Capone's Vault (Beach Reads)

Al Capone ranks as probably the most infamous mobster in American history.

Can you briefly talk us through the full range of his criminal enterprise when he was at the height of his powers? What kinds of illicit activity was he involved in?

Well, Capone, uh, took over Chicago basically in the '20s, and during Prohibition, people wanted to drink still.

And so Capone famously said, "I'm just supplying a need." And, uh, his need generated a hundred million dollars a year.

He furnished all sorts of booze, beer, whiskey.

You know, he was called the King of Chicago, uh, and that was basically because most people were on the payroll at the time.

And Capone was, you know, it's hard for people to understand how big he was then.

He really was a celebrity.

You know, the, the way we view a sports figure or a movie star today, that's how a lot of people viewed Capone.

He had a fifty thousand dollar ring on his finger, a white fedora.

Whenever he came to court, he was mobbed, and he was very media savvy.

He always made sure he got a lot of media.

So he was regarded as bigger than life.

At the same time, uh, he's running this very criminal enterprise where he could be ruthless if anybody crossed him.

So undoubtedly, murder was part of his trade, uh, while he's, you know, selling just massive amounts

amountsOf booze, uh, running an operation that, you know, went all the way up to Canada during a time when people really wanted to drink.

And, uh, speakeasies, Chicago had more speakeasies than any other city at the time.

You know, Capone had a great quote where he said, "You know, uh, in the Loop," it's downtown Chicago, "they call it bootlegging.

Up on the sh- North Shore, they call it hospitality.

I'm just supplying a need."

So as you alluded to a second ago, his criminal activities went well beyond just supplying people with illegal alcohol during prohibition, and one of the most notorious crimes he was associated with was known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, which you detail at some length in the book.

Can you just give us a summary of what happened there and why it caught the public imagination the way it did?

A guy named Bugsy Malone was trying to horn in on Capone's business.

Malone's guys would kill Capone's guys, Capone's guys would kill Malone.

And then basically what happened was on, uh, you know, Valentine's Day, uh, Capone had, uh...