For everyone and about everything. “It’s just business”: the bloody story of the legendary mafioso Al Capone

Alfonso Capone, the eldest of nine children of an Italian immigrant, was born on January 17, 1899. He didn't like school. He didn’t love him so much that once he even attacked the teacher. The expulsion only benefited the hooligan: he joined a New York gang that covered up the gambling business. And there the abilities of young Capone were appreciated. On the streets, Alfonso learned faster and more willingly than at school, and quickly climbed the “career ladder.”

Capone started out as a bouncer at a pool club where gang members hung out. The young “employee”’s points were enhanced by his virtuoso knife skills: at the age of 13, Capone worked part-time in a butcher’s shop. However, this skill did not save Alphonse from the scar that later became his business card. Once in the billiard room, he quarreled with the girlfriend of the bandit, who slashed Capone on the left cheek. Since then, the gangster has been given the nickname Scarface - however, during his lifetime no one dared to call Capone that to his face, and the gangster himself claimed that he received the scar in the First World War.

After school - join a gang

At the age of 18, Capone had already attracted the attention of the New York police to his person. The aspiring mafioso was not in the mood to communicate with the “pharaohs,” so he decided to change his job and moved to Chicago, where he got help family ties. Capone ended up in his uncle's gang and immediately helped him get rid of his intractable partner. In general, already in the first days of his stay in the new place, Alfonso showed the criminal world his abilities.

Al Capone with his wife May, daughter and son

By the way, at the same time, 19-year-old Al married 18-year-old May Josephine Coughlin, who, even before the wedding, gave birth to a son from the gangster. Albert Capone, as an adult, changed his last name to Brown, lived an almost law-abiding life (he served two years for petty theft), became the father of four daughters and died in 2004.

Who came up with the idea of ​​laundering money?

Armored car, commissioned by Al Capone at the Cadillac plant

Al Capone's rise was helped by tragic events. Of course, tragic events in general made up the resume of the mafioso, but in this case, it was the same Uncle Capone who was targeted, who was forced to transfer the management of affairs to his talented 26-year-old nephew. Al Capone, who gained power, showed his competitors where crayfish spend the winter. He unleashed a real war of crime bosses, from which he emerged as the undisputed winner - Great Al, as his “colleagues” now called him. The specialization of the Capone gang is brothels, underground trade in alcohol, racketeering (this word, by the way, was invented by Big Al himself). At the same time, Mr. Capone’s business card read: “Alfonso Capone, antique furniture dealer.” This was one of the covers for his gangster activities. Capone also organized a network of budget laundries, which gave rise to the expression “money laundering.”

Bloody Al Capone

The bloody massacres of Al Capone resounded throughout America. The newspapers screamed about the Valentine's Day massacre, when Capone's gang, disguised as police officers, seized a competitor's whiskey warehouse and shot them. Getting in Capone's way meant certain death. But betrayal was punished especially cruelly. One day, in front of the gang, Al beat up his faithful bodyguard, Frank Rio. He didn’t particularly mind, because his partners had conceived a cunning plan. After the beating, several gang members suggested that Frank take revenge on the presumptuous leader and go over to the side of his competitors. That evening, Rio conveyed their names to his boss, who decided to issue his employees a “severe reprimand.” The traitors were invited to a sumptuous dinner with Italian delicacies, music and expensive wine. The feast lasted several hours, and for dessert the owner prepared a special dish for the guests - beating with a baseball bat, and instead of the cherry on the cake - control bullets. “It’s just business, nothing personal!” - Al Capone liked to say his catchphrase.

On January 25, 1947, the heart of the famous American gangster, Chicago mafia boss Al Capone, stopped. He was the brightest representative of American organized crime.

Biography

Alfonso Gabriel Capone was born in Brooklyn on January 17, 1899. He was the eldest of nine children in the family. Already at school, Alfonso showed increased aggression and once attacked a teacher, after which he stopped attending classes.

IN adolescence Capone joined his first gang. The gang's main activities were extortion and illegal gambling. Alfonso was distinguished by his size and worked as a bouncer in the billiard club where his gang operated.

It was there that Capone had a quarrel with criminal Frank Galluccio, who slashed him in the face with a knife. Capone was ashamed of this scar all his life and said that he received it in the war, although he never served in the army.

Mafia career

In 1917, New York police were looking for Capone for his involvement in two murders, and he moved to Chicago, where he joined the gang of “Big” Colosimo, who ran several brothels and was the uncle of Johnny Torrio, the head of the gang where Capone worked before moving. A conflict arose between relatives, and Torrio, not without the participation of Capone, eliminated Colosimo.

