Al Capone & other famous prisoners of Alcatraz

Al Capone Born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York Capone quit school in the 6th grade at age 14, after losing his temper and hitting a teacher. He was expelled and never went back.   Grew up in a rough neighborhood and was a member of two "kid gangs," the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors

Al Capone Al Capone’s mentor was famous gangster Johnny Torrio. After quitting school, Al Capone worked to help support his family. At 18, Capone began working at gangster Frankie Yale’s bar on Coney Island called the Harvard Inn. While working at the bar, Capone earned his famous nickname “Scarface” after a bar fight

Al Capone At 19, Capone met his future wife, Mae Coughlin Their son, Albert Francis Capone (Sonny), was born December 4, 1918. Capone and Mae married that year on December 30th Al Capone moved to Chicago in 1920 to work for his mentor, Johnny Torrio. After helping him grow his empire, Capone eventually would take over for Torrio

Al Capone In 1924, Al Capone was accused of murder but later acquitted This time in history is known as the Prohibition Era due to the illegalization of alcohol. Al Capone became a bootlegger. Capone had great conflicts with famous gangsters, such as Dion O'Banion, Bugs Moran, and Earl "Hymie" Weiss. Several assassination attempts were made on Capone

Al Capone In 1925, Al Capone was involved in The Adonis Club Massacre, in which rival mobsters were killed It is believed that Al Capone was involved in the murder of Billy McSwiggin, a young prosecutor that had attempted to try Capone for murder However, with little evidence, Capone was never tried

Al Capone Al Capone is believed to be involved in the St. Valentines Day Massacre In 1929, Al Capone is arrested for a concealed weapon. He is sent to Eastern Penitentiary for a year The FBI begins to investigate Al Capone for bootlegging and tax evasion Pursuing Capone were Treasury agent Eliot Ness and his hand-picked team of incorruptible U.S. Prohibition agents, "The Untouchables," and agent Frank Wilson of the Treasury Department's Bureau of Internal Revenue

Al Capone Al Capone is convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison in 1931 Initially, Al was a prisoner at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, where he was given special privileges and treated like a celebrity In August of 1934, Capone was sent to Alcatraz. He left Alcatraz in 1939 to complete his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island He was finally released in on November 16, 1939 Capone died of cardiac arrest on January 24, 1947

Other Famous Prisoners George “Machine Gun” Kelly was a notorious gangster during the prohibition era (like Capone). His crimes included bootlegging, armed robbery and kidnapping. Robert " Birdman of Alcatraz" Stroud Convicted of manslaughter and sent to serve his sentence at McNeil Island, where he was violent and difficult to manage. Stroud was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, where he stabbed a guard and thus put in solitary confinement At Leavenworth, he developed a keen interest in canaries. Stroud was initially allowed to breed birds and maintain a lab in jail. As a result, Stoud was able to author 2 books on canaries and their diseases, having raised nearly 300 birds in his cells, carefully studying their habits and physiology, and he even developed and marketed medicines for various bird ailments. In 1942 Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz