Alphonse Gabriel Capone was one of the youngest and most powerful gangsters to ever come out of America. He rose to power during the prohibition era and remained in charge of the Chicago underground scene for many years before going to prison at the age of 33. So, how did this “Robin Hood” turn into “Public Enemy No.1”?
Growing Up in New York and Living Alongside Other Immigrant Families
Al Capone was born to Italian immigrant parents and his household was said to be rather chaotic. Growing up, Capone shared a small apartment with his parents and his seven other siblings, which made individual attention to each child rather scary. This could explain why Capone sought attention in unhealthy ways at school.
Capone’s family lived alongside many other immigrant families and there lies power in numbers. Not entirely an outcast, Capone had his fair share of immigrant friends all living together around Brooklyn. The Catholic school most of them attended proved Capone to have developed some serious issues with authority figures.
Problems With Authority and His Love For Baseball
Capone was expelled from his very strict Catholic school at the age of 14 after punching a teacher in the face. It clearly didn’t phase him and he quickly left school behind to set off on different ventures, working odd jobs to contribute financially to the household. From working in candy stores to managing bowling alleys, Capone was a jack of all trades.
He even spent some time playing baseball semi-professionally for quite some time and continued dabbling in this sport throughout the remainder of his life. Capone spent the rest of his teenage years out of trouble until one day when he met the man who radically changed the course of his life
Bad Role Models and His Transition Into Gang Life
Johnny Torrio would become almost like a father figure, a man Capone looked up to. Torrio held all the qualities of a confident man, but he was so much more than that: he was a notorious gangster. He taught Capone everything he needed to know to walk in his footsteps, giving him a taste of what it felt like to get his hands on real money and the power that came with it.
Capone was tougher than the rest and quickly became part of his first small-time gangs such as the Bowery Boys and Junior Forty Thieves. Due to his flamboyant nature, thirst for power, and money-hungry zest for life, Capone quickly joined the Brooklyn Rippers and soon enough moved up to the Five Points Gang. Capone chose gang life, money, women, and power.
The Night “Scarface” Was Born
Frankie Yale also became one of Al Capone’s role models during this time. Yale chose Capone to become the bouncer at Harvard-Inn due to Capone’s aggressive nature and fiery temper. Unfortunately, Capone also had a big mouth and no idea when to keep it shut. His big mouth landed him the scar on his face and the nickname that stayed with him for the rest of his life.
One night at the New York-based club, Capone had some ugly things to say to a woman as she entered the premises, not knowing she had her knife-carrying brother to defend her. Frank Galluccio quickly came to his sister’s defense by slicing Capone three times across his face. The nickname “scarface” was born right there and the nickname stayed with him. One could often see Capone hiding the left side of his face from then on….. To be continued