The gang faced fierce competition in their new location. The showdown with Deion O'Banion's Irish North Side gang ended with the latter's murder, but members of the group took revenge by killing younger brother Capone - Frank. The head of the gang, Torrio, was also attempted several times, he was seriously wounded and, deciding to retire, appointed Capone as his successor.

At that time, the gangster was 26 years old. The gang he led consisted of 1,000 fighters and collected 300 thousand dollars weekly. Al Capone was in his element and met all the expectations of the mafia.

It was Al Capone who introduced the concept of “racketeering”. His mafia was engaged in the exploitation of prostitution, which was covered by huge bribes that were paid even to politicians, not just police officers.

In 1924-29 in Chicago, with the participation of Capone, two large Irish gangs were exterminated and more than 500 bandits were killed, and not only machine guns and grenades were used as murder weapons, but also explosive devices installed in cars.

Valentine's Day Massacre

The famous St. Valentine's Day massacre took place on the orders of Al Capone. Members of the Moran gang, which Capone decided to eliminate, stole his trucks and blew up several of his bars, for which they were severely punished.

On February 14, 1929, Capone's man informed Moran that a truck containing contraband liquor had been stolen. Moran ordered the truck to be driven to a secret garage, where a car with four Capone men drove up; two of them were wearing police uniforms. They ordered the people who had gathered to unload to stand against the wall and shot them point-blank.

6 gangsters were killed on the spot, the 7th died in the hospital, saying that no one shot at him. Al Capone provided himself with a reliable alibi.

"Empire" Capone

Al Capone's income was $60 million a year. The gangster won the favor of society in different ways: bribed the press and organized charity events for the poor.

During Al Capone's 14-year mafia activities in Chicago, 700 people were killed, 400 of whom the gangster personally ordered to be eliminated. Official charges were brought against professional killers more than once, but only in rare cases were they able to put someone behind bars. More often they were imprisoned on other charges.

Al Capone himself was imprisoned for the first time in 1929 - for only 10 months. In prison, he never stopped leading his “empire.” The gangster received his second and final sentence on a more serious charge - for non-payment of taxes on an especially large scale. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The Fall and Death of Capone

Al Capone left prison several years earlier. He was mortally ill with syphilis and lost his criminal influence.

On January 21, 1947, he suffered a stroke. On January 24, pneumonia developed, and the next day, January 25, 1947, Al Capone died of a heart attack.

The famous gangster was buried in the Mont Olivets cemetery in Chicago, but the huge number of tourists wanting to visit the grave forced his family to move the ashes to another cemetery.

The name of this man remains forever on the pages of history. This is a thief and criminal who lived in Chicago in the 1920-1930s of the last century, where he conducted his main activities. Al Capone is known only as “Scarface,” he is associated with any mention of a criminal gang, and stories are made about him in Hollywood. In this article we will try to figure out what the famous gangster is remembered for.

An ordinary child... or not?

It is difficult to say why a person chooses one path or another, especially if nothing portends anything bad. However, we can talk about this for a long time, but it is better to immediately turn to the story of Al Capone. The biography of this person is no different special facts, in particular, during his growing up period. He was born in Naples in 1899. Immediately after this, the entire family of little Alfonso Gabriel, including his hairdresser father and the other eight brothers and sisters, moved to America in search of a better life.

In Brooklyn, they first of all solved the main problem - where to get money for food. No one spoke about education; the poor had nothing left to do. last place on the list of essentials. There was no good work, I had to take on hard physical labor, which was at least somehow paid, but did not promise bright prospects. Therefore, Al Capone once and for all abandoned the idea of ​​getting an education. It is noteworthy that, having become a representative of organized crime in America, he last days remained illiterate.

Finding yourself

Without expecting help from anyone, young Alfonso was left to his own devices. Before becoming a gang member and starting patrolling the streets of Brooklyn, which had become his hometown, Al Capone tried several professions - he served as an assistant in a pharmacy, a candy store and a bowling alley. He admitted to himself that he was attracted nightlife, and also billiards, which was gaining popularity in the country. In this game, he was ready to defeat every opponent, this strengthened his persistent character and the desire to go to the end, to trample the enemy. Al Capone, whose biography confirms many facts from the youth of the future gangster, was, for example, obese, which at one time allowed him to work as a bouncer in a bar. Researchers recall a sad story that occurred during the period when Capone showed interest in the sister of local gangster Frank Galluccio. During street fight he, using a knife, forever left a mark not only on Capone’s cheek, but also in history, since it was after this incident that Alfonso received his famous nickname.

