xy

“I never stuck up a man in my life. Neither did any of my agents ever rob anybody or burglarize any homes while they worked for me. They might have pulled plenty of jobs before they came with me or after they left me, but not while they were in my outfit.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“When I sell liquor, they call it bootlegging. When my patrons serve it on silver trays on Lake Shore Drive, they call it hospitality.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“They talk about me not being legitimate. Nobody's on the legit, You know that and so do they. Nobody's really-on the legit when it comes down to cases.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“A crook is a crook, and there's something healthy about his frankness in the matter. But the guy who pretends he's enforcing the law and steals on his authority is a swell snake.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“The worst type is the Big Politician who gives about half his time to covering up so that no one will know he's a thief. A hard-working crook can buy these birds by the dozens, but he hates them in his heart.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“If machines are going to take jobs away from the worker, then he will need to find something else to do. Perhaps he'll get back to the soil. But we must care for him during the period of change. We must keep him away from Red literature, Red ruses; we must see that his mind remains healthy.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“A kidnapper is no better than a rat, and I don't approve of his racket because it makes the kidnaped man's wife and kiddies worry so much. I shall be glad to help Chicago in this emergency.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“Once you're in the racket, you're always in it. The parasites will trail you, begging for money and favors, and you can never get away from them no matter where you go.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“Union members look at dues the same way they look at taxes: just something you got to pay the thieves who run things.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“There's always some wiseacre who stands in the wings and criticizes. You've got two choices. You either buy these wiseacres off by giving them jobs… or you scare them off. If they don't scare, you take them in the alley. When they get out of the hospital, if they still want to squawk, you get rid of them.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“It's hard, dangerous work, aside from any hate at all, and when a fellow works hard at any line of business he wants to go home and forget about it. He don't want to be afraid to sit near a window or an open door.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“I'm the boss. I'm going to continue to run things. They've been putting the roscoe on me for a good many years and I'm still healthy and happy. Don't let anybody kid you into thinking I can be run out of town. I haven't run yet and I'm not going to.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“Every time a boy falls off a tricycle, every time a black cat has gray kittens, every time someone stubs a toe, every time there's a murder or a fire or the Marines land in Nicaragua, the police and the newspapers holler, 'Get Capone!' I'm sick of it. As soon as I possibly can, I'll clear out of here.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“Nobody was ever killed except outlaws, and the community is better off without them.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“I told them we are making a shooting gallery out of a great business and nobody is profiting by it.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“I wanted to stop all that because I couldn't stand hearing my little kid ask why I didn't stay home. I had been living at the Hawthorne Inn for fourteen months… If it wasn't for him, I'd have said, To hell with you fellows. We'll shoot it out.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“I want peace, and I will live and let live. I'm like any other man. I've been in this racket long enough to realize that a man in my game must take the breaks, the fortunes of war. I haven't had any peace of mind in years. Every minute I'm in danger of death.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“What do you want to do, get yourself killed before you are thirty? You'd better get some sense while a few of us are left alive.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

“I don't want to end up in the gutter punctured by machine gun slugs.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster