Al Capone

Al Capone
Weapons	Stiletto, Tommy Gun, Pineapple Bomb, Brass Knuckles
Origin	United States
Activities	Leader of Chicago Outfit, Bootlegging, smuggling liquor, and murder
Service	1922-1931
Battle Status	Defeated by Jesse James
Experts	Meyer Lansky II (Mafioso Descendant) Johnny Frato (Capone Authority)

"You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone,"- Al Capone.

"Al Capone was untouchable, because he had everybody paid off - the police, the judges, the juries...there was no way they could get Al Capone."- Meyer Lansky II, Mafioso descendant

Al Capone, the ruthless gangster whose criminal empire bloodied the streets of Depression-era Chicago;

Jesse James, The vicious outlaw whose bloody crime sprees made him the most famous bank-robber in America.

Stats

• 1922 - 1931
• Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
• Weight: 250 Lbs
• Members - 10 - 20
• Crimes - Bootlegging & Murder
• Symbol - Tommy Gun (Main Weapon)

History

Capone was born 'Alphonse Gabriel Capone' on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. As a youth, Capone already had a reputation for brutality. At just 14 years old he was expelled from school for attacking his teacher (he never returned to school again).

One of Capone's first employers and allies was Frankie Yale, who stayed close allies with Capone despite a knife fight that scared Capone's face (Capone would have the alias Scarface due to this incident). The two remained allies until 1928 when Yale was whacked. There's debate over if Capone or a local rival gang assassinated Yale.

Capone began his criminal activities in the Five Points Gang before being accepted into Johnny Torrio's Chicago Outfit most likely in the early 1920s. He quickly rose in the ranks and became Johnny's right-hand-man. On Saturday, January 24, 1925, Johnny was shot by a rival gang but survived the assassination attempt and lucked out when the assassin ran out of bullets when trying to shoot Johnny in the head for a coup de grace. But Johnny's recovery was slow, and he was temporarily imprisoned during this time. Weakened both physically and mentally by these events, Johnny saw his reign as a mob boss ending and so declared Capone as the new Chicago Outfit leader in late 1925.

The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by January 16, 1919, with the amendment taking effect on January 16, 1920. The Anti-Saloon League led by Howard Hyde Russell used propaganda and political corruption to convince the US government to outlaw alcohol; which this movement (along with feminist and religious parties, just to name a few) convinced that alcoholism was an epidemic that intensified domestic violence.

However when the amendment was passed it was ignored by millions of Americans (including the US President and other politicians who openly supported Prohibition), who saw the amendment as unjust and silly. Breweries across America either went underground, survived by following certain loopholes, converted themselves into ice-cream and soda-fountain parlors or went bankrupt and closed down.

Speakeasies erupted across America: illegal taverns that were hidden behind false doors or secluded areas within a front. The 21 Club was an iconic example; hiding its entrance and wine-cellar doors behind false brick walls and using collapsible shelves to instantly dispose of all of the wine and liquor bottles within the tavern (in response to a police raid).

Although he was never successfully convicted of racketeering charges, Capone's mobster career ended in 1931, when he was indicted and convicted by the federal government for income-tax evasion. He was sent to a series of prisons including Alcatraz, which was the longest and most famous of his sentences.

Prohobition was in effect for 13 years 10 months and 19 days (or 5072 days). The Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933: making it the only US Amendment to completely repeal a previous Amendment (except on a federal and state level: Mississipi being the last dry state until 1966). The sharp increase in crime combined with the loss of tax revenue associated with liquor taxes made Prohibition unpopular for most Americans; both civilians and politicians.

The Chicago Outfit still exists today but has been overshadowed by common street gangs like The Crips.[1]

Weapons

Weapon	Al Capone
Close-Range Weapon(s):	Stiletto	1
Mid-Range Weapon(s):	Tommy Gun	338
Long-Range Weapon(s):	Pineapple Bomb	116
Special-Weapon(s):	Brass Knuckles	1

Simulated Battle

Jesse James

Al Capone

The battle begins in an American history museum in Chicago hosting an exhibit about Old West outlaws. Inside, Jesse James, his brother Frank James, and two other gang members are in the Civil War exhibit, breaking the glass exhibits and arming themselves with Colt revolvers and looting some of the Civil War coins. Meanwhile, Al Capone and three of his men drive up to the museum, alerting the James Gang who have finished loading up their newly acquired revolvers. The Capone Gang enter and are suddenly ambushed by Jesse James and his men. Jesse's team score the first kill in the quickdraw showdown. A hailstorm of bullets ensues as both factions open fire on each other, with a Capone flunky taking out one of Jesse's men out with a Tommy gun. Amidst the gunfire, Jesse James's other henchman steals a Winchester rifle from one of the cabinets and lays down some suppressing fire while Jesse and Frank retreat further into the museum. Al Capone's men come out of cover and begin chasing them, with Al Capone dusting off his hat and following close behind.

Jesse's rifleman stops in a hallway and cocks the Winchester, shooting one of Capone's two remaining men as he rounds the corner. Hooting with victory, he runs back to Jesse. Frustrated, Capone's other henchman tries to shoot down the outlaw, fruitlessly firing in all directions. Al Capone catches up and the two men begin to run after Jesse James's crew. The third man struggles to catch up, but is stabbed from behind by Frank, who emerges from a dark closet with the Bowie knife.

