparently felt^{[citation needed]} there was little chance of obtaining a successful prosecution of the doctor, especially as he was the first cousin of one of Ness's political opponents, Congressman Martin L. Sweeney (d.1960), who had hounded Ness publicly about his failure to catch the killer. (In fact, Congressman Sweeney was a political ally of and was related by marriage to Sheriff O'Donnell (d.1940) and an opponent of Republican Cleveland mayor Harold Burton, who had appointed Ness). After Dr. Sweeney committed himself, there were no more leads or connections that police could assign to him as a possible suspect. The killings apparently stopped after Sweeney voluntarily entered institutionalized care shortly after the last official murders were discovered in 1938.^{[citation needed]} From his hospital confinement, Sweeney would mock and harass Ness and his family with threatening postcards into the 1950s.^{[citation needed]} He died in a veterans' hospital at Dayton in 1964.

In 1997, another theory postulated that there may have been no single Butcher of Kingsbury Run because the murders could have been committed by different people. This was based on the assumption that the autopsy results were inconclusive. First, Cuyahoga County Coroner Arthur J. Pearce may have been inconsistent in his analysis as to whether the cuts on the bodies were expert or slapdash. Second, his successor, Samuel Gerber, who began to enjoy press attention from his involvement in such cases as the Sam Sheppard murder trial, garnered a reputation for sensational theories. Therefore, the only thing known for certain was that all the murder victims were dismembered.^[2]

In popular culture[link]

Butcher's Dozen, the second of Max Allan Collins's series of novels fictionalizing Ness's activities as Cleveland's Safety Director, is inspired by the torso murder legend.

The episode "Zoe's Reprise" of the CBS TV series Criminal Minds featured a copycat serial killer in the Cleveland area. The episode originally aired Wednesday, February 18, 2009.^[3]

Unsolved Mysteries once featured a segment about the Torso Killer that argued for a link to the Black Dahlia murder.

The Cleveland torso murders were the impetus for John Peyton Cooke's 1993 novel Torsos (called Torso in the United Kingdom).

The graphic novel Torso by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko also focuses on the case.

William Bernhardt's 2009 novel "Nemesis — The Final Case Of Eliot Ness" is a fictional account of the torso murders investigation. It features Ness recounting details of the case to his biographer shortly before his death.

Kelley Armstrong's novel "Haunted" features a woman committing the crimes with the assistance of a chaotic spirit.

In Black Dahlia (video game), the Torso Killer is a member of the Thuul Society, and is performing the murders as sacrifices in a Norse ritual to bestow power upon the performer.

References[link]

• Max Allan Collins; Butcher's Dozen; Bantam Books; ISBN 978-0-553-26151-6 (paperback, 1988)
• Ian Brady; The gates of Janus (Chapter 14); Feral House; ISBN 978-0-922915-73-6 (Hardback, 2001)
• James Jessen Badal; In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders; The Kent State University Press; ISBN 0-87338-689-2 (paperback, 2001)
• Mark Wade Stone; The Fourteenth Victim - Eliot Ness and Torso Murders; Storytellers Media Group; ISBN 0-9749575-3-4 (DVD, 2003–2006)
• John Stark Bellamy II; The Maniac in the Bushes and More Tales of Cleveland Woe; Gray and Company, Publishers; ISBN 1-886228-19-1 (paperback, 1997)
• Steven Nickel; Torso: Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killer; John F Blair Publishers; ISBN 0-89587-246-3 (paperback, 2001)
• John Peyton Cooke; Torsos; Mysterious Press; ISBN 0-89296-522-3 (hardback, 1993)
• Lisa Black; Trail of Blood; HarperCollins Publishers; ISBN 978-0-06-198933-9 (hardback 2010)
• William T. Rasmussen; Corroborating Evidence II: The Cleveland Torso Murders; Sunstone Press, Publisher; ISBN 0-86534-536-8 (paperback,2005)

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Cleveland Police Historical Society and Museum
• The Kingsbury Run Murders
• Torso Killer at the Open Directory Project
• Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Al Capone
Capone in 1931
Born	(1899-01-17)January 17, 1899 Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died	January 25, 1947(1947-01-25) (aged 48) Palm Island, Florida, United States
Charge(s)	Tax evasion
Penalty	11 year sentence in Alcatraz
Occupation	Gangster, bootlegger, criminal, racketeer, boss of Chicago Outfit
Spouse	Mae Capone
Children	Albert Francis Capone

Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early 1920s to 1931.

