Uncle Al Capone (28 page)

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

–“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.”

–“I’ll go as deep in my pockets as any man to help any guy that needs help. I can’t stand to see anybody hungry or cold or helpless.”

–“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.”

–“You’d be surprised if you knew some of the fellows I’ve got to take care of.”

–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.”

–“Well, maybe he thinks that the law of self-defense, the way God looks at it, is a little broader than the law books have it.”

–“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.”

–“Deany (Dion O’Banion) was all right and he was getting along to begin with better than he had any right to expect. But like everyone else, his head got away from his hat.”

–“Of course I didn’t kill McSwiggin (Assistant State’s Attorney William McSwiggin). Why should I? I liked the kid. Only the day before he got knocked off he was over at my place, and when he went home I gave him a bottle of Scotch for his old man. If I wanted to knock him off, I could have done it then, couldn’t I? We had him on the spot.”

–“It seems like I’m responsible for every crime that takes place in this country.”

–“The other day a man came in here and said that he had to have $3000. If I’d give it to him, he said, he would make me the beneficiary of a $15,000 insurance policy and then kill himself. I had to have him pushed out.”

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

–“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.”

–“Things people know about amuse them. They like to laugh over them and make jokes. When a speakeasy is raided, there are a few hysterical people, but the general mass are light hearted. On the other hand, do you know any of your friends who’d go into fits of merriment if they feared being taken for a ride?”

–“It’s pretty tough when a citizen with an unblemished record must be hounded from his home by the very policemen whose salaries are paid, at least in part, from the victim’s pocket. You might say that every policeman in Chicago gets some of his bread and butter from the taxes I pay.”

–“I’m getting sick of fellows like Hughes using me to attract glory to themselves. I never met Hughes in my life, nor have I ever even received a telephone call from him. Chase me out of Cook County? Well, he hasn’t done it and he won’t do it.”

–“I am a property-owner and taxpayer in Chicago.”

–“I’m out of the booze racket now and I wish the papers would let me alone.”

–“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.”

–“I have always been opposed to violence, to shootings. I have fought, yes, but fought for peace. And I believe I can take credit for the peace that now exists in the racket game in Chicago. I believe that the people can thank me for the fact that gang killings here are probably a thing of the past.”

–“Why not treat our business like any other man treats his, as something to work at in the daytime and forget when he goes home at night? There’s plenty of business for everybody. Why kill each other over it?”

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

–“Today I got a letter from a woman in England. Even over there I’m known as a gorilla. She offered to pay my passage to London if I would kill some neighbors she’s having a quarrel with.”

–“I paid McSwiggin and I paid him plenty, and I got what I was paying for.”

–“I’m sorry Hymie (Weiss) was killed, but I didn’t have anything to do with it… There’s enough business for all of us without killing each other like animals in the street.”

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

–“Crooked bankers who take people’s hard-earned cash for stock they know is worthless would be far better clients at penal institutions than the little man who robs so that his wife and babies may live.”

–“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.”

–“Graft is a byword in American life today. It is law where no law is obeyed. It is undermining this country. The honest lawmakers of any city can be counted on your fingers. I could count Chicago’s on one hand.”

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

–“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.”

–“I’ve seen gambling houses, too—in my travels, you understand—and I never saw anyone point a gun at a man and make him go in. I’ve never heard of anyone being forced to go to a place to have some fun.”

–“The funny part of the whole thing is that a man in this line of business has so much company. I mean his customers. If people did not want beer and wouldn’t drink it, a fellow would be crazy for going around trying to sell it.”

–“I violate the Prohibition law, sure. Who doesn’t? The only difference is that I take more chances than the man who drinks a cocktail before dinner and a flock of highballs after it.”

–“My rackets are run on strictly American lines and they are going to stay that way.”

–“Some of the biggest Dry in the country buy from me and have for years, so let’s stop kidding.”

–All I ever did was sell beer and whiskey to our best people. All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular. Why, the very guys that make my trade good are the ones that yell the loudest about me. Some of the leading judges use the stuff.

–“Nobody wanted Prohibition. This town voted six to one against it. Somebody had to throw some liquor on that thirst. Why not me?”

–“Let the worthy citizens of Chicago get their liquor the best way they can.

–I’m sick of the job. It’s a thankless one and full of grief”

–“I leave with gratitude to my friends who have stood by me through this unjust ordeal, and with forgiveness for my enemies. I wish them all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”

–“The country wanted booze, and I organized it. Why should I be called a “public enemy”?

–“People who respect nothing dread fear. It is upon fear, therefore, that I have built up my organization. But understand me correctly, please. Those who work with me are afraid of nothing. Those who work for me are kept faithful, not so much because of their pay as because they know what might be done with them if they broke faith.”

–“I’m a business man. I’ve made my money supplying a popular demand. If I break the law, my customers are as guilty as I am.”