Capone and his last cohort enter an office, where Jesse and his henchman are waiting for them. Jesse shoots Capone's man with the revolver, catching him off guard. Capone quickly ducks for cover behind a desk right before the rifleman finishes the last man on Capone's team with a shot from the Winchester. The rifleman waits for Capone to make his move, unaware that Capone is pulling the pin from his MK2 "Pineapple" Grenade. He hurls the grenade over the desk and quickly hides again. The rifleman attempts to shoot Capone, but is killed by the explosion before he gets a chance. Capone gets up and tries to steal one of the revolvers, but Jesse James shoots it out of Capone's hand. Realizing he has been beat, Capone slowly stands up with his hands up in surrender. Jesse James sneers as he pulls the triggers on his revolvers, only to find that both of his guns are out of bullets. Jesse quickly flees while the infuriated Capone pulls off his trench coat and gloves and puts on his brass knuckles, intent on finishing Jesse.

Jesse runs for his life, but is cornered when he winds up at an exhibit for a western jail cell. He turns around to see that Capone has caught up. He tries to pistol whip Capone, but Capone blocks the swing and counters with a punch in the gut with the brass knuckles. Removing his hat, Capone forces Jesse into the mock jail cell and begins to brutally beat Jesse. After kicking James to the floor, Capone draws his stiletto knife while Jesse gets up with his Bowie knife at hand. Scarface Al goes in for a thrust, but Jesse hooks his hand with the stock of the revolver and stabs Capone at his arm. Enraged, Capone then kicks James as he drops his stiletto, forcing Jesse to also drop his knife. Capone grabs James and holds him against the cell door, continuing to lay into him with the knuckles. In the middle of this, James spots something outside the cell door and, despite the beating, chuckles. Capone's about to deliver the killing blow, when he hears a gun cock. He looks up to see Frank James with the Winchester. Frank fires the gun, hitting Capone dead center between the eyes and causing him to stumble backwards onto the prop toilet. Jesse James, having seen his brother arrive in the nick of time, celebrates the victory after dusting off his hat, then runs off with Frank to steal whatever they can of the museum.

Trivia

• Capone's annual income was estimated to be $1.4 billion (in 2017 USD) due to his profits from crime. However much of this money was never found by the police. Capone invested much of this money into Cash-Only Laundry Mats, which is why this practice is called Money Laundering.
• Capone was also called Scarface after a knife fight with mobster Frankie Yale scarred the left side of his face.
• The Al Capone Gang is officially known as the Chicago Outfit.
• Although not mentioned in the show, Al Capone was 5' 10" and 250lb before his arrest.
• Capone himself lead his bodyguards for many drive-by shootings and murders. He was arrested many times but witnesses were threatened and the charges were dropped.
• Several clips from the Mafia vs. Yakuza episode are reused for this episode, including beating a man in an alley with a Baseball Bat and throwing a Molotov Cocktail through a rival business's window. In real life, Capone wanted to join the Mafia but couldn't as he was an Italian-American instead of fully Italian. However the Chicago Outfit were allied with the Mafia.
• Once, upon a visit to Florida, Capone found himself surrounded by a group of police officers pointing shotguns at him. He remarked, "Well, I'll be damned. You'd think I was Jesse James."
• Capone's favored ride was a green 1928 Cadillac Town Sedan. It had 3,000 pounds of bullet-proof armor beneath the standard body. Its windshield and windows were made of recently developed inch thick bulletproof glass. In total the armor made the car weigh 9,000 pounds. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the car was pulled out of storage to shuttle FDR to his speech before Congress, asking a declaration of war against Japan.
• Contrary to popular belief, Al Capone was slightly below average intelligence and had an IQ of 95.
• Capone's official business card claimed that his occupation was being a furniture salesman.
• Capone was able to maintain a popular image among ordinary citizens, and not always through fear or brutality. He did this with charities, including one of the first American soup-kitchens. The Chicago Tribune claimed that he served 120,000 meals to hungry Chicagoans. At the same time, this was an easy excuse to commit acts of money laundering; allowing Capone to quickly remove illegally obtained money for a supposedly noble cause.
• The con-artist Victor Lustig managed to con Al Capone. He convinced Capone to give him $50,000 for a stock deal, then gave Capone the money back after claiming that the deal failed. Capone was impressed with this honesty and so allowed Victor to keep $5,000. However this was Victor's plan all along; knowing that appearing to be Capone's ally even after the con was performed was more beneficial to him in the long-term.
• Pinball Machines initially did not have flippers, making them games of chance. Because of this, and the fact that many pinball factories were based in Chicago, many politicians accused pinball companies of being associated with criminal organizations. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the USA had a 'Salvage your Metal' campaign to ask Americans to donate metal for the war. A ban on pinball machines was seen as a good way to support this campaign and so pinballs were banned; especially in New York. However the New York ban was lifted in 1976 when pinball champion Roger Sharpe proved that modern pinball machines were games of skill and not chance; and so cannot be considered gambling.