Al Capone's Great-Niece Wants Him Pardoned
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Feb 8, 2012 11:00PM
Al Capone's great-niece Deidre Marie Capone is the last living Capone, and she wants to see her great-uncle's and her grandfather Ralph "Bottles" Capone's records cleared. "My wish would be that Al Capone, and Ralph Capone, would be pardoned," she told NBC Chicago. "And I would love to see your mayor, Rahm Emanuel, make them favorite sons of Chicago."
The legendary crime boss Al Capone died when Deidre was seven years old, and she has fond memories of his cigar smoke and jokes. She has written a book, Uncle Al Capone - The Untold Story from Inside His Family, in which she discusses the burden of her surname. From the book's website:
From age 7 to 13 her classmates were not allowed to play with her. Just before her 11th birthday her father committed suicide due to the burden of the Capone name. At age 18 she was fired from her first full-time job because of her name. These circumstances made Deirdre determined to find out more about her family history and to write this book.
It's strange to think that Al Capone should be pardoned because it seems to many that he never served the time for which we all know him. The police wanted him for many things—smuggling, prostitution, bootlegging—least of all the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. But he was only ever convicted of federal tax evasion and spent 11 years at Alcatraz.
And what does Deidre Capone think of that? Sure, many folks at the time did think of him as a sort of Robin Hood figure. NBC writes:
"Did he break the law, yes," she says. "But the way they told me, (he said) 'If I’m guilty of breaking the law, then all my customers are as guilty as I am.'" And the killings? "People who got into that business knew full well what the rules were," she said.