Prohibition Hangover-- Part 5: About Organized Crime and Capone

"Newly hired and poorly trained Prohibition agents, along with local and state police, targeted violators at the margins," McGirr wrote.  "But, they lacked the capacity, and at times the will to go after powerful crime kingpins."

It's simplistic to say Prohibition created organized crime in America, but it fueled a huge expansion as local crime gangs collaborated with those from other regions to establish shipping systems and set prices for boothegged alcohol.  Beneficiaries included Chicago-based Al Capone, who earned tens of millions of dollars annually from bootlegging and speakeasies.  

In the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, gunmen disguised as polive officers killed seven men from a gang that sought to compete with Capone's empire.

Beyond the ranks of gangsters, legions of Americans were committing or abetting crime.

--CootGang

The Al Capone Auction-- Part 2: A Watch, a Money Clop and His Favorite Pistol

The Chicago Mob items were selling very well at the recent auction.

Some more items:

**  AL CAPONE'S INITIALED 'AC' MONEY CLIP  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for:  $45,000

**  Capone's diamond 'AC' pendant   Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $60,000

**  AL AND MAE CAPONE'S BED  Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $70,000

**  Capone's platinum diamond monogrammed pocket knife  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for $75,000

**  CAPONE'S MONOGRAMMED PATEK PHILLPE POCKET WATCH   Estimate $25,000-$50,000  Sold for $190,000

**  Capone's favorite Colt .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol   Estimate: $100,000-$150,000  Sold for $860,000

Somewhere, there are auctioneers really, really smiling.

They Still Love Al.  --Cooter

So, What'd Ya Get at the Al Capone Auction?-- Part 1: Madonna Bust, Cigar Humidor and a Letter

From the October 17, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Al Capone auction:  Top 10 highest winning bids" by Kori Rumore.

An auction of Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone's possessions brought in more than $3 million earlier this month.  

Here's a look at the eight lots that brought the highest winning bids:

8.  Al and Mae (his wife) Capone's marble Madonna bust.  Estimate $5,000-$10,000   Sold for $55,000.

7.  Al and Mae Capone's decorative cigar humidor    Estimate:  $5,000 -$10,000   Sold for $120,00

6.  Personal letter from Capone to his son, Sonny, from Alcatraz   Estimate:  $25,000-$50,000   Sold for $45,000.

--CootCapone

Illinois' Chain of Lakes-- Part 12: Own a Piece of Chicago Gangland History

Of course, with the Chain of Lakes' proximity to Chicago, there are many tales of Chicago mobsters muscling in on the many resorts as well as vacationing in the area.  One of those mobsters was Al Capone.

I recently saw a for sale sign at the building, now a home, but back in the 1930s it was the Manning Hotel.

It is located at 16 North Pistakee Road (right next to Hamsher Funeral Home) on Pistakee Lake and listed for $500,000.  Back in the 1930s, three mobsters were killed and wounded in an attack by a rival gang on the hotel bar/ restaurant..

Supposedly, bullet holes are still in the walls.

Own a Piece of History.  --DaCootGangsta

Friday the 13th News of Note-- Part 2: Bad Day for "Scarface"

OCTOBER 13, 1871:  As contributions pour into Chicago less than a week after the Great Fire, Mayor Roswell Mason orders all funds to be administered by the Chicago Relief and Aid Society.  However, this group is picky about who gets aid, showing favoritism to skilled workers and the affluent and still has hundreds of thousands unspent years later.  Imagine that happening in Chicago?

NOVEMBER 13, 1908:  Richard Nash, a Chicago cop at the West 13th Street Station, is fired.  He blames his bad luck on Friday the 13th.  And, he was hired on a Friday the 13th as well.

MARCH 13, 1931:  A bad day for Chicago's famed "Scarface."  A grand jury indicts Al Capone on an income tax evasion charge.

"Me and My Lil' Friend."  --DaCoot

Al Capone's Old House-- Part 3

Barbara Hogsette, current owner raised a son in the first floor apartment and rents out the second floor.  She originally listed it in 2008 for $450,000 and thinks the house is a good investment, though few remnants from Capone are still there.

The gold-leaf cornices which Capone imported from Italy are there, but not the 7-foot European tubs because parts to fix them couldn't be found.

However, the original garage still stands, one of the largest in the neighborhood, where Capone kept his big, fancy cars.

