Al Capone

Al Capone
Born:	January 17, 1899 Brooklyn, New York
Charges:	Federal income tax evasion (indicted on 22 counts; convicted on 5, three felonies and two misdemeanors)
Sentence:	11 years in federal prison; $50,000 fine; $7,692 court costs; approx. $215,000 in back taxes owed
Released:	November 16, 1939 (paroled)
Facility:
Status:	Deceased, died January 25, 1947; released from federal custody on parole November 16, 1939

Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was born on January 17, 1899, and died on January 25, 1947. He was a Prohibition-era American organized-crime boss who led the Chicago Outfit and was ultimately imprisoned not for bootlegging or violence, but for federal income tax evasion. A federal jury convicted him on October 17, 1931, before U.S. District Judge James H. Wilkerson, and he was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison plus a $50,000 fine and court costs. He served his term at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta from May 1932 and at Alcatraz from August 22, 1934, finishing at the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island before being paroled on November 16, 1939. In failing health from neurosyphilis, he retired to Palm Island, Florida, where he died in 1947.

Early Life and Career

Born Alphonse Gabriel Capone on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian immigrant parents, he grew up in Brooklyn, left school early, and became involved with New York street gangs, including the Five Points Gang, and associate James "Johnny" Torrio. He acquired the nickname "Scarface" from a facial knife wound sustained in his youth. Capone relocated to Chicago around 1920 to work for Torrio's bootlegging and vice operation, assuming leadership of the organization (the "Chicago Outfit") in 1925 after Torrio stepped down. He became the most prominent figure in Chicago organized crime during Prohibition, controlling bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution rackets.

Criminal Case

Federal authorities, unable to convict Capone on bootlegging or violent crimes, pursued him for failing to pay income tax on money earned through his illegal enterprises. The U.S. Treasury's Intelligence Unit built the tax case, and in 1931 Capone was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case was captioned The United States of America v. Alphonse Capone (with numerous aliases, including "Al Brown" and "Scarface") and proceeded as Consolidated Criminal Cases Nos. 22852 and 23232, documented in the National Archives at Chicago. He was indicted on 22 counts of income tax evasion.

Trial and Sentencing

Capone was tried before U.S. District Judge James H. Wilkerson. On October 17, 1931, the jury returned a guilty verdict, convicting him on 5 of the counts (three felonies and two misdemeanors) and acquitting on the remainder. He was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, fined $50,000, ordered to pay $7,692 in court costs, and held liable for roughly $215,000 in back taxes plus interest. His appeals to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court were unsuccessful in 1932. Sources conflict on the exact sentencing date, but the October 17, 1931 guilty verdict is well established.

Incarceration

A correction to the provided facility: Capone was not held at a low-security FCI Atlanta (low-security). He was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta), a high-security federal penitentiary. After being held in Cook County Jail during his appeals, he entered USP Atlanta in May 1932 as convict number 40886. On August 22, 1934, he was transferred to the newly opened Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, among its first group of inmates, where he was registered as inmate No. 85 (85-AZ). He completed his Alcatraz term on January 6, 1939, and was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island (San Pedro, California) to finish his sentence. By this point his physical and mental health had deteriorated significantly from neurosyphilis (paresis). He predates the modern BOP register-number system, so his identifiers are historical convict numbers rather than a BOP register number.

Release and Aftermath

Capone was paroled on November 16, 1939, after serving roughly seven and a half years. Upon release he sought treatment at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore for his advancing neurosyphilis, then retired to his estate on Palm Island, Florida. His health continued to decline, and he lived out his final years largely incapacitated. He died on January 25, 1947, at his Palm Island home from cardiac arrest following complications of his illness, at age 48.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What did Al Capone do?

Al Capone was the Prohibition-era boss of the Chicago Outfit, running bootlegging, gambling, and vice operations. Although associated with widespread violence, the only crime he was convicted of federally was income tax evasion, for failing to pay taxes on income from his illegal enterprises. A jury found him guilty on October 17, 1931.

Q: How long was Al Capone's sentence?

He was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, fined $50,000, ordered to pay $7,692 in court costs, and held liable for approximately $215,000 in back taxes plus interest. It was one of the longest federal sentences for tax evasion at the time. He ultimately served about seven and a half years.

Q: Where was Al Capone incarcerated?

He served at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta (USP Atlanta, a high-security penitentiary) beginning May 1932 as convict No. 40886, then at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary from August 22, 1934 as inmate No. 85, and finally at the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island, California. He was not held at any low-security "FCI Atlanta."

Q: When was Al Capone released?

He completed his Alcatraz term on January 6, 1939, was transferred to Terminal Island, and was paroled on November 16, 1939.

Q: How did Al Capone die?

He died on January 25, 1947, at his home on Palm Island, Florida, from cardiac arrest following complications of neurosyphilis. He was 48 years old.

See also

• Index of Federal Prison Facilities