Al Capone

===Imprisonment===
[[File:Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary - Cell 181 - Al Capone.jpg|thumb|Cell 181 in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary where Capone was imprisoned]]
[[File:Acaponeh.jpg|thumb|Mug shot of Capone at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, 1934]]

Capone was sent to [[United States Penitentiary, Atlanta|Atlanta U.S. Penitentiary]] in May 1932, aged 33. Upon his arrival at Atlanta, Capone was officially diagnosed with [[syphilis]] and [[gonorrhea]]. He was also experiencing withdrawal symptoms from cocaine addiction, the use of which had perforated his nasal septum. Capone was competent at his prison job of stitching soles on shoes for eight hours a day, but his letters were barely coherent. He was seen as a weak personality, and so out of his depth dealing with bullying at the hands of fellow inmates that his cellmate, seasoned convict [[Morris Rudensky|Red Rudensky]], feared that Capone would have a breakdown. Rudensky was formerly a small-time criminal associated with the Capone gang and found himself becoming a protector for Capone. The conspicuous protection by Rudensky and other prisoners drew accusations from less friendly inmates and fueled suspicion that Capone was receiving special treatment. No solid evidence ever emerged, but it formed part of the rationale for moving Capone to the recently opened [[Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary]] off the coast of San Francisco, in August 1934.<ref>{{harvnb|Bergreen|1994|pp=511–514, 519–521}}</ref> On June 23, 1936, Capone was stabbed and superficially wounded by fellow Alcatraz inmate [[James C. Lucas]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19360624&id=otNHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3154,2776397 |title=Al Capone Knifed in Prison Tussle |newspaper=The Free Lance-Star |date=June 24, 1936 |access-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104162111/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19360624&id=otNHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3154%2C2776397 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Due to his good behavior, Capone was permitted to play banjo in the Alcatraz prison band, the Rock Islanders, which gave regular Sunday concerts for other inmates.<ref>{{cite book |title= A History of Alcatraz Island: 1853–2008|last= Wellman |first= Gregory L.  |year=2008 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0738558158|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1duAUPaHSgcC&q=al+capone+%22the+rock+islanders%22&pg=PA65]}}</ref> Capone also transcribed the song "[[Madonna Mia]]" creating his own arrangement as a tribute to his wife Mae.<ref name="straitstimes">{{cite news | url = http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_364785.html | title = Al Capone's secret song | date = April 17, 2009 | access-date = April 17, 2009 | agency = Associated Press | publisher = The Straits Times | archive-date = April 21, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090421115814/http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_364785.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
[[File:Capone Alcatraz.jpg|thumb|Al Capone's inmate file from Alcatraz Prison]]
At Alcatraz, Capone's decline became increasingly evident, as [[neurosyphilis]] progressively eroded his mental faculties; his formal diagnosis of syphilis of the brain was made in February 1938.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/infectious-disease-sprung-al-capone-alcatraz |title=The infectious disease that sprung Al Capone from Alcatraz |first=Howard |last=Markel |author-link=Howard Markel |date=January 25, 2017 |access-date=November 22, 2019 |publisher=PBS News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801113658/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/infectious-disease-sprung-al-capone-alcatraz |archive-date=August 1, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> He spent the last year of his Alcatraz sentence in the hospital section, confused and disoriented.<ref name="ch11">[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/chapter_11.html Al Capone – The Final Chapter] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531021947/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/chapter_11.html |date=May 31, 2008}}.</ref> Capone completed his term in Alcatraz on January 6, 1939, and was transferred to the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island|Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island]] in California to serve out his sentence for [[contempt of court]].<ref>J. Campbell Bruce (2005), ''Escape from Alcatraz'', Random House Digital, Inc., p. 32.</ref> He was [[Federal parole in the United States|paroled]] on November 16, 1939, after his wife Mae appealed to the court, based on his reduced mental capabilities.<ref name=Penicillin>{{cite news |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/27/al-capone-penicillin/ |title=Legendary Gangster Al Capone was one of the First Recipients of Penicillin in History |first=Taryn |last=Smee |date=August 27, 2018 |access-date=November 22, 2019 |work=The Vintage News |archive-date=May 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526175451/https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/27/al-capone-penicillin/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1985306_1985308_1985180,00.html|last=Webley|first=Kayla|title=Top 10 Parolees|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time.com]]|date=April 28, 2010|access-date=July 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812094037/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1985306_1985308_1985180,00.html|archive-date=August 12, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>