Every spring and summer, Hogsette says she gets a steady stream of people riding by to take a look.

--Maybe a Mob Museum?  --Cooter

Al Capone's Old House-- Part 2

By Dahleen Glanton.

The brick two-flat at 7244 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago's Park Manor neighborhood hasn't sold in 831 days, despite a drop in asking price from $300,000 to $225,000.  It now houses two apartments.  There are some fears that it might be torn down, but not too likely.

There is also a movement on to have it given landmark status.

The Capones bought it for $5,500 in August 1923.  They were among the wave of first- and second-generation immigrants who moved to this South Side neighborhood during Prohibition.  Historians say the home at 72nd Street and Prairie Avenue was his safe haven.  His mother, Teresa, and his wife, Mae, signed the original deed.

According to a December 1927 Chicago Tribune story, Capone once holed up in the house after police threatened to arrest him if he stepped outside.

Capone went to prison in 1931 and had moved to a home in Florida by the time of his death in 1947, but his mother continued to live in the house until she died in 1952.

A Piece of Chicago History.  --DaCoot

Now, You Can Buy Al Capone's House-- Part 1

From the October 29, 2014, Chicago Tribune"A humble home, owned by Capone.

"It's yours for $225,000.  The former home of Chicago crime boss Al Capone is for sale, but has languished on the market for 831 days without a nibble.  The Capones bought the building for $5,500 in August 1923.

"The brick two-flat is now owned by 77-year-old Barbara Hogsette, a retired teacher who bought the building in 1963 and still lives there.  She thinks the house is a good investment, but says there aren't many remnants of the notorious gangster left after several renovations."

Like, Bang, Bang. Shoot 'Em Up!!  --Cooter

Want to Call Al Capone?

The My Al Capone Museum website has a scetion of a 1923 Chicago phonebook with Al's phone number. Under the CAPONE name heading, it had: Al 7244 Prairie Ave and the number VIN (cus) 6149.

I'm not sure what the cus stood for, perhaps customer?

Hey, Al... --DaCoot

How Would You Like to Own Al Capone's House in Chicago?--

From the Dec. 25, 2008, Chicago Tribune "Notoriety could be a selling point" by Joel Hood.

"Want to own a notorious piece of Chicago history? The modest, red-brick home once owned by Al Capone is expected to hit the market this spring for an estimated $450,000, marking a new chapter for the infamous South Side landmark that has had just two owners since the death of Capone's mother in 1952."

Barbara Hogsette, 71, has owned the house since 1963, but plans to move to California.

The house has stood at 7244 Prairie Avenue for over a century. Cook County records show that Al Capone bought the home in August 1923 for $5,500.

Capone was in his early 20s when he moved to Chicago from Brooklyn but he already had bootlegging, gambling and prostitution rackets going on in town.

He wanted a safe haven for his mother Teresa and she and his wife Mae signed the deed. Nonetheless, Chicago police kept watch on the house and, in December 1927 were outside the home waiting to arrest Capone if he stepped outside. He later left and wasn't arrested, but continued his operations elsewhere for four more years before being arrested for tax evasion.

You can see pictures and get more information at the My Al Capone Museum site at www.myalcaponemuseum.com.

Al Capone Slept Here? --Cooter

Then, There Was Edward O'Hare, Butch's Father-- Part 2

On November 8, 1939, Butch's father, Edward O'Hare, who was president of Sportsman's Park Racetrack in Stickney, was gunned down in a gangland execution. He was also frontman for Al Capone's gang syndicate.

He had evidently double-crossed Capone. When Capone went to prison in 1932, he appointed O'Hare to run the racetrack. But five years later, while in federal prison, Capone learned that it was O'Hare who had cooperated with the government to send him to Alcatraz.

O'Hare lived in fear for his life the last two years of his life after he learned that Capone knew. About a week before Capone was released from prison, O'Hare was killed by two shotgun blasts in a high-speed chase along Ogden Avenue. His car crashed into a lightpole just west of Rockwell Street. Eight years later, Frank Wilson, one of the federal investigators who got Capone (and later chief of the Secret Service) wrote of O'Hare: "On the inside of the gang, I had one of the best undercover men I have ever known, Eddie O'Hare."