Personality formation

Alfonso began training with weapons, especially knife fighting. The famous "Gang of Five Guns" noted Al Capone's good abilities and encouraged him to join their ranks. More than one and a half thousand people were engaged in robberies and racketeering, and their leader, Johnny Torrio, hired the young man as his personal assistant. Alfonso called this man father and teacher. Later, it was he who taught him dangerous tricks, which a few years later the gangster Al Capone began to actively use, rising higher and higher on the criminal ladder.

Personal life is not a hindrance to your career

In 1918, he married May Coughlin, an Irishwoman who was two years older than him. The couple has a son, Albert. Torrio is forced to move to Chicago, a quieter area where no one knew him. Capone himself was a suspect in the murder, but the court was unable to convict him because the witness lost his memory and physical evidence disappeared right from the judge’s office. Al Capone, whose photo was already hanging in police stations, quarreled with a representative of a rival crime clan and took his life in a street fight. A real raid was announced on him. Fleeing, he asks Torrio for help, and he, in turn, invites his entire family to his place.

Conquest of Chicago

The new city greeted the gangster neutrally. No one could have imagined that it would soon become Capone’s hometown, where his most terrible crimes would take place. Al Capone's life was gaining momentum - patron Johnny Torrio hired him as a bouncer in his tavern establishment. Nightclub were visited by prominent people, so the presence of a personal security guard affected the well-being of Torrio himself. So, in the basements of the establishment, on Johnny’s orders, reprisals were carried out against people he disliked, whose bodies were carried out through the back entrance. Capone did most of the menial work with his own hands.

When Torrio began to lose ground, it became clear who would take his place. Soon his successor was proclaimed the Don of the Chicago underworld. The peak of Al Capone's empire came at a time when every second official, including the police, judges and deputies, received not only a salary from him, but also personal instructions on how and what to do. In other words, the gangster became the first face of the city, a scarred face who was so feared that they did not dare to contradict him.

Al Capone's revenge was terrible. He did not like betrayal and any action that was not agreed with him. One day, a civil servant amended a bill without his approval. As a result, many of his colleagues and even ordinary passers-by watched the scene when Capone burst into his office and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and literally beat him in front of everyone.

The other side of “success”

The title of “King of Chicago” also had negative aspects, which the gangster knew about. Capone remained the enemy and number one target of many rival gangs. He was shot several times, his family was threatened, and they tried to poison him at the club. However, the ability to recognize enemies and their future actions made it possible not only to remain a leader, but also to get ahead of rivals and get them out of your way.

One of the most terrible massacres committed by Capone is associated with Valentine's Day. Ten best helpers gangsters dressed as police officers and staged a raid on his main enemies, who were secretly plotting the destruction of Capone.

Fall of the Empire

Many wanted to catch the criminal, but it was extremely difficult to do so using his own methods. Surrounding himself with constant security, Al did not allow strangers to approach him. There was only one thing left to do - develop new plan, which would not arouse suspicion.

The country's tax police introduced their agent, Eddie O'Hairy, into Capone's group, where he remained for a long time. During this period, Eddie collected information regarding the gangster's profits and the real turnover of his empire. This allowed him to be charged with tax evasion. He was put behind bars for 11 years. The property turned out to be registered in the names of dummies, which made it possible to keep his stolen fortune in the hands of his wife, son and family.

Last Resort in Alcatraz

IN famous prison For the most dangerous criminals, Al Capone spent five years. He turned into a helpless patient. When the case was reheard, he was declared insane and his family was ordered to take him into their care. The assistants who remained loyal to him tried to revive the empire, but with his condition it was not possible to do this. Eddie O'Hairy was shot and killed in his own car. It was an act of revenge.

Capone died in 1947. His body was brought from Florida to Chicago. The funeral ceremony was held closed. As Capone himself bequeathed, he was buried under gravestone. According to some sources, his grave had to be moved later due to the influx of numerous tourists.

Chicago remembers him as a ruthless mobster. During the 14 years of his reign, about 700 murders were committed in the city, most of which were carried out on his personal orders.

Famous Al Capone Quotes

During his long gangster activity, he gained popularity throughout the city where he ruled. Biographers will find many interesting information and the secrets he hid for several years. This man was remembered not only as an angry killer who dealt with his enemies very cruelly.

