He robbed, smuggled and murdered, but Al Capone ended up in prison for tax evasion. The gang boss from Chicago stands for organized crime in the US like no other. Former President Donald Trump has also been accused of all sorts of wrongdoings and even mafia connections, but he has never been convicted. Now the 76-year-old Republican could be up against a pretty minor offense – a parallel to Al Capone?
Prosecutors in New York have charged Trump with more than 30 counts of paying porn star Stormy Daniels hush money. Trump allegedly paid her $130,000 during the 2016 election campaign to keep quiet about an alleged affair between the two several years ago. Under US law, the payment would violate the Campaign Contributions Act and could face Trump up to four years in prison. There are a number of other lawsuits pending against Trump:
Capone’s criminal career
It is unclear whether Trump will ever be convicted in any or all of these cases. Al Capone also escaped the attention of the American authorities for years. The Italian-born New Yorker owed his rise to underworld legend to Prohibition: alcohol was banned in the United States from 1920 to 1933, but thanks to Capone, among others, the party continued. In the late 1920s, Capone was the undisputed boss of Chicago, but then he made a crucial mistake.
On February 14, 1929, Capone literally executed seven members of a rival gang of smugglers. The so-called Valentine’s Massacre shook up the authorities: “Chicago was in the hands of gangsters, who also controlled the police and the authorities,” then-President Herbert Hoover later wrote in his memoirs. “That’s why I’ve directed all federal agencies to focus on Mr. Capone and his allies.”
From then on, Capone was repeatedly arrested and charged with various crimes such as illegal possession of weapons, but to no avail. Capone’s lawyers always got rid of him. Only after a thorough investigation of his tax returns did the Chicago prosecutor’s office find the right lever: in October 1931, Capone was sentenced to eleven years in prison on five counts of tax evasion. Upon his arrival in prison, Capone was diagnosed with syphilis. In 1939 he was released for treatment. In January 1947, Capone succumbed to his illness at the age of 48.
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I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