Born in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City to Italian immigrants, Capone became involved with gang activity at a young age after being expelled from school at age 14.^[1] In his early twenties, he moved to Chicago to take advantage of a new opportunity to make money smuggling illegal alcoholic beverages into the city during Prohibition. He also engaged in various other criminal activities, including bribery of government figures and prostitution. Despite his illegitimate occupation, Capone became a highly visible public figure. He made donations to various charitable endeavors using the money he made from his activities, and was viewed by many to be a "modern-day Robin Hood".^[2]

Capone's public reputation was damaged in the wake of his supposed involvement in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, when seven rival gang members were executed.^[3] Capone was convicted on federal charges of tax evasion, and sentenced to federal prison. His incarceration included a term at the then-new Alcatraz federal prison. In the final years of Capone's life, he suffered mental and physical deterioration due to late-stage neurosyphilis, which he had contracted in his youth. On January 25, 1947, he died from cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.

Early life[link]

Young Capone and his mother, Teresa

Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born in the borough of Brooklyn in New York on January 17, 1899.^[4] His parents, Gabriele (December 12, 1864 – November 14, 1920) and Teresina Capone (December 28, 1867 – November 29, 1952), were immigrants from Italy. His father, Gabriele, was a barber from Castellammare di Stabia, a town about 16 mi (26 km) south of Naples, and his mother, Teresa, was a seamstress and the daughter of Angelo Raiola from Angri, a town in the Province of Salerno.^[5]

Gabriele and Teresa had nine children: Alphonse "Scarface Al" Capone, James Capone (also known as Richard Two-Gun Hart), Raffaele Capone (also known as Ralph "Bottles" Capone, who took charge of his brother's beverage industry), Salvatore "Frank" Capone, John Capone, Albert Capone, Matthew Capone, Rose Capone, and Mafalda Capone (who married John J. Maritote). The Capone family immigrated to the United States, first immigrating from Italy to Rijeka, Croatia in 1893, traveling on a ship to U.S and settled at 95 Navy Street,^[4] in the Navy Yard section of downtown Brooklyn. Gabriele Capone worked at a nearby barber shop at 29 Park Avenue.^[4] When Al was 11, the Capone family moved to 38 Garfield Place^[4] in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Capone showed promise as a student, but had trouble with the rules at his strict parochial Catholic school. He dropped out of school at the age of 14, after being expelled for hitting a female teacher in the face.^[1] He worked at odd jobs around Brooklyn, including a candy store and a bowling alley.^[6] During this time, Capone was influenced by gangster Johnny Torrio, whom he came to regard as a mentor.^[7]

Career[link]

After his initial stint with small-time gangs that included the Junior Forty Thieves and the Bowery Boys, Capone joined the Brooklyn Rippers and then the powerful Five Points Gang based in Lower Manhattan. During this time, he was employed and mentored by fellow racketeer Frankie Yale, a bartender in a Coney Island dance hall and saloon called the Harvard Inn. Capone received the scars that gave him the nickname "Scarface" in a fight.^[3] After he inadvertently insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club, Capone was attacked by her brother Frank Gallucio; his face was slashed three times on the left side. Yale insisted that Capone apologize to Gallucio, and later Capone hired him as a bodyguard.^[8][9] When photographed, Capone hid the scarred left side of his face. He said the injuries were war wounds.^[8][10] Capone was called "Snorky" by his closest friends.^[11]

Marriage and family[link]

On December 30, 1918, Capone married Mae Josephine Coughlin, who was Irish Catholic and who, earlier that month, had given birth to their first son, Albert Francis ("Sonny") Capone. As Capone was under the age of 21, his parents had to consent to the marriage in writing.^{[citation needed]}

Chicago career[link]

Capone departed New York for Chicago without his new wife and son, who joined him later. In 1923, he purchased a small house at 7244 South Prairie Avenue in the Park Manor neighborhood on the city's south side for USD $5,500.^[12]

Capone was recruited for Chicago by Johnny Torrio, his Five Points Gang mentor. Torrio had gone there to resolve some family problems his cousin's husband was having with the Black Hand. Torrio killed the members of the Black Hand who had given his cousin's husband problems. He saw many business opportunities in Chicago, especially bootlegging following the onset of prohibition. Chicago's location on Lake Michigan gave access to a vast inland territory, and it was well-served by railroads. Torrio took over the crime empire of James "Big Jim" Colosimo after he was murdered. Yale was a suspect but legal proceedings against him were dropped due to a lack of evidence.^[13] Capone was suspected in the murders of Colosimo and two other men. He was seeking a safe haven and a better job to provide for his new family.^[14]

