Al Capone was an enigma of the "Roaring Twenties." As a gangster, Al Capone rose to be the boss of one of the largest organized crime syndicates in American history at the time. The name of the gang was the Chicago Outfit (Pasley, 2004). Born as Alphonse Gabriel Capone, he perhaps serves as a representation of American society in the 1920s. A push towards liberalism meant that people let down their guard in enforcing the social fabrics that the American Society had hitherto been built on since the nation's founding. The desire for quick rich schemes rose exponentially because no one wanted to be left behind in the feel-good factor brought about by America's rising economic fortunes.
Consequently, organized crime, as epitomized by Al Capone's Chicago Outfit, became one of the easier means with which people could earn quick money. Nothing led to the sharp rise of Al Capone and in extension organized crime as prohibition (Schoenberg, 1992). The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S Constitution entered into force in January 1920 and with it, the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcohol became illegal. An underground market for alcohol and with it, an entire industry arose. Organized crime syndicates controlled the distribution of alcohol that had been smuggled across the borders from Canada to the major U.S cities.
As an illustration of how lucrative the bootlegging was, Al Capone's income in 1927 was reported to be over $1 million in 1927, which was astronomical when juxtaposed with the $2,500 average income for Americans at the time. The flourishing of Al Capone's Chicago Outfit illustrated the breakdown in America's societal structure at the time. Despite the gang bosses conducting the business of bootlegging in the open, law enforcement officers often turned a blind eye often after receiving a "handshake," which of course was the euphemism for a bribe.
The height of the complacency and implicit co-operation of law enforcement officers with Al Capone was the denial that James Belcastro, Al Capone's lead hit man, was directly linked to him. Instead, the police suggested that Belcastro was an independent criminal. The incident happened after Belcastro was shot by the police in 1931.
The entire criminal justice system was disjointed at the time. As an illustration, while it had been evident that Al Capone's organized crime syndicate was responsible for dozens of violent crime including the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day massacre, government agencies led by the FBI only charged with him tax evasion. In fact, his involvement with violent crime never featured during the investigations and his subsequent trial. It has been attributed to his ability to bribe his way through the entire criminal justice system including law enforcement officers, prosecutors and shockingly even juries.
Nothing portrayed the breaking of America's social culture more than the tacit political alliances between Al Capone' organized crime syndicate and Chicago politicians. Al Capone has been directly credited with supporting the campaigns of William Hale Thompson in the 1927 race for mayor of Chicago (Kobler, 2003). A quarter of a million dollars contribution from Al Capone to the Thompson's campaign led to his eventual victory. However, nothing raises eyebrows more than the reason that brought the two together; Al Capone became inclined to support Thompson after the latter hinted that he would reopen illegal salons in the city of Chicago. That a politician had reached a point of publicly advocating for illegal activities openly illustrates America's moral decadence at the time in the name of liberalism.
The political alliances stooped so low to the extent that Al Capone's lead operative James Belcastro firebombed election booths situated in Thompson's opponent's wards on the 19th of April 1928. The incident resulted in the loss of fifteen lives. Belcastro also stood accused of murdering Octavius Granady, a lawyer who had mounted a serious challenge on Thompson for the votes of the African American population in the race for mayor of Chicago (Kobler, 2003).
A deeper insight into the operations of organized crime syndicates at the time signaled America's underlying racial divisions. Almost all the crime syndicates had been founded and structured along racial lines. Al Capone's Chicago Outfit was a predominantly Italian gang. The fight for control over alcohol distribution channels and markets saw the gang inevitably clash with African-Americans and Irish rival gangs.
The emergence of organized crime among immigrant communities served to deepen the stereotyping of such communities. Such perceptions and stereotypes have persisted for time on end with a majority of these immigrants still bearing the tag of criminals. It would nevertheless be unfair to finish this broadcast without appreciating the myriad of challenges that immigrant communities faced. Despite the booming economic fortunes of America at the time, racial discrimination was still rampant, which ultimately ended up denying the immigrants opportunities for decent jobs. Most of them were perceived merely as sources of cheap unskilled labor. Their propensity to low-income served as an incentive for them to join gangs where they not only had opportunities to earn massive sums of money within a relatively short period but also felt a sense of acceptance within the gangs.
Sadly, the likes of Al Capone and his criminal undertakings were a mirror of the U.S society in the 1920s. A loosening social fabric ultimately prevented America from reaping the full benefits of the economic prosperity at the time.
References
Kobler, J (2003). Capone: The Life and Times of Al Capone. New York, Da Capo Press.
Pasley, F., D. (2004). Al Capone: The Biography of a Self-Made Man. New York, Garden City Publishing Co.
Schoenberg, R., L. (1992). Mr. Capone. New York, William Morrow and Company.
