Al "Scarface" Capone one of America's most famous gangsters had a lage part to do with the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920's. He lead the way for a lot of new gangsters around that era and was a good example of the part that crime plays in society even today. One city in particular in which Capone gave a lawless reputation to was Chicago, Illinois.
Alphonsus Capone grew up in a rough neighbourhood in Brooklyn, New York. He left school at a young age and soon became associated with various different gangs, until he got a job as a bartender at gangster Frankie Yale's Harvard Inn, a gang hideout for the notorious Five Points gang, in Manhattan. this was where he recieved his first police arrest while working for Yale on a disorderly conduct charge, yet he also murdered two men while in New York, but was never tried for the murders because no one admitted to hearing or seeing a thing. .
In 1919 Capone was sent by Yale to Chicago after he hopitalized a rival gang member this is where Capone met an old friend of Yale's; John Torrio. Torrio saw that Capone had potential, with a combination of physical strength and intelligence, and before long was helping Torrio manage his bootlegging business. By mid-1922 Capone ranked as Torrio's number two man and eventually became a full partner in the saloons, gambling houses, and brothels. .
Torrio was later forced to leave Chicago after he was shot by rival gang members, and consiequently Capone inherited the "outfit" and became boss. He quickly proved that he was even better at running the business than Torrio and soon he controlled speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries. He was reportedly earning an income of $100,000,000 a year.
Capone had headquarters all across Chicago, he expanded into the suburbs, bribing public officials and the police. He had an extensive spy network in Chicago, from newspaper boys to policemen, so that any plots against him were quickly discovered.