ALPHONSE CAPONE
1899- – 1947
MY JESUS MERCY
MAE CAPONE
1897 – 1986
Gonzo reporter, Geraldo Rivera, had a two-hour television special which aired on April 21, 1986, titled, The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults. For a time, Capone had housed his operations in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. A construction found a series of secret rooms and tunnels under the hotel, which presumably had been used to hide Capone’s prostitution, gambling, and alcohol operations. Rivera, responding to rumors of their discovery developed the idea to open the lost and secret vaults on live television. The much-hyped end of the show, the moment 30 million viewers had waited for, revealed a near empty vault—dust and a few empty gin bottles—leaving Geraldo looking somewhat flummoxed and empty handed.
The vaults that Rivera did not highlight on his special were the vaults of a different kind—Capone’s burial vaults. Al Capone died in Florida from the devastating effects of syphilis left untreated. After a large and elaborate funeral at the Philbrick Funeral Home and Chapel and St. Patrick’s Church in Miami Beach, Florida, Capone’s body was transported to Chicago. To avoid the press a decoy casket was transported by hearse to a train station and shipped to Chicago while the real casket containing Capone was loaded into the back of a station wagon and driven to Illinois. Al Capone’s body was laid to rest at the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery, next to his father, Gabriele, and his brother, Salvatore. A large black polished granite stele was erected. Two oval porcelain photographs of his father and his brother adorned the stone.
QUI RIPOSA
GABRIELE CAPONE
NATO DEC. 29, 1865
MORTO NOV. 14, 1920
QUI RIPOSA
SALVATORE CAPONE
NATO LUGLIO 16, 1895
MORTO APRILE 1, 1924
AL CAPONE
1899 – 1947
There was a steady stream of gawkers to the gravesite and souvenir hunters pried off the photos of Gabreile and Salvatore. Vandals pushed the large stone over several times. After the death of Mae, the Capone family decided to move Grabeile, Salvatore, and Alphonse to the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. To throw off the sightseers, the large black gravestone was left in place, hoping the ruse would keep people away. This post is evidence the plan didn’t work.
I love your post. Excellent photos. The Lexington was in Chicago not NYC. The town is Hillside not Hillsdale. Marianne
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Noted and changed. Thank you for the correction. And, thank you for reading my blog.
Why was he moved from one cemetery to another?
Al Capone’s body was re-buried at another cemetery to throw off the sightseers. Too many had found the original burial place and had tipped over the stone several times.