--DaCoot

Then There Was Chicago's Edward O'Hare, Butch's Father-- Part 1

From the March 17, 2013, Chicago Tribune "Chicago Flashback: Why JFK came to town" by Stephan Benzkofer.

O'Hare Airport, the supposed reason for JFK's visit and the hero for which it was named, was not the first time the O'Hare name made Chicago headlines. Besides questionable politics and dangerous streets, the name Edward O'Hare, Butch O'Hare's father, is also connected with that other thing people think about when Chicago is mentioned.

And, that would be gangs and Al Capone.

--DaCoot

Top Ten Nefarious American Mobsters

From the Sept.1, 2011, Listverse.  As always, go to site and get photos and much more information.

10.  Louis "Lepke" Buchalter Boss of "Murder, Inc." Died March 4, 1944.

9.  Bonnie Elizabeth Parker  "Bonnie and ?" Died May 23, 1934

8.  John Herbert Dillinger  Died May 22, 1931

7.  Clyde Chestnut Barrow.  There were about 25 bullets in each corpse.  Overkill if you ask me.  Died May 23, 1934.

6.  John Joseph Gotti, Jr. 


5.  Lester Joseph "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis.  Died Nov. 27, 1934, in Barrington, Illinois.

4.  Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll-- Shot 15 times Feb. 8, 1932

3.  Richard Leonard "The Iceman" Kurlinski  Died in prison March 5, 2006

2.  Alphonse Gabriel Capone--  Died 1947.

1.  George Clarence "Bugs" Moran  Popularized the infamous "Drive-By Shootings:  Died in prison 1956.

Baby Face Nelson has a plaque at the Barrington Park District at the North Side Park.  He died at a house in Wilmette after being shot 17 times.  Buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in River grove, Illinois.  Plot 1, Lot 18, Block 8, Section C in case you want to visit.

Shoot 'Em Ups.  --Cooter

Al Capone Was a Baseball Fan, Too: "You Tell Him"

From the July 3rd Chicago Tribune Chicago Flashback page.

In conjunction with the Crosstown Series, which was being played at Wrigley Field between the White Sox and the Cubs.

The Cubs and Sox also played an extra game in 1931 for charity to raise money for the relief of those hard-hit by the depression on September 9th.

Unfortunately, the Cubs won 3-0 (said the Sox fan).

But a photo made the headlines all over. Cub star Gabby Hartnett trotted over to the box seat occupied by Public Enemy No. 1, Al Capone and had a chat. At the time, Capone was under indictment for tax evasion. Capone's young son (who looks a bit like a young Babe Ruth) sat next to him and his bodyguard "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, sat behind him.

When baseball commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis saw the picture, he was livid and telegraphed Hartnett, "You are no longer allowed to have your picture taken with Al Capone!"

Hartnett replied, "OK, but if you don't want me to have my picture taken with Al Capone, you tell him."

Capone was convicted of tax evasion the next month so I imagine it never became a problem.

Good One. --Cooter

Al Capone's Gun

From the June 23rd Chicago Tribune.

Here in Chicagoland, practically every place standing in the 1920s was visited by Al Capone at least once in his life.

Well, last week his gun got $109,000 at Christie's Auction June 22nd.

That would be a Colt .38 revolver which, according to Colt records, was made in May 1929, just a few months after the famous St. Valentine's Day Massacre. So, he couldn't have used it there, even if he had been there.

It was expected to get between $81,000 and $113,000 and was sold by a private collector who had a personal letter from the widow of Al's brother Ralph Capone confirming that the gun had "previously belonged to and was only used by Al Capone while he was alive."

The anonymous successful buyer bid online.

Al Slept Here and Shot Here. --Cooter

Scarface Slept Here

That's right, Noted Chicago gangster Al Capone. And it can be yours for a minimum bid of $2.6 million. Just a bit more than I can afford, but a piece of interesting history nonetheless.

The Hideout, in northern Wisconsin, is 407 secluded acres with a 37 acre lake, a stone lodge, caretaker's house, 8 stall garage and other outbuildings.

It has been advertised in Chicago to drum up interest.

Al Capone owned it in the late 20s and early 30s. Rumor has it that bootleg liquor was flown in with planes landing on the lake where the booze was put on trucks and driven to Chicago. It is known that Capone spent a lot of time there.

Any Takers? --Cooter