On 18 October 1931, the infamous gangster Al Capone, who had long evaded justice despite his involvement in organised crime, was finally convicted on five counts of tax evasion.
After years of dominating the criminal underworld, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and ordered to pay a hefty fine of $50,000, along with court costs and back taxes.
His conviction represented a major triumph for the federal government, which had struggled to bring him to justice through more conventional criminal charges like murder and bootlegging.
This case, centred on financial misconduct rather than violent crime, became a landmark moment in the fight against organised crime, demonstrating that even the most powerful mobsters could be brought down by the law.
