Alphonse: St. Valentine's Day Massacre

On January 14, 1899, Alphonse (Al) Capone was born to Italian immigrants in Brooklyn, New York. He was the fourth of nine children. Unlike most mobsters, Capone was born into a fairly well-off family. Yet at the early age of fourteen, Capone was expelled from school for hitting a female teacher, and he never went back. This event triggered Capone’s life on the streets. Shortly after Capone’s expulsion, he met Johnny Torio. Torio was Capone’s greatest mentor and influence. He taught Capone how to take care of himself and make money on the streets ("Al Capone"). In the year 1917, Capone earned himself the nickname Scarface, a name he despised. He earned this name by insulting a female woman at an inn. Her brother promptly pulled out a knife and

Valentine’s Day Massacre. On this day, seven men associated with the George “Bugs” Moran gang were lined up against a wall inside a garage in Chicago’s LIncoln Park neighborhood and mercilessly shot and killed. Though Bugs Moran was the original target, he escaped the massacre. This crime has gone down in history as one of the most vicious and merciless gang-related massacres ever. Shortly after, the Chicago Crime Commission released its first list of the Windy City’s worst criminals, and Capone was at the top labeled as public enemy number one. In October, 1931, Capone was charged with five charges of tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years at Alcatraz, but his sentence was later shortened to 6 ½ years for good behavior. Capone lived out his last days out of the public eye until January, 1947, when the then 48-year-old had a stroke and contracted pneumonia. He later died in his home in Florida on January 25 (Nix). Capone played a big role during the roaring twenties. His crimes shocked the nation, and he provided illegal liquor to the masses through his bootlegging business. He started and participated in several gang wars, and he controlled the police and politicians through bribes and

There were many characters, including Gatsby himself, who made their fortune from crime. Tom exposes Gatsby, talking about how he has dug up how Gatsby has come across his money, and saying that Gatsby and Wolfsheim were bootleggers. Tom had found out that the two partners sold grain alcohol over the counter in their drug stores (Fitzgerald 133). Gatsby and Wolfsheim were also gamblers and the side. Gatsby tells Nick that Wolfsheim fixed the 1919 World Series, and one can only assume that Gatsby was in on it too (Fitzgerald 73).Gatsby was a bootlegger and a gambler, but he lied to Daisy when he said all his family had died and left him their money, and that was where all the money he had came from (Fitzgerald