Crime Destroyed The 1930s: Al Capone

“Capone’s crime gang raked in as much as $100 million annually” (Nix). Al Capone and his gang controlled Chicago which led them to bringing in 100 million dollars annually. Al Capone was the most notorious criminal of the 1930s. Al Capone led the charge of crime because of all of his connections to the government and all the crime he committed. The 1930s was the most prolific era for crime as evidenced by Al Capone’s reign of terror, Chicago’s homicide rate, and how crime all over the United States destroyed the 1930s.

Al Capone relied on his alliances and his money to get out of any situation. He changed the laws of the government to gang laws. Author of “Al Capone’s Pineapple Politics”, Babcock, acknowledges that Scarface, Al Capone, controls which party will be winning because he has people on the inside of almost everything. The political parties need Al Capone to like them in order for them to win. “And “Scarface” and his satellites are persons of exceeding importance to the politicians and their parties. When those politicians have control of the pardons, the police, and the prosecution, the alliance becomes mutually magnificent. Both sides are no longer afraid of the law; they adjust the law to suit their needs” (Babcock). If the political parties have Al Capone on their side they control the political race. Again Babcock states that the government is powerless in Chicago now, it now lives by ganglaw. “Or almost any morning a county-highway policeman or a small-town constable may find a bullet-torn body in a roadside ditch. Whereupon another casualty is marked up in the gang-war column, or there is an addition to the list of sixty-eight bombings in six months’ time. Thus Chicago lives by gang law” (Babcock). Capone is taking over and the police have no way of stopping it. It is either join the gang or be killed by the gang. Al Capone knows that money is as powerful as death, as it can get him out of any situation. (Babcock).Capone uses that knowledge whenever necessary. Al Capone scared people enough for them to abide by his laws, not the government’s. Babcock states that if you are not part of the Capone kingdom the kingdom will tear you down. “When rivals dare enter the Capone kingdom, or distillers dare question the Capone levy or the price of sugar, or barkeeps seek a source of supply other than the Capone brewery, the Capone army takes care of them” (Babcock). Once one joins the kingdom there is no leaving without suffering the consequences. Thus the world’s sausage metropolis, which limited its slaughtering to the stockyards, takes on new airs” (Babcock).Capone will align himself with victory in order to make money. “His usual practice in this regard is to align himself with the party or faction picked to win, letting a trusted lieutenant do what is necessary for the other side. No matter who loses the Capone interests win” (Babcock). Capone will do whatever is necessary to make money. In this instance a mob tries to interfere with Capone and his mob…“Seven members or associates of the “Bugs” Moran mob were machine-gunned against a garage wall by rivals posing as police. The massacre was generally ascribed to the Capone mob” (Babcock). This comment shows what happens if one decides to stand in Capone’s way. Al Capone led the charge in crime with his mobs, robberies, and murders.

Homicide in the 1930s was not only common, but it was also vicious and gruesome. “nationwide homicide mortality rate hit a high for the century” (“Al Capone”). Al Capone and his mob contributed to the homicide rate, but this fact leads to show that it was a very gruesome time period. Cioppa had discovered a woman that had been murdered stating, “Julia’s head had been viciously bashed. The walls were covered in her blood, with some spatters up to 7 feet high” (Cioppa). Certain people during the 1930s cared solely about themselves and did not care about how harsh their actions were. Again, an article written by Bavsun describes the terrible murder of a man. “the headless, handless body of a man, about 300 pounds and 60 years old, turned up in a culvert some 20 miles from Carrollton” (Bavsun). People only cared about themselves.“The Chicago Police Department Homicide Record Index – chronicling 11,000 homicides in the city during those years” (Homicide in Chicago).. Al Capone and his mob led the charge in spiking this town’s homicide rate. The murder mystery of several cases caused confusion and distrust with law enforcement. The Julia Wilson murder was a rare murder confusing many people as Marr states, “The murder of Julia Wallace in Liverpool in 1931 was of the rarest sort: a real-life killing that invoked some of the most well-worn tropes of Golden Age mystery fiction” (Marr). This murder mystery took scientists eight decades to figure out. “A murder mystery could be solved after eight decades as scientists use modern DNA techniques to identify the unknown victim of a gruesome 1930 killing. Psychotic killer Alfred Rouse smashed an unidentified man over the head with a mallet, then placed his body in a Morris Minor and set the car on fire in a botched attempt to fake his own death” (Gye). If it took 8 decades took figure out this murder mystery then the people were having a hard time trusting law enforcement with their cases.?

During the Great Depression crime destroyed businesses and families leading to a long Depression period. John Dillinger and his bank robberies made him the number 1 Public Enemy. John Dillinger had a great effect on the Great Depression. This man tried to make a living on a farm, but it did not work so he turned to crime. Radeska showed that men just turned to crime if their jobs did not turn out well for them. Radeska states that a man that went by the name of ‘the Mob’s accountant’ had a major impact on the Great Depression. He was one of the greatest crime organizers of his time. He was a member of the Jewish Mob and held good relations with the Italian Mafia. His bootlegging and gambling businesses blossomed during the Prohibition period and allowed him to create an empire” (Radeska). Lansky greatly affected the crime world and even became respected enough to make his own empire. Radeska states that if one gets in the way of a mob they will take care of him. “On his way to success and fame, he not only conspired but also took part in numerous high-profile killings. He was part of the infamous “Murder Inc.”, a syndicate which ensured that the work of the Italian and Jewish Mob would allow their businesses to run smoothly without any “obstacles” (Radeska). During this time one either stays away from a mob, were in a mob, or one was an enemy of a mob. Costello was a gangster and was ‘the man’ of the underworld. “Frank Costello was an Italian-American gangster and crime boss, Boss of the Luciano crime family and was nicknamed “The Prime Minister of the Underworld” (Radeska). ‘The Prime Minister of the Underworld’ was a big deal and Luciano was just that. Radeska describes another man that made his living off of being a hitman. “Anastasia began his career at an early age as a hitman. In 1919 he was working on a ship with two of his brothers and all of them together managed to escape from the ship when it landed in New York City” (Radeska). All of these criminals definitely did not help end the Great Depression if anything they were extending it.

The crime during the 1930s brought fear to many and even led to the Great Depression. The reign of Al Capone, the Homicide rate in Chicago and when crime ruled over Chicago led the 1930s to a crippling depression . Al Capone was the main man of the 1930s and brought much fear to all of Chicago. The 1930s was a bad year, but the United States can learn from its past and make new moves in order for it to not happen again.