He made a number of statements, the most striking of which are presented below:

Lover of bloody massacres

After the events of St. Valentine's Day, when Capone's gang riddled almost all of his enemies, he began to deal with them more practically. He didn't want this to be a pure revenge killing, he wanted his enemies (especially traitors) to see his anger and realize their mistakes before they died.

The story tells of another bloodbath as Capone learned of a secret plot against him, but decided to remain diplomatic until the end. He himself did not hesitate to spend money if he had to show the scope of the generosity of the head of the criminal community. One day he gave a Sicilian reception for his “friends.” Al Capone (the phrases he said that evening were well remembered by the guests), with a glass in his hand, made a toast with the following content: “Long life to you, Giuseppe, to you, Albert, and to you too, John... And success to you in your endeavors.” .

And after some time he looked with contempt at them, gorging themselves on delicacies at his expense. Rising, he muttered through his teeth: “I will make you vomit what you swallowed here, because you betrayed the friend who feeds you...”.

The servants, still distinguished by their devotion, tied the enemies, who did not understand anything, with a rope to chairs. Further events unfolded with amazing speed, especially for a man of similar build as Al Capone (photo confirmation of this). Picking up a baseball bat that happened to be nearby, he struck them with fatal blows. According to the stories of the guests present, anger literally spilled out of his mouth, and he himself groaned with excitement, anticipating reprisals against those who asked for mercy.

Al Capone quotes are not limited to the examples above. This event gives rise to one of the most famous sayings gangster: “Feed and water your enemy before you kill him.”

The phenomenon of crime in cinema

The image of the most famous mafioso is often used in art. Yes, he can be found in computer games Nocturne and “Chicago, 1932”, as well as in the musical direction, where his name is mentioned in the songs of the groups Paper Lace, Queen, Bad Balance and Mr. Credo.

The greatest use of the image of a notorious gangster is manifested in cinema. Al Capone, the 1959 film that became the first black-and-white biographical film, told the story of a gangster's entry into criminal world Chicago. Rod Steiger performed main role. The 1967 film “The St. Valentine's Day Massacre” restores the famous bloody events. In 1975, a new biographical adaptation entitled “Capone” was released. Ben Gazzara appeared as a gangster, and Sylvester Stallone played one of his first roles.

Cinema knows other examples of films dedicated to Al Capone. The 2002 film “Al Capone's Boys” tells the story of three Englishmen who came to America. They have no choice but to adapt to criminal showdowns and underground betting. Soon they are moving closer and closer to the main mafioso of the city... The image of Capone was played by actor Julian Litman. Other examples of gangster paintings include:

• “Nitty Gangster” (1988).
• “Gangsters” (1991).
• “Dillinger and Capone” (1995).
• “Handsome Nelson” (1996).
• “Underground Empire” (TV series, 2010).

Robert De Niro most vividly recreated the image of the criminal on screen. Al Capone became the main antagonist in the 1987 film. “The Untouchables” tells about the confrontation between American FBI agents and a gangster’s empire. Events take place in the 1930s. The story involves Eliot Ness, a Treasury Department agent who helped expose and indict Capone. He also wrote an autobiographical book, which partially formed the basis of the film. In “The Untouchables” he was played by Kevin Costner, for whom this role is one of the best in the initial career of an actor.

Alfonso Gabriel "Great Al" Capone(Italian Alphonso Gabriel "Great Al" Capone; January 17 – January 25) was an American gangster active in the 1920s and 1930s in Chicago. Under the guise of the furniture business, he was engaged in bootlegging, gambling and pimping, as well as charity (he opened a network of soup kitchens for unemployed fellow citizens). A prominent representative of organized crime in the United States during the era of Prohibition and the Great Depression, which originated and exists there under the influence of the Italian mafia.

Early years

To cover up the real business (mainly illegal gambling and extortion) and the gang's actual hideout - a billiard club - the oversized teenager Alfonso was hired as a bouncer. For example, having become addicted to playing billiards, within a year he won absolutely all the tournaments held in Brooklyn. Due to his physical strength and size, Capone enjoyed doing this work in his boss Yale's squalid establishment, the Harvard Inn. It is to this period of his life that historians attribute Capone’s stabbing with criminal Frank Galluccio. The quarrel occurred over Galluccio's sister (according to some reports, wife), to whom Capone made an impudent remark. Galluccio slashed young Alfonso across the face with a knife, giving him the famous scar on his left cheek, which earned Capone the nickname “Scarface” in chronicles and pop culture. Alfonso was ashamed of this story and explained the origin of the scar by his participation in the “Lost Battalion” (English)Russian, offensive operation Entente troops in the Argonne Forest in the First World War, due to the incompetence of the command ending tragically for infantry battalion American troops. In fact, Alfonso not only was not in the war, but never even served in the army.

