Alphonse Gabriel Capone

On the record

• 1899–1947 — The FBI Vault's summary gives these years for Alphonse Gabriel Capone, says he was sentenced for tax evasion in 1931, paroled in 1939, and died in Florida in 1947.
• January 1899 — The FBI history essay "Al Capone" says he was "Born of an immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York in January 1899" and quit school after the sixth grade. The National Archives catalog entry for his Alcatraz warden's notebook page (NAID 236736566) gives the birth date as 01/17/1899 and the birthplace as Brooklyn.
• About 1920 — The FBI history essay: "About 1920, at Torrio's invitation, Capone joined Torrio in Chicago." An FBI memorandum of April 19, 1947 in the John Torrio Vault file says Torrio brought "a New York hoodlum named Alfonse Capone" to Chicago after taking over Colosimo's operations.
• 17 October 1931 — The jury's signed verdict in United States vs. Alphonse Capone, Nos. 22852 and 23232 consolidated (National Archives, NAID 628966), finds him not guilty on indictment 22852 and guilty on counts one, five, nine, thirteen and eighteen of indictment 23232. The endorsement reads "Verdict Returned in open Court before Judge Wilkerson Oct 17, 1931." The FBI history essay gives the date of conviction as October 18, 1931.
• 24 October 1931 — The judgment and sentence (National Archives, NAID 55311708) overrules the motion in arrest of judgment and sentences him on counts One, Five, Nine, Thirteen and Eighteen of indictment 23232 to imprisonment totaling 11 years and fines totaling $50,000, plus costs of prosecution. The FBI history essay says he was sentenced "on November 24" to eleven years and a $50,000 fine; the judgment in the court file is dated October 24, 1931.
• 27 February 1932 — Capone v. United States, 56 F.2d 927 (7th Cir. 1932), affirms the conviction on three felony counts of attempting to evade income tax for 1925, 1926 and 1927 and two misdemeanor counts of failing to file returns for 1928 and 1929: "Judgment affirmed."
• 1934 — The FBI publishes a front identification photograph captioned as his 1934 mug shot.
• 1934–1939 — The National Archives at San Francisco lists him as a former inmate of the U.S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz, register number 85. The finding aid does not, on that list, give his dates on the island.
• 22 August 1934 — His Alcatraz warden's notebook page (National Archives, NAID 236736566) records that No. 85 was received at Alcatraz on August 22, 1934 from the U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, for violating the income tax laws, with the date of sentence October 24, 1931 and the sentence beginning May 4, 1932. A transfer note on the page reads: "He is a notorious criminal, being a gang leader and racketeer."
• 3 September 1935 — The same notebook page records parole as "Denied" on September 3, 1935.
• January 1939 — The notebook page's header reads "TRANSFERRED TO FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Terminal Island, JANUARY 6, 1939." The National Archives catalog description of the same record gives the transfer date as 01/04/1939. The two dates are recorded as the records give them.
• 16 November 1939 — The FBI history essay: "On November 16, 1939, Al Capone was released after having served seven years, six months and fifteen days, and having paid all fines and back taxes."
• 25 January 1947 — The FBI history essay says he lived on Palm Island "until his death due to a stroke and pneumonia on January 25, 1947." The National Archives catalog entry for the notebook page gives the death date as 01/25/1947 and the death place as Miami Beach, Florida.

The alias “Al” is the Vault’s. The alias “Scarface” is the spelling in the National Archives inmate list; the notebook page’s catalog title gives the name as CAPONE, ALPHONSE GABRIEL “SCARFACE”. “Alfonse Capone” is the spelling of the 1947 FBI memorandum in the John Torrio file. This page does not state a rank or a chain of command. The Chicago Outfit chart is still empty.

The dates of conviction and sentence differ between the FBI history essay and the court papers. This page gives both and names the source of each; the verdict and the judgment are the court’s own records. The Terminal Island transfer date also differs within the National Archives’ own description of the notebook page.

The FBI’s history essay, Al Capone, is a separate federal narrative. It describes the 14 February 1929 killing of seven members or associates of the Moran group in a Chicago garage, says the killing was generally ascribed to the Capone mob, and says Capone himself was in Florida. That essay is not the case file. It is linked from the Capone section, and it is the source for the Chicago pin on the map.

Records