The real-life ‘Scarface’: a timeline of Al Capone’s life and crimes

On Oct. 17, 1931, infamous Chicago mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to PBS.

Law enforcement officials had been trying to take Capone down for years but were never able to keep him behind bars for more than nine months, per the FBI. Gang warfare was not within the FBI’s jurisdiction at the time, so the bureau began investigating his finances, which led to Capone’s arrest.

Nearly a century after his conviction, Capone remains a prominent figure in American history. Here’s a look back at Capone’s life and the events that led to his imprisonment.

Who was Al Capone?

Al Capone was an American mobster who ruled the criminal underground of Chicago in the 1920s. Also known by the nickname “Scarface,” he ran several illegal operations, including prostitution, bootlegging and gambling, and was suspected of orchestrating an unknown number of murders, per the FBI.

Timeline of Al Capone’s life

The early years

Jan. 17, 1899: Alphonse Gabriel Capone is born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian immigrants.

1913: Capone is expelled from school after hitting a teacher, according to History.com. He does not continue his education and gets involved with several local gangs. At some point he meets mobster Johnny Torrio, who would become his mentor.

1917: Capone begins working as a bartender and bouncer at the Harvard Inn, which is owned by New York gangster Frankie Yale. While working there, he is involved in an altercation that leaves him with three scars on the left side of his face, which gives him the moniker “Scarface,” History.com reported.

Dec. 4, 1918: Capone’s then-girlfriend, Mae Coughlin, gives birth to their son, Albert Francis “Sonny” Capone. Capone and Coughlin marry a few weeks later.

Move to Chicago and rise to power

1920: Torrio invites Capone to join him in Chicago to work for the Colosimo mob. The leader of the mob dies shortly thereafter, and Torrio ascends to leadership in the gang. Capone works as Torrio’s right-hand man, illegally brewing and distributing alcohol and enforcing the mob’s presence in Chicago.

1925: Torrio is injured in an attempted assassination and retires. Capone becomes the leader of the Colosimo mob, which is known from then on as the Capone mob. Over the next few years, he “built a fearsome reputation,” according to the FBI, known for his ruthless and brutal violence.

1928: Capone purchases a home in Miami Beach, Florida. The city is unwelcoming and even sues him to try to keep crime out of the area, according to PBS.

Feb. 14, 1929: Known as the “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” this is one of the most violent events of the Chicago gang era, per the FBI. Seven members of a rival gang are shot to death execution-style by gangsters impersonating the police. Although no one was ever convicted of the crime and Capone himself was in Florida at the time, the Chicago Tribune reports that Capone was widely believed to have orchestrated the murders, as it eliminated his last rivals.

Trials and time behind bars

May 17, 1929: Capone is arrested in Philadelphia for carrying a deadly weapon. He is sentenced to one year in jail but is released after nine months for good behavior.

Feb. 28, 1931: Capone is sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court after feigning illness in an attempt to avoid an earlier appearance in court.

June 16, 1931: Capone pleads guilty to tax evasion and bootlegging and then retracts his plea after learning a plea deal he had hoped to get was unavailable.

Oct. 17, 1931: Capone is convicted of tax evasion and several other counts.

Nov. 24, 1931: Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison. He is ordered to pay $215,000 plus interest on back taxes and is fined $50,000 and $7,692 for court costs, per the FBI. He begins serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta.

1934: Capone is moved to Alcatraz in San Francisco, California, to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Parole and death

Nov. 16, 1939: Capone is released early for good behavior and moves back to Miami with his wife, according to Time.

Jan. 25, 1947: After suffering years of declining health due to syphilis, Capone dies of cardiac arrest in Miami, per PBS.