AL CAPONE:
PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE
CAPONE IN TROUBLE
In 1931, the federal government brought Capone to court on an interesting charge: tax evasion. He had failed to pay taxes on his income for the years 1925 to 1929, according to the government. Capone's trial was highly publicized, and resulted in his conviction and an 11-year prison sentence.
EXCERPT FROM CAPONE'S TRIAL
This is an excerpt from the transcript of Capone’s trial in 1931 (linked here). The charge against Capone was tax evasion (and not the fact that he had been illegally trading alcohol, or murder, or any of his other various crimes).
Capone’s extravagant wealth was unusual in a time when half of Americans were living at an impoverished standard. And his wealth wasn’t gotten by honest work, either -- he made his money off organized crime. His failure to pay taxes on his wealth ultimately caused the government to prosecute him. This excerpt in particular was included here as an example of Capone's wealth -- definitely worth looking at when examining the story of Al Capone. His previous popularity with the people, and his label of ‘Public Enemy Number 1’ got a lot of attention. This definitely made the 1920s roaring.
CAPONE'S TRIAL VERDICT
This is the official verdict from Capone’s trial. He was found guilty of tax evasion for the years 1925 to 1929. Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison and had to pay $80,000 in fines and court fees.
During the 1920s organized crime reached its heyday in conjunction with the increasing importance of bootlegging. Al Capone was one of those who used the idea of organized crime to effectively rule the Chicago underworld. His bootlegging operations led to an extraordinary amount of wealth in his hands. And he didn’t want to pay taxes on his wealth -- which is why the government ended up prosecuting him. The quote ‘the government can't collect legal taxes on illegal money’ was attributed to him. This trial was the reason his bootlegging days were over, as he spent the next several years at Alcatraz.
This trial was highly publicized. The courtroom was packed, it was covered in all major newspapers -- the public was highly interested to see what would become of the man who was known as Public Enemy Number One. Capone’s trial made the 1920s roaring.