The 1924 town council elections in Cicero became known as one of the most crooked elections in the Chicago area's long history of rigged elections, with voters threatened by thugs at polling stations. Capone's mayoral candidate won by a huge margin and weeks later announced that he would run Capone out of town. Capone met with his puppet-mayor and knocked him down the town hall steps.^{[citation needed]}

For Capone, the election victory was marred by the death of his younger brother Frank at the hands of the police. Capone cried at his brother's funeral and ordered the closure of all the speakeasies in Cicero for a day as a mark of respect.

Much of Capone's family settled in Cicero as well. In 1930, Capone's sister Mafalda married John J. Maritote at St. Mary of Częstochowa, a massive Neogothic edifice towering over Cicero Avenue in the Polish Cathedral style.^[15]

Capone's power grows in Cicero[link]

The Torrio-Capone organization, as well as the Sicilian-American Genna crime family, competed with the North Side Gang of Dean O'Banion. In May 1924, O'Banion discovered that their Sieben Brewery was going to be raided by federal agents and sold his share to Torrio. After the raid, both O'Banion and Torrio were arrested.^[16] Torrio's people murdered O'Banion in revenge on October 10, 1924, provoking a gang war.^[17][18]

In 1925, Torrio was severely injured in an attack by the North Side Gang; he turned over his business to Capone and returned to Italy. During the Prohibition Era, Capone controlled large portions of the Chicago underworld, which provided The Outfit with an estimated US $100 million per year in revenue.^[19] This wealth was generated through numerous illegal vice enterprises, such as gambling and prostitution; the highest revenue was generated by the sale of liquor.^[3]

His transportation network moved smuggled liquor from the rum-runners of the East Coast, The Purple Gang in Detroit, who brought liquor in from Canada, with help from Belle River native Blaise Diesbourg, also known as "King Canada," and local production which came from Midwestern moonshine operations and illegal breweries. With the revenues gained by his bootlegging operation, Capone increased his grip on the political and law-enforcement establishments in Chicago. He made his headquarters at Chicago's Lexington Hotel; after the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, it was nicknamed "Capone's Castle".

According to one source, while Al Capone was in charge of the Chicago Outfit it has been reported that some members of organization would take the train from Chicago to Wabash County, Illinois and stay at a remote hotel called the Grand Rapids Hotel on the Wabash River next to the Grand Rapids Dam. The hotel was only in existence for nine years but many residents of the area remember seeing men who claimed to be from the Chicago Outfit at the Grand Rapids Hotel. Suspiciously, the Grand Rapids Hotel was burned down by a man with one leg who dropped a blowtorch. It is not currently known if the men who travelled to the Grand Rapids Hotel were smuggling liquor in violation of prohibition or merely vacationing.^[20]

The organized corruption included the bribing of Chicago Mayor William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, and Capone's gang operated largely free from legal intrusion. He operated casinos and speakeasies throughout the city. With his wealth, he indulged in custom suits, cigars, gourmet food and drink (his preferred liquor was Templeton Rye from Iowa^[21]), jewelry, and female companionship. He garnered media attention, to which his favorite responses were "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want," and "All I do is satisfy a public demand."^[3] Capone had become a celebrity.

Unemployed men outside a soup kitchen opened in Chicago by Al Capone, 1931

His rivals retaliated for the violence of Capone's enforcement of control. North Side gangsters Hymie Weiss and Bugs Moran wanted to bring him down. More than once, Capone's car was riddled with bullets. On September 20, 1926, the North Side gang shot into Capone's entourage as he was eating lunch in the Hawthorne Hotel restaurant. A motorcade of ten vehicles, using Thompson submachine guns and shotguns riddled the outside of the Hotel and the restaurant on the first floor of the building. Capone's bodyguard, Frankie Rio, threw him to the ground at the first sound of gunfire. Several bystanders were hurt from flying glass and bullet fragments in the raid. Capone paid for the medical care of a young boy and his mother who would have lost her eyesight otherwise. This event prompted Capone to call for a truce, but negotiations fell through. The attacks were believed to have been made at Moran's direction and left Capone shaken.^{[citation needed]}

Capone had his Cadillac fitted with bullet-proof glass, run-flat tires and a police siren. In 1932, Treasury agents working on prohibition issues seized the car; it was later used as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's limousine.^[22]

