Al Capone & the Mafia

Question

Was Al Capone in the Mafia, or was he just an unaffiliated mobster? The word Mafia seems to be used in a very general way these days, for any organised crime gang; but I don't think it was like that in the 1920s and 30s.

Work like The Man from Atlantis.
Dance like the teardrop explodes.
Love as though you are the God or Goddess incarnate. Sing as though your little throat would burst.
Then pass this to someone who passed it to you first.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Was Al Capone in the Mafia, or was he just an unaffiliated mobster? The word Mafia seems to be used ... incarnate. Sing as though your little throat would burst. Then pass this to someone who passed it to you first.[/nq]
the modern mafia grew out of the chicaco and new york gangs post capone . he was you might say was a founding father .
bootlegging inspired the gangs to form the larger organization that was needed to move booze . when booze was legalized the gangs went in to gambling and union control .repeal came too late the mafia was on its way .

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Was Al Capone in the Mafia, or was he just an unaffiliated mobster? The word Mafia seems to be used in a very general way these days, for any organised crime gang; but I don't think it was like that in the 1920s and 30s.[/nq]
Organised crime in New York was not restricted to Italians. There were also Irish and Jewish gangs. Of those who were Italian, however, most tended to be Sicilian.
Capone, on the other hand, was a Neapolitan and so was regarded by the East-Coast Sicilians gang bosses as only semi-human. To them, he was unnecessarily violent and far too brazen in his crimes, and that was taken as proof of his near-barbarian nature (as a Neapolitan).

The Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, was primarily an East Coast-centred organisation, though certainly its tentacles reached through the whole of the US.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Was Al Capone in the Mafia, or was he just ... don't think it was like that in the 1920sand 30s.[/nq]
[nq:1]Organised crime in New York was not restricted to Italians. There werealso Irish and Jewish gangs. Of those who were ... Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, was primarily an East Coast-centredorganisation, though certainly its tentacles reached through the whole of the US.[/nq]
This is why I am puzzled. In the modern definition of the word 'mafia' then Capone was definitely a mafiosi. But in 1929 I wouldn't have thought the mafia would have had anything to do with him. Of course the mafia doesn't have a membership card or anything..

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]The Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, was primarily an East Coast-centredorganisation, though certainly its tentacles reached through the whole of the US.[/nq]
[nq:1]This is why I am puzzled. In the modern definition of the word 'mafia' then Capone was definitely a mafiosi.[/nq]
Whoops? Mafioso.
[nq:1]But in 1929 I wouldn't have thought the mafia would have had anything to do with him. Of course the mafia doesn't have a membership card or anything..[/nq]
He was Italian, and he was a gangster. That's enough for most people.
Someday I may actually find, and then read, the long biography of Capone I bought on remainder about ten years ago. What I remember from a quick skim long ago is that he wasn't formally affiliated with the specific group of Italian criminals who called themselves La Cosa Nostra, but that he did have informal connections to them and conducted his business in much the same fashion.

I suppose it all depends on what the meaning of "Mafia" is.

Bob Lieblich
Fan of Benjamin (Bugsy) Siegel

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Organised crime in New York was not restricted to Italians. There werealso Irish and Jewish gangs. Of those who were ... and far too brazen in his crimes, and that was taken as proof of his near-barbarian nature (as a Neapolitan).[/nq]
Sicilians are somewhat ethnocentric, as are most Italians. Those still in the homeland think mentally in terms of group identification as flourished in the golden age of the Medici. In other words, my family, the Marinelli, would be Roman first, then Italian, although one year my daddy yelled at me: "Never say you're from Rome! They'll shoot you."
Joanne

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]This is why I am puzzled. In the modern definition of the word 'mafia'then Capone was definitely a mafiosi. But ... mafia would have had anything to do with him. Of course the mafia doesn't have a membership card or anything..[/nq]
Mafia is an abused term in English Alan, and derives from the Tuscan form of godfather, which I will dig up for you when I am back on my Medici piece, but back in the day, Capone was not part of "The Octopus" as the Sicilian mindset then conceived it not that they did not work with other groups, as was previously noted.
Capone, whatever else, never deserved the respect given to a godfather, (like Bruno in Philadelphia, he was one of the last from the old school before he was taken out in the late 70's) and from what I know Al wasn't allowed on the inside skinny.
Joanne

Usenet · Answer

Al Capone, being a Neapolitan, was never a mafioso. He was not allowed to join. He did take control, and bossed the Chicago Mafia, which had been controlled by Johnny Torio (Torrio?), who had moved there from New York, taking Capone with him. At some point, the New York organization decided to remove Capone from his ruling position, and worked a deal with Anselmi, Scalisi, and Guinta. Capone gave them a huge ceremonial dinner but at the end of the dinner, Capone himself killed them, with a baseball bat. The bodies were dumped over the state border, in a roadside ditch in Indiana.
But Capone was never allowed to actually join the organization.

Cece

Al Capone & the Mafia

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