It was his weapon “Favorite”. A Colt .45 that once belonged to Al Capone, one of the most famous gangsters in the world, will be auctioned on October 8, in Sacramento, California, by his descendants.
The collection that will be dispersed includes other weapons, family photos, a letter written to his son from his Alcatraz cell and the bed he shared with his wife in their luxurious Florida villa. It comes from the heritage left by Al Capone in 1947 to his widow, Mae Capone, who herself bequeathed it to their only son, Sonny – whose real name is Albert Francis Jr. It is the Witherells house which is responsible for the sale.
Al Capone was one of the most feared underworld leaders during the Prohibition era of the 1920s, when all production or sale of alcohol was officially banned in the United States.
Godfather of the Outfit gang (“the Organization”) in Chicago, the one nicknamed “Scarface” (“the Scarred”) caused terror to reign with his racketeering network and very violent methods, such as ” Valentine’s Day massacre ”in which he had seven members of a rival gang executed in 1929.
A Colt estimated at $ 150,000
Despite all the police launched on his heels – including the famous Eliot Ness – the gangster will never be prosecuted for his violent crimes but for tax evasion, which will earn him a sentence of eleven years in prison and a passage on the penitentiary island of ‘Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Auction house Witherells estimates that Al Capone’s fetish Colt could fetch $ 150,000 (127,710 euros), with another of his pistols estimated at between $ 30,000 and $ 60,000.
The lots also include a Patek Philippe pocket watch in platinum and diamonds as well as other jewelry monogrammed with Al Capone’s initials. The current owners of these items are the gangster’s granddaughters, Diane and Barbara Capone.