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Prohibition Begins
The 18th amendment made the production, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages illegal. The amendment passed due to the spreading of the national temperance movement at the time. It was passed on January 16, 1919, it made the organized crime to grow across America. -
The Rise of Organized Crime
Due to the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) organized crime grew rapidly. It became the main supplier of alcohol. Prohibition made crime lords richer, and gave them more business. The idea of prohibition was to stop the spread of alcohol but ultimately failed, which gave the crime lords more control in society. -
Crime Bosses During The 1920s
The 1920s experienced a wide variety of crime bosses. The most well known crime boss was Al Capone, there were many others like Johnny Torrio, John Dillinger, and Baby Face Nelson. These bosses caused organized crime to grow, and become more effective as time went on. They ran operations like bootlegging, prostitution, gambling, and abortion. -
Capone Joins The Stage
Al Capone was born in January 17, 1899 in New York. His original name was Alphonse Capone. He got his start with Johnny Torrio. Torrio took Capone under his wing and made him a part of the Chicago Outfit. -
Capone Takes Over
After James Colosimo the founder of the gang was killed, Capone became Johnny Torrio's deputy. In 1925, Torrio was attacked and decided to flee the country making Capone the leader of the gang. -
Capone's Downfall
In 1927, the Supreme Court ruled that a bootlegger had to pay income tax on his illegal bootlegging business. Before the Supreme Court passed the law, Capone ordered his men to kill two of his rivals at a bar but a well known prosecutor Billy McSwiggin was there and he was killed. This event caused public outbursts against Capone and caused the public to change their mind about him. -
Capone's Power
Capone was an influential figure throughout Chicago. He helped politician William Thompson win the election to become mayor of Chicago in 1927. Al Capone opened a soup kitchen for the unemployed. The more he became known the more his notoriety and reputation decreased due to violence. -
Evidence to Arrest Capone is Acquired
The government wanted to indict Capone on tax evasion. Capone did all of his business anonymously but Frank Wilson a member of the IRS's Special Intelligence Unit found receipts that showed the Capone's name and the income for a gambling house. Later on Capone's own tax lawyer told the government that Capone had an income. All of this led to Capone's arrest. -
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
. One of Capone's bootlegging rivals George "Bugs' Moran ran an operation on the Northside of Chicago. Seven members of Moran's gang were gunned down while standing facing the garage. When the police arrived only one man was still alive Frank Gusenberg.The police could only find a few eyewitnesses and said that men disguised as police men entered the garage and then pretended to arrest the men. Moran and other gang members blamed Capone. The police couldn't trace it back to Capone -
Capone is Finally Arrested
In 1931 Al Capone was indicted for tax evasion, the misdemeanor of the failure of filing taxes, and he was charged with the conspiracy to violate prohibition laws. Capone pleaded guilty hoping he would be able to get a plea bargain but Judge James H. Wilkerson said "no". Capone tried to bribe the jury but Wilkerson had the jury changed at the last minute. The new jury found Capone not guilty but Judge Wilkerson sentenced him to a total of eleven years in jail.