Capone placed armed bodyguards around the clock at his headquarters at the Lexington Hotel, at 22nd Street (later renamed Cermak Road) and Michigan Avenue. For his trips away from Chicago, Capone was reputed to have had several other retreats and hideouts in places including:

Couderay, Wisconsin[23] Capone's Couderay hideout (a popular tourist attraction in later years) is a 407-acre property, complete with a 37-acre lake which reputedly was used to land planes filled with illegal liquor for shipment south to Chicago.[23][24] Former New York gang member Owney "The Killer" Madden retired to Hot Springs and invited his former colleagues to visit him there; this was also the place that Lucky Luciano was first arrested. As a further precaution, Capone and his entourage would often show up suddenly at one of Chicago's train depots and buy up an entire Pullman sleeper car on night trains to places such as Cleveland, Omaha, Kansas City, Little Rock or Hot Springs, where they would spend a week in luxury hotel suites under assumed names. In 1928, Capone bought a 14-room retreat on Palm Island, Florida, close to Miami Beach.[3] Saint Valentine's Day Massacre[link] Main article: Saint Valentine's Day Massacre File:Valentine Day massacre.jpg The St. Valentine's Day Massacre eliminated some of Capone's enemies, but outraged the general public It is believed that Capone ordered the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. Details of the killing of the seven victims[3] in a garage at 2122 North Clark Street (then the SMC Cartage Co.) and the extent of Capone's involvement are widely disputed. No one was ever brought to trial for the crime. The massacre was thought to be the Outfit's effort to strike back at Bugs Moran's North Side gang. They had been increasingly bold in hijacking the Outfit's booze trucks, assassinating two presidents of the Outfit-controlled Unione Siciliana, and made three assassination attempts on Jack McGurn, a top enforcer of Capone.[citation needed] To monitor their targets' habits and movements, Capone’s men rented an apartment across from the trucking warehouse that served as a Moran headquarters. On the morning of Thursday February 14, 1929, Capone’s lookouts signaled gunmen disguised as police to start a 'raid'. The faux police lined the seven victims along a wall without a struggle then signaled for accomplices with machine guns. The seven victims were machine-gunned and shot-gunned.[citation needed] Photos of the massacre victims shocked the public and damaged Capone's reputation. Federal law enforcement worked to investigate his activities.[3] Conviction and imprisonment[link] Wikisource has original text related to this article: IRS investigation of Al Capone Al Capone's cell at the Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA In 1929, the Bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness began an investigation of Capone and his business, attempting to get a conviction for Prohibition violations. Frank J. Wilson investigated Capone's income tax violations, which the government decided was more likely material for a conviction. In 1931 Capone was indicted for income tax evasion and various violations of the Volstead Act (Prohibition) at the Chicago Federal Building in the courtroom of Judge James Herbert Wilkerson.[25] His attorneys made a plea deal, but the presiding judge warned he might not follow the sentencing recommendation from the prosecution. Capone withdrew his plea of guilty. His attempt to bribe and intimidate the potential jurors was discovered by Ness's men, The Untouchables . The venire (jury pool) was switched with one from another case, and Capone was stymied. Following a long trial, on October 17 the jury returned a mixed verdict, finding Capone guilty of five counts of tax evasion and failing to file tax returns[26][27] (the Volstead Act violations were dropped). The judge sentenced him to 11 years imprisonment, at the time the longest tax evasion sentence ever given, along with heavy fines, and liens were filed against his various properties.[28] His appeals of both the conviction and the sentence were denied.[29] In May 1932, Capone was sent to Atlanta U.S. Penitentiary, but he was able to obtain special privileges. Later, for a short period of time, he was transferred to the Lincoln Heights Jail. He was transferred to Alcatraz on August 11, 1934, which was newly established as a prison on an island off San Francisco.[30] The warden kept tight security and cut off Capone's contact with colleagues. His isolation and the repeal of Prohibition in December 1933, which reduced a major source of revenue, diminished his power.