America’s best known gangster, Alphonse Capone was the overlord of a vast criminal empire responsible for the rampant lawlessness and massive corruption plaguing Chicago during the 1920’s Prohibition Era. At the same time Al Capone’s fame and colorful personality captured the hearts and minds of the public and press transforming himself into a mythic folk hero. He was admired for his defiance of the law, his ‘rags to riches’ climb to fame, his …showed first 75 words of 1696 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1696 total…life of crime. Al Capone was an assemblage of many different factors rolled into one, and can best be described as a product of early twentieth century urban American culture. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Works Cited http://www.fbi.gov/yourfbi/history/famcases/capone/capone.htm Cannon, Angie “Crime Stories of the Century” U.S. News & World Report, 2/06/99, Vol. 127 Issue 22. Trohan, Walter “Massacre” The Tribune, February 15,1929. Pasley, Fred D. Al Capone. New Hampshire: Ayer Company Publishers Inc., 1930.