Rare Al Capone Artifact to Be Displayed in Public for First Time
It's been a century since Al Capone began his reign as a mob boss in Chicago and cemented his place in history as the one and only "Scarface." If you're interested in seeing some pieces from Capone's life up close and personal, now's your chance.
According to The Associated Press, the Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas is opening its new exhibit "The First Public Enemy," dedicated entirely to Capone, on Jan. 15. You'll be able to get a close look at Capone's favorite personal weapon as well as a rare home movie filmed by Capone himself in 1929.
Capone's go-to gun, a Colt 1911 .45-caliber pistol, will be available for all museum visitors to see. "He called her—we refer to it as a her—his sweetheart," his granddaughter Diane Capone Pette told the AP. According to his family, the firearm took on a life of its own as a friend to the legendary gangster. "She saved him, and so she was very special to him and so very special to us," Pette, now 81, said.
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The short silent film is equally intriguing. It was filmed at Capone's Miami mansion and featured his friends, including fellow mobsters Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello, enjoying a day by the pool and on a boat. The Mob Museum has the only physical copy of the 12-minute movie, memorialized forever on 16mm film.
Pette and her sisters have auctioned off some of Capone's belongings in recent years out of fear that they would be lost in wildfires in their California home. Mob Museum vice president of exhibits and programs Geoff Shumacher emphasized the historical significance of the new exhibit as many Capone artifacts are now in private collectors' hands. "This a slice of life that you can get nowhere else except at the museum," he said.
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If there's one thing Pette wants to leave people with, it's the image of the person she saw as a young girl growing up.
“He was not one-dimensional. He was a man of many facets," she said. "He seemed to have the capacity to be quite ruthless and aggressive... [but] this was also a man who was incredibly loving and loyal to family and friends."
"The First Public Enemy" opens at the Mob Museum on Jan. 15.