Mob FilesPublic-domain archive of American organized crime

Record

Agency history

1934/1963

Federal Bureau of Prisons

Alcatraz (Federal Bureau of Prisons history page)

The Bureau of Prisons' history page on Alcatraz names Al Capone among the well-known criminals who did time there, and says most of its prisoners were not well-known gangsters.

Date
1934/1963
Kind
agency-history
Source
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Retrieved
2026-10-11
Rights
Text published by the Federal Bureau of Prisons on bop.gov. A United States government work, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

This is the Bureau of Prisons’ own historical page on the penitentiary, an institutional essay rather than an inmate record. It states that the island was transferred from the Army to the Department of Justice in 1933, and that “several well-known criminals, such as Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis … and Arthur "Doc" Barker did time on Alcatraz.”

The page adds that most prisoners on the island were not well-known gangsters, that the average population was about 260 to 275, and that capacity was 336. It does not give Capone’s dates or register number; those are on the warden’s notebook page and the National Archives inmate list. The Bureau’s timeline lists the opening of USP Alcatraz in 1934 as its first maximum-security prison and does not name Capone.

itemNational Archives list of former Alcatraz inmates: Capone, register 85The National Archives at San Francisco lists Alphonse Capone, called Scarface on the list, among former inmates of the U.S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz, register number 85.itemAlcatraz warden's notebook page for Alphonse Capone, No. 85Bureau of Prisons form with Capone's Alcatraz identification photograph, holding a card numbered 85. It records his receipt from Atlanta on Aug. 22, 1934, his tax sentence, parole denied in 1935, and his transfer to Terminal Island in January 1939.item"The Man Who Tried to Kill Al Capone" (National Park Service, Alcatraz Island)National Park Service article on Alcatraz inmate James "Tex" Lucas. It states that on June 23, 1936 Lucas attacked Capone in the shower room and that Capone suffered a minor chest wound and superficial cuts to his hands.itemAl Capone mug shot, 1934 (front)Front identification photograph published by the FBI as Al Capone's 1934 mug shot. A copy is stored with this archive.itemCapone's Alcatraz inmate case file, No. 85 (National Archives catalog entry)Catalog entry for Capone's comprehensive Alcatraz inmate case file, 2,688 pages, not yet online. The description gives receipt from Atlanta on 22 August 1934, transfer on 4 January 1939, and death on 25 January 1947 at Miami Beach.