Al Capone was one of the most famous criminals in American history. He came from an immigrant family. His parents came from Italy，and his father was a barber. As a boy, he belonged to a street gang. He quit school after finishing the 6th grade.

He built his career as a crime boss in Chicago. He became boss at 26 when previous leader was nearly killed. His crime organization made a lot of money, more than 100 million dollars a year. Most of the money came from illegal activities, especially the sale of illegal liquor . His organization was also involved in gambling and prostitution.

Capone was a flashy dresser who enjoyed being famous. He protected himself by bribing police and public officials. Though he was involved in the deaths of many, he was never convicted of a serious crime.

When he was finally arrested, it was for minor crime. In 1929, he and his bodyguard were arrested for carrying deadly weapons. For that they were sentenced to a year in prison. Capone was released in 9 months for good behavior.

In 1930, Capone was Public Enemy No.1 in Chicago. A year later he was arrested for failure to pay taxes. The government had finally found a way to catch him. After a trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He spent the first two years of his sentence at a prison in Atlanta, Georgia. 9Then he was sent to Alcatraz, the country’s most famous prison.

At Alcatraz, he was diagnosed with a disease that began to take over his brain. As a result, he spent much of his time at prison hospital. By the time he was released from prison at 1939, he was no longer able to lead his organization. He died of stroke and pneumonia in 1947.