On October 24, 1931, the famous gangster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion in Chicago, Illinois. This event marked the end of Capone's reign as the notorious crime boss of the Chicago Outfit during the Prohibition era.
Alphonse Gabriel Capone, known as "Scarface," had built a vast criminal empire through bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution. Despite his involvement in numerous illegal activities, including the infamous Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, Capone managed to evade prosecution for years due to his influence and the corruption of local officials.
However, the federal government, determined to bring Capone to justice, found a way to tackle the elusive gangster through tax law. The investigation, led by the U.S. Treasury Department's Special Intelligence Unit, meticulously traced Capone's income and expenditures, revealing that he had failed to pay taxes on his substantial illegal earnings.
The trial, which lasted for three months, captured the nation's attention. On October 24, after nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Capone guilty of five counts of income tax evasion and failing to file tax returns. The verdict marked a significant victory for federal law enforcement and signaled a shift in the government's approach to combating organized crime.
On November 24, 1931, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, fined $50,000, and ordered to pay $215,000 in back taxes. He served most of his sentence at the infamous Alcatraz Island prison in San Francisco Bay, where his health deteriorated due to untreated syphilis.
The conviction of Al Capone on income tax evasion charges on this day in history demonstrated that even the most powerful and influential criminals were not above the law, setting a precedent for future prosecutions of organized crime figures.
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