Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [75]
A waterfront view of Al Capone’s Palm Beach Mansion.
A mug shot of Capone taken in Miami, Florida.
The scene of the brutal St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Seven members of George “Bugs” Moran’s gang were lined up against a wall and mowed down by two machine gunners impersonating police officers.
A diagram showing how the massacre unfolded at the S.M.C. Cartage Company at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago. Chicago Gangster Frank Gusenberg (left) suffered twenty-two bullet wounds and later died at the hospital. Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn (right) was one of Capone’s hit men and speculated as the mastermind of the massacre.
Law enforcement officials recreate the massacre at the North Clark Street property.
The massacre received national attention and Capone was glamorized in books and newspapers across the country. Capone was now a high-class, family-oriented and self-made gangster-millionaire, who had everyone’s full attention. Many local politicians began complaining about Capone and his self-proclaimed political stature. However the publicity surrounding Capone ultimately backfired, by attracting the attention of President Herbert Hoover. Hoover had just started his presidential term and as one of his first moves, he demanded that Capone be brought to justice. Hoover pressured Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon to spearhead the government’s battle against Capone. Mellon collected damning evidence which exposed his gang affiliations, bootlegging, prostitution rings and flagrant evasion of taxes.
Al Capone in 1931, at a baseball game in Chicago. Note the bodyguard behind Capone, who is reaching for his handgun as the peanut vendor approaches. Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti (known as Capone’s master killer) is seen seated next to Capone, along with his son.
It would take nearly five years of an intensive undercover operation before Capone was finally convicted. Then on October 17, 1931, Alphonse Capone was sentenced to eleven years in prison and $50,000 in fines, and was forced to pay court fees totaling over $30,000. The judge refused to allow Capone to be released on bail and the gangster remained confined at the Cook County Jail until arrangements were made for his transfer to Atlanta. On May 4, 1932 Capone began serving out his federal prison sentence at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. Capone flaunted his power even in prison, and quickly secured the ability to dictate his own privileges. He was given unlimited access to the Warden and was said to maintain large reserves of cash hidden in his cell, often generously “tipping” guards who would assist him by yielding to special requests. His time spent at Atlanta would not be as plush as his confinement at Cook, but he still found means to manipulate the system.
Capone boarding the prison train for Atlanta Federal Penitentiary on May 3, 1932. He is seen here under heavy guard with federal agents and U.S. Marshal Henry Laubenheimer as his personal escort.
Capone’s criminal history from his inmate file.
A request by Capone to use the prison recreation yard at Atlanta State Penitentiary.
A contemporary photograph of Capone’s uniquely furnished cell at Eastern State Penitentiary. Before his arrival at Alcatraz, Capone had managed to set the terms of his own privileges while incarcerated at other prisons.
Before his transfer to Alcatraz, Capone had already become a master at controlling his environment at the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. Despite strict rulings from the courts, Capone was always able to persuade his guards