Personal life

On December 30, 1918, 19-year-old Capone married May Josephine Coughlin (April 11 – April 16). Coughlin was an Irish Catholic and earlier that month gave birth to their son, Albert Francis "Sonny" Capone (December 4 – August 4). Since Capone was not yet 21 years old at that time, written consent to the marriage was required from his parents.

Influence on popular culture

In films and television series the role of Capone was played by:

• Rod Steiger in the movie Al Capone
• Jason Robards in the film "Valentine's Day Massacre"
• Ben Gazzara in the movie Capone
• Robert De Niro in the movie "The Untouchables"
• Vincent Guastaferro in the movie "Nitti the Gangster"
• Titus Welliver in the film "Gangsters (film, 1991)" a certain Mr. Kaponek is present at the mafia council
• F. Murray Abraham in the film "Dillinger and Capone"
• F. Murray Abraham in the movie "Handsome Nelson"
• Julian Litman in the movie Al Capone's Boys
• William Forsyth in the series "The Untouchables"
• Stephen Graham in the TV series Boardwalk Empire.
• Jon Bernthal in Night at the Museum 2.
• Roberto Malone in the movie " Hot life Al Capone"

Characters based on Capone played by:

See also

Write a review of the article "Capone, Al"

Notes

Literature

Joe Dorigo. (translation from English)// Mafia. - Moscow:: JSC "Kurare-N", 1998. - 112 p. - ISBN 5-93040-006-7; 1-85348-432-6.

Links

• (English)
• (English)
• (English)
• Al Capone (English) on the Internet Movie Database

Excerpt characterizing Capone, Al

A few minutes later, Prince Andrei called, and Natasha came in to see him; and Sonya, experiencing an emotion and tenderness she had rarely experienced, remained at the window, pondering the extraordinary nature of what had happened.
On this day there was an opportunity to send letters to the army, and the Countess wrote a letter to her son.
“Sonya,” said the countess, raising her head from the letter as her niece walked past her. – Sonya, won’t you write to Nikolenka? - said the countess in a quiet, trembling voice, and in the look of her tired eyes, looking through glasses, Sonya read everything that the countess understood in these words. This look expressed pleading, fear of refusal, shame for having to ask, and readiness for irreconcilable hatred in case of refusal.
Sonya went up to the countess and, kneeling down, kissed her hand.
“I’ll write, maman,” she said.
Sonya was softened, excited and touched by everything that happened that day, especially by the mysterious performance of fortune-telling that she just saw. Now that she knew that on the occasion of the renewal of Natasha’s relationship with Prince Andrei, Nikolai could not marry Princess Marya, she joyfully felt the return of that mood of self-sacrifice in which she loved and was accustomed to living. And with tears in her eyes and with the joy of the consciousness of committing a generous deed, she, interrupted several times by tears that clouded her velvet black eyes, wrote that touching letter, the receipt of which so amazed Nikolai.