[citation needed] Al Capone at Alcatraz During his early months at Alcatraz, Capone made an enemy by showing his disregard for the prison social order when he cut in line while prisoners were waiting for a haircut. James Lucas, a Texas bank robber serving 30 years, reportedly confronted the former syndicate leader and told him to get back at the end of the line. When Capone asked if he knew who he was, Lucas reportedly grabbed a pair of the barber's scissors and, holding them to Capone's neck, answered "Yeah, I know who you are, greaseball. And if you don't get back to the end of that fucking line, I'm gonna know who you were."[31] Capone was admitted into the prison hospital with a minor wound and released a few days later.[2] In addition, his health declined as the syphilis which he had contracted as a youth progressed. He spent the last year of his sentence in the prison hospital, confused and disoriented.[32] Capone completed his term in Alcatraz on January 6, 1939, and was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island in California, to serve the one-year contempt of court term he was originally sentenced to serve in Chicago's Cook County jail.[33] He was paroled on November 16, 1939, and, after having spent a short time in a hospital, returned to his home in Palm Island, Florida.[34] Later years[link] Capone's control and interests within organized crime diminished rapidly after his imprisonment, and he was no longer able to run the Outfit after his release. He had lost weight, and his physical and mental health had deteriorated under the effects of neurosyphilis. He had become incapable of resuming his gang activity. In 1946, his physician and a Baltimore psychiatrist performed examinations and concluded that Capone then had the mental capability of a 12-year-old child.[35] He often raved about Communists, foreigners, and Bugs Moran, whom he was convinced was plotting to kill him from his Ohio prison cell. On January 21, 1947, Capone had a stroke. He regained consciousness and started to improve but contracted pneumonia. He suffered a fatal cardiac arrest the next day. On January 25, 1947 Al Capone died in his home in Palm Island, Florida, surrounded by his family.[36] In popular culture[link] One of the most notorious American gangsters of the 20th century, Capone has been the subject of numerous articles, books, and films. Capone's personality and character have been used in fiction as a model for crime lords and criminal masterminds ever since his death. The stereotypical image of a mobster wearing a blue pinstriped suit and tilted fedora is based on photos of Capone. His accent, mannerisms, facial construction, physical stature, and parodies of his name have been used for numerous gangsters in comics, movies, music, and literature. Literature[link] Capone is featured in Mario Puzo's The Godfather in a segment in which Luca Brasi kills two henchmen sent by Capone to kill Don Vito Corleone.[37] Capone is featured in the Kinky Friedman novel, The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover (1997).[citation needed] Al Capone is referenced in Gennifer Choldenko's 2004 historical fiction book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, and its sequel Al Capone Shines My Shoes.[citation needed] In a book of photographs titled New York City Gangland (2010), both Capone and his NYC bootlegging ally, Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, appear in Prohibition-era "bathing beauty" portraits.[38] A reincarnated Capone is a major character in science fiction author Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy. Capone's appearance was the model for the dummy of Batman villain the Ventriloquist, aptly named Scarface. Capone's niece, Deirdre Marie Capone, wrote a book titled Uncle Al Capone: The Untold Story from Inside His Family.[39] The young Capone is featured extensively in the 2010 HBO production Boardwalk Empire Al Capone is a central character in the fantasy novel Cosa Nosferatu, which imagines Capone and Eliot Ness entangled with Randolph Carter and other elements of H.P. Lovecraft mythos. Film and television[link] Capone has been portrayed on screen by: Rod Steiger in Al Capone (1959).[40] Neville Brand in the TV series The Untouchables and again in the movie The George Raft Story (1961).[40] José Calvo in Due mafiosi contro Al Capone (1966).[40] Jason Robards in The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967).[40] Ben Gazzara in Capone (1975).[40] Robert De Niro in The Untouchables (1987).[40] Ray Sharkey in The Revenge of Al Capone (1989) Eric Roberts in The Lost Capone (1990) William Forsythe in The Untouchables (1993–1994) William Devane as Al Capone in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (13 November 1994)[citation needed] F. Murray Abraham in Dillinger and Capone (1995). Anthony LaPaglia in Road to Perdition (2002), in a deleted scene.