Al Capone’s grand-niece to speak here
The name will sound familiar Capone.
Deirdre Maria Capone, the grand-niece of the infamous Alphonse ‘”Al” Capone, will be speaking about her “Uncle Al” and the rest of the Capone family at The Ladies of the Elks meeting Thursday, Jan. 21. Lunch will be served at 12 p.m. and Capone will speak at 1 p.m.
Deirdre Capone’s grandfather, Ralph Capone, was Al Capone’s brother and business partner. Al Capone died in 1947 when Dierdre was 7 years old but her grandfather lived until she was 34. Al’s brother Ralph Capone provided most of the material for Deirdre Capone’s book “Uncle Al Capone The Untold Story From Inside His Family.”
The Capone family emigrated from Italy in 1895. After passing through Ellis Island, the family settled in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Al Capone was born.
The exploits of Al Capone have been well documented. Capone and his brothers joined the infamous Five Points gang in New York before Al and his brother moved to Chicago to become bodyguards for mob boss Joey Torrio. Gang conflicts in Chicago aided Al and his brother’s rise in the Chicago syndicate. When Torrio “retired” Al Capone became head of the Chicago mob.
Capone loved newspaper headlines and the applause he would get while attending baseball games. Then in 1929, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre took place where seven rival gang members were killed. The federal government and the FBI labeled Capone “Public Enemy #1.” That was the beginning of his downfall.
Unable to prosecute him for the murders, Capone was prosecuted for failing to file income tax returns and tax evasion in 1931. Capone was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, first in Atlanta and then Alcatraz. Due to failing health, he was paroled in 1939 and retired to his home in Florida.
Growing up with the name Capone was difficult for Dierdre.
“I knew Uncle Al until I was 7 years old,” Dierdre said. “He died on my seventh birthday – Jan. 25, 1947. It was very, very difficult growing up. My father tried to protect me and I remember when he enrolled me in school he used his middle name as my last name. My father was Ralph Gabriel Capone.”
Deirdre’s father was unable to withstand the pressure of the Capone family legacy and committed suicide when she was 10.
Her grandfather Ralph (Al’s brother) lived until 1974. and it is from him she learned the family history.
“I had my grandfather telling me things and teaching me things until I was 34 years old,” Dierdre said. “We were a very close Italian family. We always got together for every holiday and every Sunday at my grandmother’s.”
Deirdre learned to swim in “Uncle Al’s'” swimming pool and learned to play the mandolin from him.
But even as an adult, Deirdre was sometimes shunned by those who knew her as a Capone. In 1957, then 17-year-old Deirdre said she was fired from her job as a secretary for an insurance company simply for being a Capone.
“As recently as three years ago, there are people who have said terrible things, and they won’t play golf with me,” she said in a 2013 interview.
The tickets for the event are $22 and the ticket sellers are Barbara Connolly 203-887-8681, Mary Jo Roane 239-283-7862 and Barbara Bowers: 989-348-7966
“Uncle Al Capone – The Untold Story from Inside His Family” is available from Amazon.
The Pine Island Elks Lodge #2781 is at 5630 Pine Island Road, N.W., next to the Fire House.