http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/c...relative-claimsAl Capone was a 'nice guy' - last surviving relative claims.
Al Capone, one of the most infamous gangsters in the 20th century was in fact ‘a nice guy’ who is simply misunderstood, his niece now claims.
In the Untold Story of their family, niece, Diedre Marie Capone, the last surviving relative of Al Capone says that it is important to rewrite the legacy of one of the most feared gangsters of the last century.
‘They created an image which was not real’, his surviving relative claims, arguing that the infamous tax evasion trial and subsequent movies suggest a very different character to the real Al Capone, his niece says.
“Hollywood knew that there would be worldwide publicity of that trail so they came out with three motion pictures. One was called Little Caesar. One was called Al Capone and Public Enemy Number one was the third one and so they created this image that really was not real”, she says.
The reality, she says, was that “Al Capone and his customers cooperated in evading Prohibition until near its end when, in the author’s opinion, moneyed interests disposed of him so they could again sell booze legally”.
She has a point that Capone did indeed transform life for many workers particularly for families. He was the first person to introduce dates on fresh food stuffs and while he certainly used this to control the milk market it did transform the market in fresh food for city workers.
Previously, milk a staple was adulterated with all kind of substances until Capone brought standards to the industry that survives to this day.
Yes, Capone made a fortune out of his speak-easies but he also set up soup kitchens to help the poor in the depression that had millions flock to the big cities in the U.S. as the pan handle of the deep south was decimated by a drought and poverty.
But for all his criminality many including his niece would suggest that his biggest claim to fame should be his work on improving the sale and distribution of milk and moved into the industry.
It was he who had the Chicago City Council pass a law saying that milk had to be stamped with an expiration date to protect customers in a move that all consumer champions would be proud of.
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