[41] Julian Littman in Al's Lads (2002) Jon Bernthal in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009).[42] Stephen Graham in Boardwalk Empire (2010) Actors playing characters based on Capone include: Wallace Beery as Louis 'Louie' Scorpio in The Secret Six (1931).[40] Ricardo Cortez as Goldie Gorio in Bad Company (1931).[40] Paul Lukas as Big Fellow Maskal in City Streets (1931).[40] Edward Arnold as Duke Morgan in Okay, America! (1932).[40] Jean Hersholt as Samuel 'Sam' Belmonte in The Beast of the City (1932).[40] Paul Muni as Antonio 'Tony' Camonte in Scarface (1932). C. Henry Gordon as Nick Diamond in Gabriel Over the White House (1933).[40] John Litel as 'Gat' Brady in Alcatraz Island (1937).[40] Barry Sullivan as Shubunka in The Gangster (1947).[40] Ralph Volkie as Big Fellow in The Undercover Man (1949).[40] Edmond O'Brien as Fran McCarg in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955).[40] Lee J. Cobb as Rico Angelo in Party Girl (1958).[40] George Raft as Spats Colombo and Nehemiah Persoff as Little Bonaparte in Some Like It Hot (1959).[40] Frank Ronzio as Litmus in Escape from Alcatraz (1979) introduces himself to newcomer Charlie Butts as "Al Capone". The movie is set in 1962, 15 years after Capone's death. Al Pacino as Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy (1990).[40] Music[link] Prince Buster, Jamaican ska and rocksteady musician, had his first hit in the UK with the single "Al Capone" in 1967.[43] The Specials, a UK ska revival group, reworked Prince Buster's track into their first single, "Gangsters",[44] which featured the line "Don't call me Scarface!" Graffiti of Al Capone made by Partizan fans in Belgrade, Serbia. Paper Lace, "The Night Chicago Died" is a song by the British group Paper Lace, written by Peter Callander and Mitch Murray. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in 1974. It is about a fictional shoot-out in Chicago between Al Capone's Gang and the Chicago Police.Quote from the song "When a man named Al Capone Tried to make that town his own And he called his gang to war With the forces of the law" [45] Al Capone is referenced heavily in Prodigy's track "Al Capone Zone", produced by The Alchemist and featuring Keak Da Sneak.[46] Al Capone transcribed a love song called Madonna Mia while in prison. In May 2009, his rendition of the song was recorded for the first time in history.[citation needed] He is referenced in a homonymous song by Brazilian singer Raul Seixas. His name also appears in the (not so well known) song Stone Cold Crazy by Queen. Megadeth's song "Public Enemy No. 1" is about Capone. Al Capone is referenced in song lyrics by the group: TESLA. (Album: Mechnical Resonance. Year: 1986. Song: Modern Day Cowboy-track 7. "Al Capone and his bad boy Jones...") Sport[link] Fans of Serbian football club Partizan are using Al Capone's character as a mascot for one of their subgroups called "Alcatraz", named after a prison in which Al Capone served his sentence. Also, in honour of Capone, a graffiti representation of him exists in the center of Belgrade. See also[link] American Mafia List of Depression-era outlaws Scarface (1932 film) Scarface (1983 film) The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults Timeline of organized crime References[link] ^ a b "Notorious Crime Files: Al Capone". The Biography Channel. Biography.com. http://www.biography.com/notorious/crimefiles.do?catId=259452&action=view&profileId=262834. Retrieved 2010-11-12.  ^ a b "Al Capone at Alcatraz". Ocean View Publishing. 1992. http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/cap1.htm.  ^ a b c d e f g The Five Families. MacMillan. http://books.google.com/books?id=5nAt6N8iQnYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0. Retrieved 2008-06-22.  ^ a b c d Schoenberg, Robert L. (1992). Mr. Capone. New York, New York: William Morrow and Company. pp. 18–19. ISBN 0-688-12838-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=U7VAcMdddNkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=al+capone&ei=DFt6SuewMZ-UygSR7MXCDA#v=onepage&q=born&f=false.  ^ Kobler, John (1971). Capone. Da Capo Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-306-80499-9.  ^ Kobler, 27. ^ Kobler, 26. ^ a b Kobler, 36. ^ Bardsley, Marilyn. "Scarface". Al Capone. Crime Library. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/scarface_4.html. Retrieved 2008-03-29.  ^ Kobler, 15. ^ "Mobsters and Gangsters from Al Capone to Tony Soprano", Life (2002). ^ Hood, Joel (2009-04-02). "Capone home on the market - Chicago Tribune Archives". Chicagotribune.com. