Topic > Al Capone: A Biography of a Notorious Gangster

With his record of bloodshed and death, Al Capone may be considered the most famous gangster in American history. His crimes, which include murder, illegal gambling and bootlegging, will never be ignored and his death will surely leave a lasting legacy (pbs). Arriving as a child in the United States in 1894, he and his family settled in Brooklyn, New York. (umich). As a teenager, he ran errands for gangster Johnny Torrio (umich). He eventually got into a bar fight and received three cuts to the face (umich). These eventually led to his nickname “Scarface” (umich). Eventually, when Capone was older, he moved to Chicago and then Cicero to continue working with Torrio(umich). After Torrio was arrested, Capone became responsible for his territory and began his history of crimes (umich). One of his most infamous crimes is the Valentine's Day Massacre, in which several rival gangsters were brutally murdered by his henchmen who were disguised as policemen and made it appear as if it was a raid. (pbs). However the murder was never officially attributed to Al because he was not in the city where the murder occurred, as he was in Chicago and was in Miami at the time (pbs). He went to prison several times for multiple reasons, but in October 1931 he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion (pbs). Capone only served six of those years, as his sentence was reduced for good behavior (pbs). After being released, Capone went and stayed in Miami(pbs). His health up to that point had been in sharp decline due to a case of syphilis contracted during adolescence (pbs). On January 25, 1947, Al Capone died of cardiac arrest at the age of 48 (pbs). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Even after his death, it is certain that Al Capone will leave a lasting legacy in the history of the United States. His murders and crimes will never be ignored. He could potentially be the deadliest gangster living in the United States and he could potentially be the most infamous bootlegger. The 18th Amendment banning alcohol only led to more business opportunities for Capone (American History). This ban caused many bars and saloons to close. Therefore, any place or person that sells alcohol becomes very profitable. Al saw it as a business opportunity and had opened several speakeasies, which were essentially secret bars (American story). Furthermore, his location in Chicago only gave him a greater advantage over other bootleggers (American History). His organization was one of the largest and one that had a lot of influence on smuggling (American history). However, Al Capone did things that could be considered unexpected. Capone had opened a soup kitchen in Chicago, which was one of the first soup kitchens there (American history). And according to those who had eaten there, it had done more for them than any other relief effort (American History). Overall, Al Capone will definitely leave a lasting legacy that won't wane anytime soon and his presence in the 1920s will definitely be remembered..