At the guardhouse where Pierre was taken, the officer and soldiers who took him treated him with hostility, but at the same time with respect. There was also a sense of doubt in their attitude towards him about who he was (isn’t it very important person), and hostility due to their still fresh personal struggle with him.
But when, on the morning of another day, the shift came, Pierre felt that for the new guard - for the officers and soldiers - it no longer had the meaning that it had for those who took him. And indeed, in this big, fat man in a peasant’s caftan, the guards of the next day no longer saw that living man who so desperately fought with the marauder and with the escort soldiers and said a solemn phrase about saving the child, but saw only the seventeenth of those being held for some reason, by by order of the highest authorities, the captured Russians. If there was anything special about Pierre, it was only his timid, intently thoughtful appearance and French, in which, surprisingly for the French, he spoke well. Despite the fact that on the same day Pierre was connected with other suspected suspects, since the separate room he occupied was needed by an officer.
All the Russians kept with Pierre were people of the lowest rank. And all of them, recognizing Pierre as a master, shunned him, especially since he spoke French. Pierre heard with sadness the ridicule of himself.
The next evening, Pierre learned that all of these prisoners (and probably himself included) were to be tried for arson. On the third day, Pierre was taken with others to a house where a French general with a white mustache, two colonels and other Frenchmen with scarves on their hands were sitting. Pierre, along with others, was asked questions about who he was with the precision and certainty with which defendants are usually treated, supposedly exceeding human weaknesses. where was he? for what purpose? etc.
These questions, leaving aside the essence of the life case and excluding the possibility of disclosing this essence, like all questions asked in courts, were intended only to substitute the groove along which the judges wanted the defendant’s answers to flow and lead him to the desired goal, that is to the accusation. As soon as he began to say something that did not satisfy the purpose of the accusation, they took a groove, and the water could flow wherever it wanted. In addition, Pierre experienced the same thing that a defendant experiences in all courts: bewilderment as to why all these questions were asked of him. He felt that this trick of inserting a groove was used only out of condescension or, as it were, out of politeness. He knew that he was in the power of these people, that only power had brought him here, that only power gave them the right to demand answers to questions, that the only purpose of this meeting was to accuse him. And therefore, since there was power and there was a desire to accuse, there was no need for the trick of questions and trial. It was obvious that all answers had to lead to guilt. When asked what he was doing when they took him, Pierre answered with some tragedy that he was carrying a child to his parents, qu"il avait sauve des flammes [whom he saved from the flames]. - Why did he fight with the marauder? Pierre answered, that he was defending a woman, that protecting an insulted woman is the duty of every person, that... He was stopped: this did not go to the point. Why was he in the yard of the house on fire, where witnesses saw him? He answered that he was going to see what was happening in the building? Moscow. They stopped him again: they didn’t ask him where he was going, and why he was near the fire? They repeated the first question to him, to which he said he didn’t want to answer. Again he answered that he couldn’t say that. .
- Write it down, this is not good. “It’s very bad,” the general with a white mustache and a red, ruddy face told him sternly.
On the fourth day, fires started on Zubovsky Val.
Pierre and thirteen others were taken to Krymsky Brod, to the carriage house of a merchant's house. Walking through the streets, Pierre was choking from the smoke, which seemed to be standing over the entire city. WITH different sides fires were visible. Pierre did not yet understand the significance of the burning of Moscow and looked at these fires with horror.
Pierre stayed in the carriage house of a house near the Crimean Brod for four more days, and during these days he learned from the conversation of the French soldiers that everyone kept here expected the marshal's decision every day. Which marshal, Pierre could not find out from the soldiers. For the soldier, obviously, the marshal seemed to be the highest and somewhat mysterious link in power.
These first days, until September 8th, the day on which the prisoners were taken for secondary interrogation, were the most difficult for Pierre.

