. By 1918, Torrio had moved to Chicago to help a relative defend his rackets, and Torrio soon asked Al and later Frank to join him there.
By 1920, Torrio had taken charge of the
Prohibition era
had started. As the gang increased in power and wealth, so did Al and Frank.
Takeover of Cicero
In 1923, Chicago voters elected a new mayor,
illegal gambling dens in Cicero, a Chicago suburb. Within a year, Capone had placed the Cicero city manager Joseph Z. Klenha and the town committeemen on the gang payroll. Frank Capone's job was to represent the gang in its dealings with the Cicero town council. Frank was mild-mannered compared to his brother Al, projecting the image of a respectable businessman, and always dressed in a neat suit.[3]
In the
polling booths with submachine guns and sawed-off shotguns to make sure that local residents "voted right". Uncooperative voters were assaulted and blocked from voting. Frank led an attack on an opponent's campaign headquarters, ransacking his office and assaulting several campaign workers. One campaign worker was shot in both legs and detained with eight other campaign workers, to be released when Election Day was over.[3]
Death and police reinforcements
As the election day turmoil progressed, outraged Cicero citizens petitioned Cook County Judge Edmund J. Jareki for help. The
plainclothes
officers to Cicero to maintain order at the polls and Jareki swore them in as deputy sheriffs. The CPD officers did not arrive on the streets of Cicero until late afternoon, at which point they had little effect on the election-related violence.
Around dusk, a detective squad led by Sergeant William Cusack pulled up to the polling station at Cicero Avenue and Twenty-second Street after spotting Frank Capone,
Charlie Fischetti, and a short, heavyset man they didn't recognize. The detectives exited their car and began walking over when gunfire inexplicably erupted. Several witnesses later claimed that the gangsters never opened fire. At the later inquest, the police claimed that Frank Capone shot first; they produced a pistol with three missing rounds that they swore he used. Frank allegedly thought these officers in civilian clothing were rival gangsters. In either event, Capone was fatally shot many times by Sergeant Phillip J. McGlynn in the ensuing melee. Fischetti sprinted across a nearby vacant lot, only to toss down his weapon and surrender once the police caught up with him. The third gangster ran south, firing a gun in each hand, and managed to escape. An urban myth later grew that this man was none other than Al Capone. In fact, the third gunman was later positively identified as David Hedlin; the police had wounded him, as well.[4]
At the end of the day, the Capone candidate Klenha had won.[5]
Mob funeral
After Frank's death, the Chicago newspapers were full of articles either praising or condemning the CPD. A coroner's inquest later determined that Frank's killing was a justifiable shooting since Frank had been resisting arrest.
On April 4, 1924, Frank Capone received an extravagant funeral, with $20,000 worth of flowers placed around the
speakeasies
of Cicero for two hours during the funeral.
In popular culture
Morgan Spector portrayed Frank Capone in the fourth season of the HBO television show Boardwalk Empire. In the show, Frank is portrayed as charismatic and level-headed, often attempting to cool Al's temper.
