Al Capone gained a great deal of admiration from many of the poor in Chicago for his flagrant disregard of the prohibition law that they despised. He was viewed for a time as a lovable outlaw, partially because of his extravagant generosity to strangers and often lending a hand to struggling . His night club, the , became a hot-spot for new acts such as and . He was often cheered in the street, and it was only the brutal murders of the that made people view Capone, once again, as a killer and socially unacceptable.
Capone headed a list of "" corrupting the city compiled by the chairman of the , , in April 1930. The list was published by newspapers nationwide, and Capone became known as "Public Enemy No. 1."
Source G says, “He (Al Capone) had discovered that there was big money in the newly outlawed liquor business. He hoped to control the dispensation of booze to the whole city of Chicago. As the profits from beer and “alky cooking” (illicit distilling) rolled in young Capone acquired more finesse particularly skill in the management of politics and politicians. By the middle of the decade, he had gained complete control of the suburb of Cicero and had installed his own mayor in office.” This however, gave evidence that Capone was greatly involved in illegal actions such as bootlegging activities, political corruption etc. However, it also says that he had gained complete control of Chicago by being accomplished as the mayor of the city. This therefore, means that he was popular by the citizens of Chicago, and was treated as a celebrity in status. An emphasis to this declaration is Source H. Source H is a quote from Al Capone himself, speaking in 1930. He says, “I call myself a businessman. I make my money by supplying a popular demand. If I break the law, my customers are as guilty as I am. You can’t cure thirst by law.” This however, states that he imagines himself as a businessman supplying people’s needs. Source I shows Al Capone in front of TIME, a leading US weekly magazine in 1930. He is shown on the front page of the newsmagazine. This shows his popularity as a ‘celebrity statuses by the surplus population.
However, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre resulted from a plan devised by 's gang member to eliminate , the boss of the and Capone's main rival. The massacre was planned by McGurn partly in retaliation for an unsuccessful attempt by and his brother to him a month earlier. The rivalry between Moran and Capone for control of the lucrative Chicago bootlegging business led Capone to accept McGurn's plan.
At around 10:30 on St. Valentine's Day, five members of the McGurn gang drove to the warehouse in a stolen police car; three were dressed in police uniforms and two in street clothes. The Moran gang had already arrived at the warehouse. However, Moran himself was not inside. One account states that Moran was supposedly watching the warehouse, spotted the police car and fled the scene. Another account was that Moran was simply late getting there.
Commenting later on the massacre, Capone reportedly said "I don't give a damn killing those people". The massacre also brought the belated and full attention of the to bear on Capone and his criminal activities. In 1931, Capone was convicted of and went to prison for 11 years. The massacre no doubt took down both Moran and Capone and left the bloody turf war they had with each other with a stalemate.
In my opinion, I assume Capone is public enemy number one because although he is “supplying a popular demand,” he is supplying it illegally which is somehow, breaking the law that compromises him as guilty. I assume Al Capone thinks he is public enemy number one for the reason that he is one of the significant gangster leaders whom he bribes police inspectors with flesh amounts of extravagance to keep a confidential event. Another reason why I presume Al Capone presupposes he is public enemy number one is that he is a gang member; He has other rival gangs competing against him. His gang members killed the rival gang in St. Valentines Day which have had a significant effect on the policy and/or issue on the gangsters “ruling the city.” (Especially Al Capone).