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-talk-caponeapr02,0,5381253.story. Retrieved 2010-03-12.  ^ Bardsley, Marilyn. "Chicago". Al Capone. Crime Library. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/chicago_5.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.  ^ Kobler, 37. ^ Added by bob armour. "Al Capone moves his gang's headquarters to Cicero, Illinois". Timelines.com. http://timelines.com/1923/al-capone-moves-his-gangs-headquarters-to-cicero-illinois. Retrieved 2010-03-12.  ^ Bergreen, Laurence (1994). Capone: The Man and the Era. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-0-684-82447-5.  ^ Bergreen, pp 134-135 ^ Bergreen, p 138 ^ "Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2008." Online calculator appears on the right side of website. http://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/index.php ^ Nolan, John Matthew "2,543 Days: A history of the Hotel at the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River" ^ Walker, Jason (2009-07-07). "Templeton Rye of Templeton, Iowa". Heavy Table. http://heavytable.com/templeton-rye-of-templeton-iowa/. Retrieved 2010-12-04.  ^ By Mike M. Ahlers and Eric Marrapodi CNN (2009-01-06). "Obama's wheels: Secret Service to unveil new presidential limo - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/06/driving.obama/index.html#cnnSTCOther1. Retrieved 2010-03-12.  ^ a b "Al Capone's Couderay, Wisconsin Hideout Home for Sale; Asking Price $2.6M". CBS News. 07 October 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-5369641-504083.html. Retrieved 20 March 2012.  ^ "Reputed Capone hideout sold to Wisconsin bank". CNN. 08 October 2009. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-08/justice/wisconsin.capone.hideout.sold_1_capone-family-al-capone-reputed?_s=PM:CRIME. Retrieved 20 March 2012.  ^ "Visitors to the Court-Historic Trials". US District Court-Northern District of Illinois. http://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/home/CourtHouseVisitors.aspx. Retrieved 2011-02-10.  ^ Linder, Douglas O.. "Selected Documents: Jury Verdict Form (October 17, 1931)". Al Capone Trial. University of Missouri–Kansas City. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/capone/caponeverdict.html. Retrieved 2011-10-16.  ^ Bergreen, p. 484 ^ Bergreen, pp. 486-487 ^ Capone v. United States, 56 F.2d 927 (1931), cert. denied, 286 U.S. 553, 76 L.Ed. 1288, 52 S.Ct. 503; (1932); United States v. Capone, 93 F.2d 840 (1937), cert. denied, 303 U.S. 651, 82 L.Ed. 1112, 58 S.Ct. 750 (1938). ^ "First Prisoners Arrive at Alcatraz Prison (Likely Including Al Capone)". Timelines.com. 1934-08-11. http://timelines.com/1934/8/11/first-prisoners-arrive-at-alcatraz-prison-likely-including-al-capone. Retrieved 2011-01-27.  ^ Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3 ^ Al Capone: Chicago's Most Infamous Mob Boss - The Crime library. ^ J. Campbell Bruce, "Escape from Alcatraz", Random House Digital, Inc. (2005), p 32. ^ John J. Binder, "The Chicago Outfit", Arcadia Publishing (2003), p 41-42. ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Famous Cases and Criminals - Al Capone". www.fbi.gov. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/al-capone. Retrieved 2010-11-09.  ^ "Capone Dead At 48; Dry Era Gang Chief". Associated Press. Nytimes.com. 2009-04-02. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0117.html. Retrieved 2010-03-12.  ^ Puzo, Mario (1969). The Godfather. pp. 214–217. ISBN 0-7493-2468-6.  ^ www.NYCGangland.com ^ Capone, Deirdre Marie. "Uncle Al Capone - The Untold Story from Inside His Family". Amazon.com. ISBN 978-0-9828451-0-3. http://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Al-Capone-Untold-Inside/dp/0982845103/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327756747&sr=1-1. Retrieved 2012-04-13.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Newman, Kim (1997). Hardy, Phil. ed. The BFI companion to crime. Cassell. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-304-33215-1. OCLC 247004388. http://books.google.co.za/books?id=agfHUakbj5kC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=%22Barry+Sullivan%22+capone&source=bl&ots=EzxDcfye59&sig=EolUsBQjSaoIZnUBQffBerN1E9c&hl=en&ei=bd6rSpaYOYnbjQfJpv3cBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=%22Barry%20Sullivan%22%20capone&f=false. Retrieved 2009-09-12.  ^ "Video Beat: 'Perdition' exudes a hellish beauty". Seattle Post-Inteligencer. 2003-03-01. http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/110543_vid01.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-12.  ^ Loewenstein, Lael (2009-05-20). "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940315.