Blame it on the fires. Diane Capone, Al Capone’s granddaughter, lives in Auburn, in northern California, at the forefront of the fires that devastate Sierra Nevada every year. Since the deadly Camp Fire of 2018, she packs a bag every summer, in case there is an emergency evacuation. Further reason for concern: the collection of memorabilia inherited from his grandfather, the most famous gangster in the United States.
“My grandfather was charged with a lot of things, but he was only convicted of tax evasion and he served his sentence. There is nothing improper about selling your stuff. Diane Capone, Al Capone’s granddaughter
This year the flames moved closer to her house again, but Diane was – almost – at peace. Memories of “Papa” – the affectionate name given to the Mafia godfather by his grandchildren – were safe. Before the fire season, Diane Capone, 77, and her three sisters still alive decided to put on sale the effects of the “boss” of the Chicago underworld of the time of Prohibition, achieved legendary status for a long time. held the FBI in check – before falling into the net of Treasury Agent Eliot Ness and Tax Agent Frank Wilson.
One hundred and seventy-four pieces will be auctioned on October 8 at an auction in Sacramento, the capital of California. Seventy-four years after her death, descendants felt that there was nothing shocking about profiting from a fortune derived from the trafficking of contraband alcohol. “My grandfather was accused of a lot of things, emphasizes Diane Capone, but he was only found guilty of tax evasion and he served his sentence. There is nothing improper about selling your stuff. ”
Born January 17, 1899, Alfonso Capone died at age 48 on January 25, 1947, in his home in Palm Island, Florida, eight years after being released from Alcatraz. Not under the bullets of underworld rivals, but of a heart attack while syphilis had plagued him since the start of his “career” as a bouncer in a Chicago brothel. Son of Neapolitan immigrants, fourth in a family of 9 children, he left school at the age of 14 (after hitting a teacher) and took it upon himself to ensure the fate of his family and that of his wife, Irish Catholics.
Pretty kitsch trinkets
His main achievement remains the Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, when a group of thugs disguised as police officers fired 70 bullets at members of a rival bootlegger gang, killing seven. Al Capone had taken care that day to be in his Florida home. Police were never able to establish his guilt, but the crime earned him the nickname “public enemy number one,” which he tried to thwart by funding soup kitchens in poor Chicago neighborhoods from the crisis.
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