I was torn between featuring "Scarface" during April (when our taxes are due...Capone was imprisoned for seven and a half years, not for any of his many heinous crimes, but for tax evasion....there was a nice death'n'taxes theme there) or in January for the anniversaries of his birth and death. January it is!
Al Capone, the original public enemy number one and the most notorious gangster in United States history, personified an era. More than any other gangster, Capone represented a powerful image of crime during Prohibition and in Chicago. In fact, during my travels abroad when I told people I was from Chicago, they fearfully looked at me and often imitated holding a machine gun ("rat-tat-tat!"). No matter where I went, people associated Chicago with Prohibition-era gangsters and especially Capone. This was usually a positive thing for me, because it meant people wouldn't mess with me or my luggage, but it was not a good thing for Chicago's public relations image. Thank goodness for Michael Jordan, who is now immediately associated with Chicago around the world.
For another celebrated icon for January, Click Here!