Podcast Episode Details
Back to Podcast EpisodesAl Capone, the Real Scarface (Part One)
In 1929, Al Capone was worth an inflation adjusted 1.5 billion dollars.
On January 17, 1899, Alphonse Gabriel Capone became the fourth child born into this family, and the second native American. Including the two born in Italy, the Capone family later consisted of nine children, eight surviving into adulthood. Al’s father was a barber by trade, eventually moving the family to a better home that also contained his shop. His father, unlike his mother, was literate and spoke English. Although relatively poor, the Capones seemed like just another ordinary, hard working couple putting their children through school and looking to make their way in the new world. There was nothing to indicate mental instability or dysfunction that eventually produced a remarkably anti-social progeny.
From a young age, Donato “Johnny” Torrio was focused on organizing criminal activities involving gambling and loan sharking that he operated from behind a legitimate business, a neighborhood pool hall. Although not flamboyant, Torrio, born in Montepeloso, Italy, was a sharp operator who allied himself with Manhattan’s Five Points Gang and quickly began to branch out into more malevolent criminal activity involving prostitution, extortion and even narcotics. Torrio also kept a close eye on the neighborhood, always eager to find teenagers that he could depend on to run errands and generally handle tasks without asking too many questions.
This change was prompted by Johnny Torrio, by now himself relocated to Chicago and the brains behind the racketeer
Published on 3 years, 5 months ago