X
On September 8, a very important officer entered the barn to see the prisoners, judging by the respect with which the guards treated him. This officer, probably a staff officer, with a list in his hands, made a roll call of all the Russians, calling Pierre: celui qui n "avoue pas son nom [the one who does not say his name]. And, indifferently and lazily looking at all the prisoners, he ordered the guard the officer should properly dress and clean them up before leading them to the marshal. An hour later, a company of soldiers arrived, and Pierre and the other thirteen were taken to the Maiden's Field. The day was clear, sunny after the rain, and the air was unusually clear. the day when Pierre was taken out of the guardhouse of Zubovsky Val; smoke rose in pillars; clean air. The flames of the fires were nowhere to be seen, but columns of smoke rose from all sides, and all of Moscow, everything that Pierre could see, was one conflagration. On all sides one could see vacant lots with stoves and chimneys and occasionally the charred walls of stone houses. Pierre looked closely at the fires and did not recognize familiar quarters of the city. In some places, surviving churches could be seen. The Kremlin, undestroyed, loomed white from afar with its towers and Ivan the Great. Nearby, the dome of the Novodevichy Convent glittered merrily, and the bell of the Gospel was especially loudly heard from there. This announcement reminded Pierre that it was Sunday and the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. But it seemed that there was no one to celebrate this holiday: everywhere there was devastation from the fire, and among the Russian people there were only occasionally ragged, frightened people who hid at the sight of the French.
Obviously, the Russian nest was ravaged and destroyed; but behind the destruction of this Russian order of life, Pierre unconsciously felt that over this ruined nest his own, completely different, but firm French order had been established. He felt this from the sight of those soldiers walking cheerfully and cheerfully, in regular rows, who escorted him with other criminals; he felt this from the sight of some important French official in a double carriage, driven by a soldier, driving towards him. He felt this from the cheerful sounds of regimental music coming from the left side of the field, and in particular he felt and understood it from the list that, calling out the prisoners, the one who arrived this morning read French officer. Pierre was taken by some soldiers, taken to one place or another with dozens of other people; it seemed that they could forget about him, mix him up with others. But no: his answers given during the interrogation came back to him in the form of his name: celui qui n "avoue pas son nom. And under this name, which Pierre was afraid of, he was now being led somewhere, with undoubted confidence written on them faces that all the other prisoners and he were the ones who were needed, and that they were being led where they needed to be. Pierre felt like an insignificant sliver caught in the wheels of a machine unknown to him, but functioning correctly.
Pierre and other criminals were led to the right side of the Maiden Field, not far from the monastery, to a large white house with a huge garden. This was the house of Prince Shcherbatov, in which Pierre had often visited the owner before and in which now, as he learned from the conversation of the soldiers, the marshal, the Duke of Eckmuhl, was stationed.
They were led to the porch and one by one they were led into the house. Pierre was brought in sixth. Through a glass gallery, a vestibule, and an antechamber, familiar to Pierre, he was led into a long, low office, at the door of which stood an adjutant.
Davout sat at the end of the room above the table, glasses on his nose. Pierre came close to him. Davout, without raising his eyes, was apparently coping with some paper lying in front of him. Without raising his eyes, he quietly asked:
– Qui etes vous? [Who are you?]
Pierre was silent because he was unable to utter words. For Pierre, Davout was not just a French general; for Pierre Davout, he was a man known for his cruelty. Looking at the cold face of Davout, who, like a strict teacher, agreed to have patience for the time being and wait for an answer, Pierre felt that every second of delay could cost him his life; but he didn't know what to say. He did not dare say what he said during the first interrogation; revealing one's rank and position was both dangerous and shameful. Pierre was silent. But before Pierre could decide on anything, Davout raised his head, raised his glasses to his forehead, narrowed his eyes and looked intently at Pierre.
“I know this man,” he said in a measured, cold voice, obviously calculated to frighten Pierre. The cold that had previously run down Pierre's back gripped his head like a vice.
– Mon general, vous ne pouvez pas me connaitre, je ne vous ai jamais vu... [You couldn’t know me, general, I’ve never seen you.]
“C"est un espion russe, [This is a Russian spy,"] Davout interrupted him, addressing another general who was in the room and whom Pierre had not noticed. And Davout turned away. With an unexpected boom in his voice, Pierre suddenly spoke quickly.
“Non, Monseigneur,” he said, suddenly remembering that Davout was a Duke. - Non, Monseigneur, vous n"avez pas pu me connaitre. Je suis un officier militianaire et je n"ai pas quitte Moscow. [No, Your Highness... No, Your Highness, you could not know me. I am a police officer and I have not left Moscow.]
- Votre nom? [Your name?] - repeated Davout.
- Besouhof. [Bezukhov.]
– Qu"est ce qui me prouvera que vous ne mentez pas? [Who will prove to me that you are not lying?]
- Monseigneur! [Your Highness!] - Pierre cried out in a not offended, but pleading voice.
Davout raised his eyes and looked intently at Pierre. They looked at each other for several seconds, and this glance saved Pierre. In this view, in addition to all the conditions of war and trial, between these two people human relations. Both of them in that one minute vaguely experienced countless things and realized that they were both children of humanity, that they were brothers.
At first glance for Davout, who only raised his head from his list, where human affairs and life were called numbers, Pierre was only a circumstance; and, not taking the bad deed into account on his conscience, Davout would have shot him; but now he already saw a person in him. He thought for a moment.
– Comment me prouverez vous la verite de ce que vous me dites? [How will you prove to me the truth of your words?] - Davout said coldly.
Pierre remembered Rambal and named his regiment, his last name, and the street on which the house was located.
“Vous n"etes pas ce que vous dites, [You are not what you say.],” Davout said again.
Pierre, in a trembling, intermittent voice, began to provide evidence of the truth of his testimony.
But at this time the adjutant entered and reported something to Davout.
Davout suddenly beamed at the news conveyed by the adjutant and began to button up. He apparently completely forgot about Pierre.
When the adjutant reminded him of the prisoner, he frowned, nodded towards Pierre and said to be led away. But Pierre didn’t know where they were supposed to take him: back to the booth or to the prepared place of execution, which his comrades showed him while walking along the Maiden’s Field.
He turned his head and saw that the adjutant was asking something again.
- Oui, sans doute! [Yes, of course!] - said Davout, but Pierre didn’t know what “yes” was.
Pierre did not remember how, how long he walked and where. He, in a state of complete senselessness and dullness, not seeing anything around him, moved his legs along with the others until everyone stopped, and he stopped. During all this time, one thought was in Pierre’s head. It was the thought of who, who, finally sentenced him to death. These were not the same people who interrogated him in the commission: not one of them wanted and, obviously, could not do this. It was not Davout who looked at him so humanly. Another minute and Davout would have realized that they were doing something wrong, but this moment was interrupted by the adjutant who entered. And this adjutant, obviously, did not want anything bad, but he might not have entered. Who was it that finally executed, killed, took his life - Pierre with all his memories, aspirations, hopes, thoughts? Who did this? And Pierre felt that it was no one.
It was an order, a pattern of circumstances.
Some kind of order was killing him - Pierre, depriving him of his life, of everything, destroying him.

