Al Capone in Miami – Part 4 of 4

A four part series on Al Capone's time in South Florida. Part four shares the story of Al Capone's time in prison after being sentenced for tax evasion, as well as his final years on Palm Island.

Al Capone sat in county jail from the time of his sentence in October until May of 1932. Capone’s lawyers had been granted a stay to keep the government from moving him to a federal prison until his appeals had been heard.

On May 2^nd, 1932, the Supreme Court ruled that Capone’s appeals had not reversed his fate. Two days later, Al Capone was moved to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. It was considered the toughest of the federal penitentiaries and was supposed to be Capone’s home for his full 10 year sentence.

Atlanta to Alcatraz

It didn’t take long for word to spread that Al Capone was getting special treatment in Atlanta. Despite denials by the warden, many inside the prison remembered Capone “living like a king” in Atlanta. The FBI investigated the claims and began to put a case together on behalf of J. Edgar Hoover.

James V. Bennett, who became director of the Bureau of Prisons, later admitted that Capone had become “too big a problem for our officers at Atlanta to handle”. In the meantime, Alcatraz Island was being retrofitted into a high security prison. It was the intent of Roosevelt’s Attorney General, Homer S. Cummings, to include Capone as one of the first prisoners to be moved to Alcatraz.

On August 18^th, 1934, Capone was ushered out of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary to what was then an uncertain destination to him. He had heard rumblings that he was destined for Alcatraz. By August 22^nd, Capone found out he was going to be the first group of prisoners to be admitted into Alcatraz. The Justice Department and Warden Johnston had designed the prison to be unbreakable and referred to it as “The Rock”. Capone would not have the same accommodations as he enjoyed in Atlanta. Security was so tight at The Rock that Capone wasn’t even aware of what was happening on the outside.

During his time in Alcatraz, Capone would begin to show signs of deterioration due to syphilis. Penicillin would not be used to treat syphilis until the 1940s, when it was too late to reverse the effects on Capone. There was one occasion when the authorities called Mae Capone believing that Al was nearing the end. However, shortly after Mae’s visit he returned to normal. Despite his apparent recovery, Capone would spend the rest of his time on Alcatraz Island under treatment in the prison hospital. After completing the federal portion of his sentence, he still needed to complete the 1 year misdemeanor portion of his sentence.

Capone Serves Final Year at Terminal Island

On January 6^th, 1939, Al Capone was released from Alcatraz and moved to Terminal Island in Los Angeles, California. Upon arrival, he was put in the jail hospital by the prison doctor. His doctor indicated that Capone was confused, irritable and depressed. His speech was slurred and his thoughts were, at times, incoherent. Like at Alcatraz, Capone would return to being completely lucid. The progress of tertiary syphilis was the reason for Capone’s inconsistent disposition.

Only ten months into his misdemeanor sentence, Capone was being prepared for release. On November 13^th, 1939, Al Capone was free from prison and ready for additional treatment. He was transported to the east coast for additional medical care. On November 16^th, Capone was checked into Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore by the federal authorities. Capone’s doctor wanted to admit him into John Hopkins, but the hospital refused to accept Capone based on his background. Union Memorial admitted Capone. He and his crew were allowed to take over the whole fifth floor. Capone was so worried about retaliation from his enemies, he even brought in a food taster to ensure he would not be poisoned.

He would be treated at Union Memorial for the better part of four months, and would spend a few more weeks recuperating at the home of a Maryland State Police Sergeant in Mount Washington. On March 19^th, 1940, Capone would leave Maryland to return to his Palm Island home.

Capone was so appreciative of his treatment at Union Memorial that he donated two weeping cherry trees. One of the trees was removed in 1950 to make room for construction of a new wing. The other tree was split in half due to heavy snowfall in 2010. There are a number of cherry trees in the area that were descendants of the two trees that Capone donated.