Al Capone's Legacy

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Between 1920 and 1930, the American Prohibition Era began and ended in a whirl of justice, scandal, crime, and punishment. Whether it is the oppositional nature of people that drives them to do what they are told not to, or whether Americans of the day and age simply enjoyed their alcohol a bit too much, anyone can say. Whatever the cause, the Prohibition Era and the time periods surrounding it became the centerpiece in a story of incredibly extravagant law enforcement, dangerous businessmen, shady deals, and bloody massacres.
Along the front lines in the fight against moonshine and speakeasies were policemen like Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith. The job of these two Prohibition agents was to find illegal alcohol and the places where it was sold, …show more content…

His nickname is particularly infamous as well, as he is described in his online as “a child from an Italian immigrant family… also known as "Scarface," [who] rose to infamy as the leader of the Chicago mafia during the Prohibition era” (Biography.com Editors). A mafia boss with a scar received in a youthful scrap, Al “Scarface” Capone gained much of his initial momentum with the help of his friend and mentor, Johnny Torrio, who gave him his start and elevated him to the head of the operation when he retired (History.com Staff “Al”). Al Capone became incredibly rich through shady means, and is reported as having earned “$60 million annually selling illegal liquor” (History.com Staff “Al”). $60 million dollars is an incredible salary, and it was what Capone earned from alcohol sales alone. Despite this, for a long period of his career, he managed to go without arrest. In order to sell alcohol illegally, a market had to exist for it; a large market if he was going to earn tens of millions each year. The Prohibition wasn’t liked by many and because of this, Capone’s popularity grew enough that he was able to appeal himself as a vigilante for the hardworking men of Chicago (History.com Staff “Al”). He is quoted as having said, “All I ever did was sell beer and whiskey to our best people. All I did was to supply a demand that was pretty popular” and apparently, some of those “best people” were also those involved in the judicial system (Biography.com Editors). Though he was successful for a good number of years, it was inevitable that his career would take a downturn just as Torrio’s did after an attempt on his life, and it was his involvement with assault and murder that would put the nails in his coffin (History.com Staff

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