20 Beyond Fascinating Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Scarface

15. Capone Was Never Charged With The St. Valentine’s Day Massacres

Seven men affiliated with the George “Bugs” Moran gang were shot to death in a garage in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago on Feb. 14, 1929, in what became known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Five of the dead men worked for Moran, while the other two were an optometrist and a mechanic. The men were attacked by at least four men, two of whom were dressed as police officers. Capone was one of Moran’s rivals, and even though he was in Florida when the murders took place, there was much speculation that he was responsible for the hits, but he was never charged.

16. Capone Avoided Jail Time Through Bribes & Threats

Capone committed numerous crimes and was responsible for the deaths of multiple people; however, authorities had a difficult time prosecuting him. Capone avoided jail because he bribed public officials, paid off police and threatened those who were witnesses against him. He was convicted of a crime for the first time in 1929 after police found him carrying a concealed firearm in Philadelphia. Capone was traveling to Chicago after meeting with fellow crime lords in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He served less than one year in jail. One month later the Chicago Crime Commission named him Public Enemy No. 1.

17. Capone’s Downfall

Eliot Ness has widely been credited with taking down Capone, but the truth is slightly less interesting. Ness was a Prohibition agent who raided establishments that were connected to the mobster’s bootlegging business in Chicago. The press called Ness and his fellow agents the “Untouchables” because they refused to take bribes from those involved in the underworld. Ness was partially responsible for helping to indict Capone for violating Prohibition, however, the government decided to prosecute the gangster on tax evasion. Capone was convicted in 1931 and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. He was fined $50,000 and held liable for $215,000 plus interest on back taxes.

18. Capone Was One Of Alcatraz’s Notorious Prisoners

Capone started his 11-year sentence for tax invasion in May 1932 at a penitentiary in Atlanta, Ga. Two years later, he and a few other inmates were put on a train and escorted to California where they became one of the first few prisoners at a new prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. The prison was maximum security and built for violent inmates and those who had behavioral problems. Capone was neither violent nor troublesome while stationed in Atlanta, so the government likely chose to send him to Alcatraz as a publicity stunt for its brand new prison.

19. Capone’s Physical & Mental Health Deteriorated Rapidly In Prison

When Capone was sentenced to prison in 1932, he was 33 years old and 250 pounds. He was also diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhea. Additionally, Capone was indicted while addicted to cocaine, so he had serious withdrawal symptoms once he started serving time. He also developed dementia as a side effect of syphilis. This became a problem for Capone, and doctors gave him malaria injections, hoping fevers from the disease would aid in curing syphilis. Instead, the treatment nearly killed him. He spent his final year at Alcatraz in the hospital. He was often disoriented and confused.

20. Capone Disappeared From Public Life

After Capone was released from prison in 1939, he was transported to a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, to be treated for syphilis. He spent several months there in recovery. From that point on, Capone avoided the spotlight. He spent the majority of time at his mansion in Palm Island, Florida, where he played cards and went fishing. Penicillin became available for syphilis in the 1940s, but by that time the disease had progressed too far and it didn’t help Capone. He suffered numerous health problems before dying. He had a stroke at the age of 48 and contracted pneumonia before dying in 1947 from a heart attack.

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