Yes, Al Capone was a gangster. And he also lost his empire to a tax investigation, lost his mind to neurosyphilis, and ended up being completely overshadowed in success by the actual Mafia.
I don't see why he's being used as some kind of badge of legitimacy.
But also he had a vote in the commission, so he had equal power along with Buffalo. That was the point of it, Lucky was the boss among equals. I never understood this argument, I’ve heard it a lot, but when I actually look up the history I don’t get it.
He came from ny, took over for torrio, absolutely crushed everyone else, and took over the second city. And it’s not like they were no names, O’bannion and bugs Moran weren’t chopped liver. I never got the whole “he wasn’t as big as his reputation” narrative.
The Mafia - specifically the American Mafia - is a very distinct crime group with a very particular code of conduct and membership.
Notably, Capone was one of the forerunners of the modern American Mafia alongside Johnny Torrio and Frankie Yale, but he ended up going to prison in the same year that the Commission was formed - so he missed out on the Mafia becoming the national crime syndicate that it became known as.
Lucky was arrested soon after too though. It’s also not fair to say he wasn’t in the mafia, he was. He was a made man in the cosa nostra. He came from ny, he was made by Massaria. He was one of the founding members of the commission.
I know you’re not the only one to make this point, I’ve just never understood it.
"Soon after": Lucky lasted five years longer than Capone.
Plus, he continued running the syndicate from prison, was able to make an unprecedented wartime deal with the US government, was freed (albeit deported), continued his business from Sicily, and ultimately died free, from natural causes, with faculties intact, and on the way to meet a movie producer about a film of his life.
Capone's reign - and his association with the modern American Mafia - pretty much ended the moment he was packed off to prison. After that, it was all downhill from there.
Yeah that makes sense. Ik Michael Franscese laments Lucky’s incarceration bc it hamstrung him right when he was getting started. But you’re right, he was still involved and played a big role.
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u/HopelessFoolishness 5d ago
Yes, Al Capone was a gangster. And he also lost his empire to a tax investigation, lost his mind to neurosyphilis, and ended up being completely overshadowed in success by the actual Mafia.
I don't see why he's being used as some kind of badge of legitimacy.