CHICAGO | al-capone

Chicago

Chicago would prove to be Capone's glory years, where he would see total control of the city's crime world. To add to his powerful reign, he also had rule over the law, with local authorities and political figures in his pocket.

Capone departed for Chicago when he was recommended by his friend Frankie Yale to go there to one, escape murder investigations, and two, pursue business opportunities. In 1923, Capone moved his wife, who he married in 1918, and his son into a house in South Chicago. When he was younger, and in the Five Points Gang, he had been taught by one Johnny Torrio, and became his protege. When Torrio went to Chicago to handle some family matters, he stayed to ensure that the business going on would remain secure, and that it would be able to grow. He aided in the construction of a crime ring known as the Chicago Outfit, which he later handed down to Capone. Chicago's benefits also appealed to Capone. Chicago is right in the middle of the country, as well as right on Lake Michigan, with a large access to railroads. This made it ideal for running liquor, making it a bootlegging hot spot during the 1920's.

Although, Capone did inherit the Chicago Outfit from his mentor, Johnny Torrio (left), Torrio took over from James Colosimo after he was killed. Capone was suspected by authorities for Colosimo's death. To escape the heat he was getting from the law, he moved out to Cicero, a small distance from downtown Chicago, While in Cicero, Capone would be involved in a number of events that would lead to him growing as a big name in the Chicago crime world. Capone and Torrio continued to build up the Outfit, eventually getting tangled up with North-Side Gang. Scruffs with the North side gang would eventually end up to Torrio's arrest, his departure, the handing down of the Outfit to Capone's control, and the most infamous crime the was ever to be pinned on Capone's name.

During Capone's rise to power, he and another group, the North Side Gang, became bitter rivals. It all started when Dean O'Banion (Right), the leader of the North Side Gang, gave ownership of his secret brewery over to Johnny Torrio once he learned word of a police raid scheduled to shut down his operation. When the dust had settled after the raid, Torrio and O'Banion were both arrested. To get revenge, Torrio sent men to kill people of O'Banion, lighting a spark in the tinderbox of Chicago which would result in an all out warfare between the two gangs. In a later confrontation, Johnny Torrio barely escaped death after being assaulted by some hit-men from the North Side Gang. After this, Torrio backed out of the game, and gave control to Capone before returning to Italy. Capone continued to duel with his rivals. On multiple occasions, drive by shootings and other attacks on him and his gang took place when he was in his car or at a restaurant. He enlisted multiple bodyguards and lookouts to follow him around to watch out for possible attacks. One of Capone's personal bodyguards saved him from machine gun fire when he was attacked at the Hawthorne Hotel restaurant. He also posted men to protect his many hotel rooms and hideouts that he used, one of his more famous ones in the town of Couderay, Wisconsin.

Of all the scrapes between Capone and his rivals, the Saint Valentines Day massacre is unarguably one of his most famous crimes. Although it is disputed that Capone was actually involved in the organization of the massacre, some of the evidence does point to his presence, although it is known that his men did carry out the shootings. The shootings took place on February 14 of 1929. Before then, Capone's men scoped out the garage, as they suspected it was a stronghold of the North Side gang. After they were convinced, they sent in fake police officers to pose a raid on the garage. But, because the North Siders had bribed the local police, they thought nothing of it, thinking it would be over in a minute and they could get back to their work. When the police had the 7 men lined up and facing a wall, men armed with sub machine guns as well as shotguns cut them down. Many believe the attack was an act of revenge on the gang for previous losses. Up to this point, Capone had built up a celebrity like reputation in the country, as a man to help the people. After that day, the people were outraged. He was demoted to bad guy rank, and investigation into his illegal operations extended and grew greatly.