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-09-12.  ^ "Prince Buster, Al Capone". ChartStats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=4375. Retrieved July 22, 2011.  ^ "Gangsters by The Specials". SongFacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5253. Retrieved July 22, 2011.  ^ "The Night Chicago Died". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Chicago_Died. Retrieved January 12, 2012.  ^ "Al Capone Zone | Alchemist Song". New.music.yahoo.com. http://new.music.yahoo.com/alchemist/tracks/al-capone-zone--207389271. Retrieved 2011-01-27.  Further reading[link] Capone, Deirdre Marie; Uncle Al Capone - The Untold Story from Inside His Family. Recap Publishing LLC ISBN 978-0-9828451-0-3 Hoffman Dennis E. Scarface Al and the Crime Crusaders: Chicago's Private War Against Capone Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (November 24, 1993) ISBN 978-0-8093-1925-1 Kobler, John. Capone: The Life and Times of Al Capone. New York: Da Capo Press, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81285-1 MacDonald, Alan. Dead Famous – Al Capone and his Gang Scholastic. Pasley, Fred D. Al Capone: The Biography of a Self-Made Man. Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co., 2004. ISBN 1-4179-0878-5 Schoenberg, Robert J. Mr. Capone. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0-688-12838-6 External links[link] Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Al Capone Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Al Capone Al Capone: The Original Gangster – slideshow by Life magazine Mario Gomes' site on everything related to Al Capone South Beach Magazine The Un-Welcomed Visitor: Al Capone in Miami. (with photos) Complete FBI files on Al Capone Al Capone at the Crime Library Preceded by Johnny Torrio Chicago Outfit Boss 1925–1932 Succeeded by Frank Nitti v t e Alcohol prohibition By country Canada Finland Iceland Iran Russia/Soviet Union United States By topic 18th Amendment (U.S. Constitution) 21st Amendment (U.S. Constitution) Anti-Saloon League American Mafia Dry county Islam Jazz Age Moonshine Prohibition Party Roaring Twenties Rum-running Rum row Rum Patrol Speakeasy Temperance movement Teetotalism Volstead Act Woman's Christian Temperance Union Associated people Al Capone Mickey Duffy The Purple Gang Waxey Gordon Frank Hamer J. Edgar Hoover Bumpy Johnson Enoch L. Johnson Meyer Lansky Lucky Luciano Sam Maceo Owney Madden Bugs Moran William McCoy Eliot Ness Arnold Rothstein Nicholas II of Russia Dutch Schultz v t e Italian American Mafia Families East Coast Five Families of New York City: Bonanno Colombo Gambino Genovese Lucchese Buffalo DeCavalcante (New Jersey) Patriarca (New England) Philadelphia Pittsburgh Trafficante (Florida) Midwestern/Western Chicago Cleveland Detroit Kansas City Los Angeles Milwaukee St. Louis Defunct Bufalino (Pennsylvania) Dallas Denver Genna (Chicago) New Orleans Porrello (Cleveland) Rochester San Francisco San Jose Structure Chain of command The Commission Boss (don) Underboss Consigliere (advisor) Caporegime (captain or capo) Soldier Associate Members (made men) List of Italian American mobsters List of Italian American mobsters by organization Codes and Terms Initiation ceremony Bagman Vendetta Capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses) Mustache Pete Omertà Zips Events Meetings Atlantic City Conference (1929) Havana Conference (invitees) (1946) Apalachin Meeting (1957) Palermo Mafia summit (1957) Hearings Kefauver Committee (1950–1951) Valachi hearings (1963) Wars Mafia–Camorra War (1914–1917) Castellammarese War (1929–1931) Trials Pizza Connection Trial (1985–1987) Mafia Commission Trial (1985–1986) See also: Sicilian Mafia template List of Mafia crime families v t e The Untouchables Members Eliot Ness · Martin J. Lahart · Samuel M. Seager · Bernard V. Cloonan · Lyle Chapman · Thomas Friel · Joseph Leeson · Paul W. Robsky · Michael King · William Gardner · Others: Jim Seeley · Albert H. Wolff · Unofficial (ie, non-agent): Frank Basile Context Prohibition · Volstead Act Investigation Targets Chicago Outfit · Al Capone · Also: Frank Nitti Law enforcement Bureau of Prohibition · Treasury's Bureau of Internal Revenue · Frank J. Wilson · Elmer Lincoln Irey Book The Untouchables (1957 book) · Authors: Eliot Ness · Oscar Fraley Media The Untouchables (1959 TV series) (episode list) · The Untouchables (film) (1987) · The Untouchables (video game) (1989) · The Untouchables (1993 TV series) (episode list) Persondata Name Capone, Al Alternative names Short description Date of birth January 17, 1899 Place of birth Brooklyn, New York, United States Date of death January 25, 1947 Place of death Palm Island (Florida), U.S.