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AL CAPOME
Al Capone was a son of an Italian
Immigrant and born in 1899 he move from New York to Chicago in 1919.
When the US government declared
prohibition of manufacturing, distributing and selling intoxicating drinks; Al
Capone made a fortune in supplying illegal alcohol. With a fast income of US
100 million in 1924 he bribed most of the Chicago top officials. The mayor,
chief of police, judges and lawyers were all on his payroll.
The rival’s gangs and their leaders
argued with Capone because they didn't want him to muscle in on their
territory. It became so bad with the gangs fighting wars with Thompson
sub-machine gun that it became known as the 'Chicago typewriter'. This weapon
could fire a thousand rounds per minute and penetrate a 7cm thick pine board at
4572m.
The height of the killing was the
so-called St Valentine's Day Massacre on 14 February 1929. Some of Capone's men
lined up seven of their rivals and shot them in cold blood. There was a public
outcry and finally the police took action. No witnesses could be found. They
charged Al Capone with tax evasion. He died in 1947 after being in prison for
eight years. He was sick and insane.
Now Al Capone's empire became a large
and more ambitious crime Syndicate. The prohibition ended in 1933. The
Syndicate was launched in 1934 and had leaders of the country's most powerful
gangs. Millions of Dollar came from an assortment of other underworld rackets
such as gambling, vice, extortion and drugs.
The gangs didn't want any wars like
it raged in Chicago. They worked out territories, rules and regulations. They
even had an appointed national board of directors. They set up a squad of
full-time killers - Murder, Inc - to deal with anyone who would not obey the
rules or an order. Each killer was paid between US$1000 and US$5000 to carry
out the 'assignment'. They also received a regular salary and all kinds of
benefits which were normally only enjoyed by top executives. - life insurance,
medical care and retirement plans.
In the 1940 the Syndicate was taken
over by an even more powerful group, the Mafia.
In the 9th Century the Mafia was
founded to resist foreign invaders. It slowly became a criminal organisation
and by the 19th century practically controlled the island government. It did
not expand into the mainland Italy because it was and is controlled by the
Camorra.
It found that the USA was a great open
ground to expand. Large numbers of Italian immigrants and Sicilians flood to
America.
They began in New Orleans but soon
spread to other cities with large Sicilian communities. Loyalty was absolute
paramount. A new member held his hand over a sheet of paper with a picture of a
saint on it. The middle finger was pricked and a few drops of blood fell onto
the paper. This was crumpled up and set alight. The new member had to say the
words, 'I swear to be loyal to my brothers, never to betray them, and if I fail
may I burn and be turned to ashes like the ashes of the image.' This oath of
loyalty was the strength and backbone of the Mafia.
Those who dared to betray were
killed. The Mafia grew to enormous power and a few attempts were made to break
them. In the 1940's it was the most powerful and profitable criminal
organization. However, it was not until JF Kennedy became President that the
Mafia felt a thread. He put them of top of the list to smash them but in
November 1963 he was killed. It was assumed that he was a victim of a Mafia
assassination plot.
However, the Mafia has and is still
flourishing. Other powerful Mafia-type gangs emerged in other countries. In
Russia they have their own Mafia and the underworld became a state within a
state. The rate of crimes has shot up in the last five years. Businessmen,
politicians and policemen are on the payroll.
Underworld Slang
BUZZERS; Pickers of Gentlemen's
pockets.
PROP-NAILERS; Those who steal pins
and brooches.
TIMBLE-SCREWERS; Watch-snatchers
DEAD LURKERS; Those who steal coats
and umbrellas from passages at dusk or on Sunday afternoons.
SNOW GATHERERS; Those who steal
drying clothes off the hedges.
BLUEY-HUNERS; Those who steal lead
from the roofs of houses.
MUDLARKS; Those who steal pieces of
rope and lumps of coal from ships along the River Thames.
RESURRECTIONISTS; Those who steal
dead bodies to sell to medical schools and scientists.
I am sure these phrases are more
likely from the older days.
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CAPONE'S HEADQUARTERS IN CHICAGO -- THE LEXINGTON HOTEL -- IT WAS DEMOLISHED IN 1995 |
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