I have all the family recipes in my collection but for space reasons I am only including a couple here.

Grandma Theresa’s Fresh Bread

This is the actual recipe for the bread Theresa Capone baked and sold in Brooklyn. Back in the days when I learned to bake this bread, the flour was fresh. In fact, if you did not use the flour within a couple of weeks, tiny bugs would appear.

large electric mixer

baking stone

2 cups scalding water

1 cake compressed or 1 envelope dry yeast

6 or 6 ½ cups flour

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp butter

preheat oven to 400º

Crumble or sprinkle the yeast in ¼ cup of the water. Put the butter, sugar, and salt in the remaining water in mixing bowl. When mixture is lukewarm, add the dissolved yeast, ½ of the flour, and beat. Add the remaining flour slowly, mixing with the dough hook until mixture can no longer absorb any more flour. Or until sides of the mixing bowl are clean. Toss on a floured surface and knead with your hands until smooth and elastic. When you knead, fold edges of dough toward center, and press down and away with the heel of your hand. Put into a bowl that has been brushed with olive oil. Cover and let rise until double in size.

Grandma would find the sunniest room in the house to let the dough rise in the sun.

When doubled, cut the dough with a knife, cover, and let rise again until doubled. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape into oblong loaves. Put cooking stone in the bottom of the oven. Place two loaves on the stone and cook for 45 minutes until golden brown. For the traditional crispy crust of good Italian bread, cool loaves on a rack in a draft, allowing the air to circulate around them.

Grandma Theresa’s Ragu

Here is a little known fact. My Aunt Maffie opened a deli on the south side of Chicago after Al Capone’s death. A man who was a regular customer and loved her lasagna came into the deli one day and asked for the recipe for the sauce. Maffie gave it to him, and he used it to create the very first spaghetti sauce of the Ragu Company.

This recipe is enough for one pound of pasta. Most of the time I double it; as it ages well in the refrigerator.

2-28 oz cans of Italian tomatoes pureed

4 tbsp olive oil

6 garlic cloves chopped fine

1 medium onion cut into quarters

1 whole nutmeg

6 basil leaves of 1 tbsp dried basil

1 bulb fresh fennel

1 tsp dried oregano

pinch of salt

¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Core the fresh fennel and cut into small pieces.

Take a piece of cheesecloth and wrap it around the fennel, onion, nutmeg, and basil, forming a ball that will be lowered into the tomatoes. Heat olive oil in stock pot and add garlic. Stir until the garlic has released its flavor into the oil. Add tomatoes and fennel ball. Bring to a boil stirring slowly. Lower heat and simmer slowly uncovered. Add salt and pepper.

Cook slowly for about 3 hours. Before serving remove fennel ball and discard. This is the only time before serving that we would taste the gravy—we would do it by dipping a piece of bread into the sauce and eating the bread.

Baked Lasagna

This was one of Uncle Al’s favorite dishes that his mother Theresa prepared. A generous serving of this lasagna is a meal in itself. It is best appreciated if you fast for a day before sitting down to its delectable aroma and deliciously rich taste.

1 pound lasagna macaroni

1 jar Grandma Theresa’s Ragu

Filling:

2 pounds ricotta cheese

¾ cup freshly grated romano cheese

4 eggs beaten

small head parsley stems removed and heads chopped coarse

3 balls mozzarella cheese sliced thin. Do not use fresh mozzarella. I prefer scaramoza cheese but it is hard to find.

I prefer to use fresh pasta. I encourage you to make your own. If you use fresh pasta rolled thin, you do not need to cook it. If you use boxed pasta cook it according to the directions on the package but make sure it is al dente.

Make filling as pasta is cooking. Combine ricotta, romano, eggs and parsley in large bowl. Set aside.

To build the lasagna, cover the bottom of a rectangular lasagna pan (10 x 15 x 2) with ½ jar of sauce and completely cover that with one layer of pasta. Cover pasta with a layer of mozzarella cheese Cover mozzarella with 1/3 of the ricotta filling. Repeat sequence until you have three layers. Top with layer of pasta and one more layer of mozzarella, then cover with ½ jar of sauce. Bake at 375° for about 1 hour.

Cut into large squares and serve with heated sauce. Serves at least 9 people.

Al’s Recipe for Italian Beef

The two foods I missed most after moving away from Chicago were Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. Italian beef in particular is simply not available anywhere else. But now you can make it yourself using Al Capone’s recipe.

It is hard to find the giardiniera, but it is available in Italian stores and is usually labeled “Chicago-style giardiniera.”

3-4 pound rump roast

6 (or more) cloves garlic

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp salt

½ tsp onion powder

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp thyme

6 hard crusted rolls or a loaf of Italian bread

3 red or green peppers

¼ cup olive oil

Hot giardiniera