Frank Capone
Encyclopedia
Frank Capone was a Chicago mobster who participated in the attempted takeover of Cicero, Illinois
by his brother Al Capone
's criminal organization.
. Growing up in New York, Both Frank and Al became involved in the infamous Five Points Gang
with mobster John Torrio. By 1918, Torrio had moved to Chicago to help a relative defend his rackets, and Torrio soon asked Al and later Frank to join him there.
By 1920, Torrio had taken charge of the South Side Gang and the Prohibition
era had started. As the gang increased in power and wealth, so did Al and Frank. Although Al was prone to violence, Frank was reportedly considered much worse. Whereas Al usually wanted to negotiate, Frank opted to use violence immediately, explaining that, "You never get no back talk from a corpse."
, who proceeded to crack down on Torrio, the Capone brothers, and their South Side Gang. In response, Torrio tasked Al with creating speakeasies, brothel
s, and illegal gambling dens in Cicero
, a Chicago suburb. Within a year, Capone had placed the Cicero city manager
Joseph Z. Klenha and the town committeemen on the gang payroll. Frank Capone's job was to represent the gang in its dealings with the Cicero town council. Frank was mild mannered compared to his brother Al, projecting the image of a respectable businessman, always attired in a neat suit.
In the April 1, 1924, primary election
, Democratic Party
politicians mounted a serious election challenge to Republican
Klenha and his associates. To protect the gang's political control of Cicero, Frank unleashed a wave of terror on the city. He sent South Side gang members to the polling booths with submachine gun
s and sawed-off shotgun
s to make sure that local residents "voted right." Uncooperative voters were assaulted and blocked from voting. Frank led an attack on an opponent's campaign headquarters, ransacking his office and assaulting several campaign workers. One campaign worker was shot in both legs and detained with eight other campaign workers, to be released when Election Day was over.
(CPD) sent 70 plainclothes officers to Cicero to maintain order at the polls and Jareki swore them in as deputy sheriffs. The CPD officers fought battles with the South Side Gang around Cicero all day. Around mid day, approximately 30 officers arrived in nine cars outside a polling station
near the Western Electric
plant. Already at the station, Frank and Al Capone allegedly thought these officers in civilian clothing members of the rival North Side Mob attacking them. According to police, Frank pulled out a handgun and fired at the officers. However, some bystanders said that Frank never got the gun out of his back pocket. In either event, the officers opened fire, killing Frank with dozens of shots. Al managed to escape unharmed.
Enraged at Frank's death, Al retaliated by murdering one official and kidnapping others, and by stealing ballot box
es from the polling stations. At the end of the day, the Capone candidate Klenha had won.
's inquest
later determined that Frank's killing was a justifiable shooting since Frank had been resisting arrest.
On April 4, 1924, Frank Capone received an extravagant funeral, with $20,000 worth of flowers placed around the silver
-plated casket and over 150 cars in the motorcade
. Ironically, Al purchased the flowers from a shop belonging to his North Side Gang rival, Dion O'Banion. Frank was interred at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune
reported that the event was appropriate for, "....a fitting gentleman." Out of respect for his dead brother, Al Capone closed the gambling dens and speakeasies of Cicero for two hours during the funeral.
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator....
by his brother Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
's criminal organization.
Two brothers
Born Salvatore Capone, Frank was the son of Gabriele Capone, an Italian immigrant who settled with his wife Teresina in New York City in 1894. Besides Al, Frank had another brother who became a mobster, Ralph CaponeRalph Capone
Ralph "Bottles" Capone, Sr., was a Chicago mobster and an older brother of Al Capone. Ralph Capone got the nickname "Bottles" from the fact that he lobbied the Illinois Legislature to put into law that milk bottling companies had to stamp the date that the milk was bottled on the...
. Growing up in New York, Both Frank and Al became involved in the infamous Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang was a 19th-century and early 20th-century criminal organization, primarily of Italian-American origins, based in the Sixth Ward of Manhattan, New York City. Since the early 19th century, the area was first known for gangs of Irish immigrants...
with mobster John Torrio. By 1918, Torrio had moved to Chicago to help a relative defend his rackets, and Torrio soon asked Al and later Frank to join him there.
By 1920, Torrio had taken charge of the South Side Gang and the Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
era had started. As the gang increased in power and wealth, so did Al and Frank. Although Al was prone to violence, Frank was reportedly considered much worse. Whereas Al usually wanted to negotiate, Frank opted to use violence immediately, explaining that, "You never get no back talk from a corpse."
Takeover of Cicero
In 1923, Chicago voters elected a new mayor, William DeverWilliam Dever
William Dever may refer to:* William Emmett Dever , mayor of Chicago 1923–1926* William G. Dever, biblical archaeologist...
, who proceeded to crack down on Torrio, the Capone brothers, and their South Side Gang. In response, Torrio tasked Al with creating speakeasies, brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s, and illegal gambling dens in Cicero
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator....
, a Chicago suburb. Within a year, Capone had placed the Cicero city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
Joseph Z. Klenha and the town committeemen on the gang payroll. Frank Capone's job was to represent the gang in its dealings with the Cicero town council. Frank was mild mannered compared to his brother Al, projecting the image of a respectable businessman, always attired in a neat suit.
In the April 1, 1924, primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politicians mounted a serious election challenge to Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Klenha and his associates. To protect the gang's political control of Cicero, Frank unleashed a wave of terror on the city. He sent South Side gang members to the polling booths with submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s and sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
s to make sure that local residents "voted right." Uncooperative voters were assaulted and blocked from voting. Frank led an attack on an opponent's campaign headquarters, ransacking his office and assaulting several campaign workers. One campaign worker was shot in both legs and detained with eight other campaign workers, to be released when Election Day was over.
Police reinforcements
As the election day turmoil progressed, outraged Cicero citizens petitioned Cook County Judge Edmund J. Jareki for help. The Chicago Police DepartmentChicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
(CPD) sent 70 plainclothes officers to Cicero to maintain order at the polls and Jareki swore them in as deputy sheriffs. The CPD officers fought battles with the South Side Gang around Cicero all day. Around mid day, approximately 30 officers arrived in nine cars outside a polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
near the Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
plant. Already at the station, Frank and Al Capone allegedly thought these officers in civilian clothing members of the rival North Side Mob attacking them. According to police, Frank pulled out a handgun and fired at the officers. However, some bystanders said that Frank never got the gun out of his back pocket. In either event, the officers opened fire, killing Frank with dozens of shots. Al managed to escape unharmed.
Enraged at Frank's death, Al retaliated by murdering one official and kidnapping others, and by stealing ballot box
Ballot box
A ballot box is a temporarily sealed container, usually square box though sometimes a tamper resistant bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient to accept a ballot paper in an election but which prevents anyone from accessing the votes cast until the close of the voting period...
es from the polling stations. At the end of the day, the Capone candidate Klenha had won.
Mob funeral
After Frank's death, the Chicago newspapers were full of articles either praising or condemning the CPD. A coronerCoroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
's inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
later determined that Frank's killing was a justifiable shooting since Frank had been resisting arrest.
On April 4, 1924, Frank Capone received an extravagant funeral, with $20,000 worth of flowers placed around the silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
-plated casket and over 150 cars in the motorcade
Motorcade
A motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade was coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...
. Ironically, Al purchased the flowers from a shop belonging to his North Side Gang rival, Dion O'Banion. Frank was interred at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
reported that the event was appropriate for, "....a fitting gentleman." Out of respect for his dead brother, Al Capone closed the gambling dens and speakeasies of Cicero for two hours during the funeral.
Further reading
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-5694-1
- Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 978-0-8160-4040-7