From the house of Prince Shcherbatov, the prisoners were led straight down along the Devichye Pole, to the left of the Devichye Monastery and led to a vegetable garden on which there was a pillar. Behind the pillar there was a large hole dug with freshly dug up earth, and a large crowd of people stood in a semicircle around the pit and the pillar. The crowd consisted of a small number of Russians and large number Napoleonic troops out of formation: Germans, Italians and French in different uniforms. To the right and left of the pillar stood fronts of French troops in blue uniforms with red epaulettes, boots and shakos.

(1947-01-25 ) (48 years old)

Alphonse Gabriel "Great Al" Capone(Italian Alphonse Gabriel "Great Al" Capone; January 17 - January 25) is an American gangster active in the 1920s and 1930s in Chicago. Under the guise of the furniture business, he was engaged in bootlegging, gambling and pimping, as well as charity (he opened a network of soup kitchens for unemployed fellow citizens). A prominent representative of organized crime in the USA during the era of Prohibition and the Great Depression, which originated and exists there under the influence of the Italian mafia.

Early years

Capone was born in Brooklyn and was the fourth child of Gabriele Capone (December 12 - November 14) and Teresa Raiol (December 28 - November 29). The parents were Italian immigrants (both natives of Angri) who came to the United States in 1894 and settled in Williamsburg, a suburb of Brooklyn, New York. His father was a hairdresser, his mother a seamstress. In total they had 9 children: 7 sons - James Vincenso, (March 28 - October 1), Raffaelle James (January 12 - January 22), Salvatore (July 16 - April 1), Alfonso, Ermino John (April 11 - July 12 ), Albert Humberto (January 24 - January 14) and Matthew Nicholas ( - ), - and two daughters - Ermina ( - ) and Mafalda (January 28 - March 25). James and Ralph were the only ones born in Italy; starting with Salvatore, all the other Capone children were born in the States.

Alphonse with early years showed signs of being clearly an excitable psychopath. The sixth grader ended up attacking his school teacher, after which he dropped out of school and joined the James Street gang, led by Johnny Torrio, who then joined the famous Five Points gang of Paolo Vaccarelli, better known as Paul Kelly. [ ]

To cover up the real business (mainly illegal gambling and extortion) and the gang's actual hideout - a billiard club - the oversized teenager Alfonso was hired as a bouncer. Addicted to playing billiards, within a year he won absolutely all the tournaments held in Brooklyn. Due to his physical strength and size, Capone enjoyed doing this work in his boss Yale's squalid establishment, the Harvard Inn. It is to this period of his life that historians attribute Capone’s stabbing with criminal Frank Galluccio. The quarrel occurred over Galluccio's sister (according to some reports, wife), to whom Capone made an impudent remark. Galluccio slashed young Alfonso across the face with a knife, giving him the famous scar on his left cheek, which earned Capone the nickname “Scarface” in chronicles and pop culture. Alfonso was ashamed of this story and explained the origin of the scar by his participation in the “Lost Battalion” (English) Russian, an offensive operation of the Entente troops in the Argonne Forest in the First World War, which ended tragically for an infantry battalion of American troops due to the incompetence of the command. In fact, Alfonso not only was not in the war, but never even served in the army.

Personal life

On December 30, 1918, 19-year-old Capone married May Josephine Coughlin (April 11 – April 16). Coughlin was an Irish Catholic and had given birth to their son, Albert Francis "Sonny" Capone (December 4–August 4), earlier that month. Since Capone was not yet 21 years old at that time, written consent to the marriage was required from his parents.