Al Capone\'s Reason for Crime:

Al Capone's Reason For Crime:

In 1931, Capone was indicted for income tax evasion that occurred during the years 1925 and 1929. In addition, Capone was also charged with the offense of failing to file tax returns for the years between 1928 and 1929. As a result, the government charged that he owed $200,000 in taxes from his gambling profits. A third indictment was added in which Capone was charged with conspiracy to infringe Prohibition laws from 1922 to 1931. There are various theories that can be used to help in explaining Capone's involvement in the crimes he was convicted of. Some of these major theories that can identify the reason for Capone's involvement in the offenses are the General Strain Theory and Merton's Theory of Anomie. The basis for Merton's Theory of Anomie is that opportunities to get to the top are unequally distributed in a class-oriented society. On the contrary, the General Strain Theory argues that a person's criminal behavior is closely associated with anger and frustration when he/she receives unwanted treatment in a social relationship.

Al Capone's Criminal Record:

Al Capone is not only the best known gangster in the United States, but he is also the single greatest indication of the collapse of law and order in America during the Prohibition era of the 1920s ("Al Capone," par, 1). This is because he played a leading and significant role in criminal activities that contributed to Chicago's reputation as a lawless city. Generally, Al Capone grew in a rough society and neighborhood where he became a member of two gangs during his childhood years. Despite being bright, Capone quit school at the age of 14 years while in the sixth grade. Since then, his life was characterized by criminal behavior through involvement in various criminal gangs including the Brooklyn Rippers, the Forty Thieves Juniors, and Five Points.

Based on this case study, the government indicted and charged Capone for his alleged tax evasion and violation of Prohibition laws in three different instances. These three instances include the income tax evasion from 1925 to 1929, failure to file tax returns for 1928 and 1929, and conspiracy to infringe the Prohibition laws between 1922 and 1931. Notably, Capone's income tax evasion and the failure to file tax returns contributed to a debt of $200,000 in taxes from his gambling profits. The involvement of Capone in these criminal offenses, especially in violation of the Prohibition laws during this period was an indication that there are various reasons that contributed to his involvement in crime.

Generally, there are various theories that have been developed in the field of criminology to help in dissecting the reasons for a person's involvement in criminal activities and behavior. One of these theories in Merton's Theory of Anomie that emphasizes on two significant elements in any society i.e. cultural aspirations or the objectives people are striving for and the accepted or institutionalized ways for achieving desired results. The stability of a society requires the reasonable integration of these two elements whereas disparity between them contributes to frustration, which results in strain. Through this theory Merton argues that lower class people have the greatest proportion of crime because they have lesser opportunities to achieve their goals legally ("Strain and Cultural Deviance Theories," p. 109).

As a revision of Merton's theory, the General Strain Theory states that the failure to attain material goals is not the only reason for involvement in crime but anger and frustration contributes to committing offenses because of mistreatment in a social relationship. The two theories apply to Capone's case in the tax evasion and violation of Prohibition laws because his actions may have been caused by failure to achieve material gains in the class-oriented society, anger, and frustration from the unhealthy social relationship.

How the Theories Apply:

The application of these theories in explaining Al Capone's involvement in the tax evasion offenses and violation of Prohibition laws can be identified through an examination of Capone's history or background. As previously mentioned, Al Capone is widely known as a notorious gangster who managed organized crime syndicate in Chicago during the Prohibition era of 1920s. While he was a charitable and charming as well powerful and vicious individual, Al Capone became an iconic character of the successful American gangster (Rosenberg, par, 1). Generally, Al Capone's involvement in criminal activities was fueled by the fact that he took full advantage of the criminal opportunities that were available during the Prohibition era.

The opportunities for committing criminal offenses during the Prohibition era demonstrate the application of Merton's theory of anomie in explaining Capone's involvement in these activities. Capone's involvement in crime was fueled by the enactment of Prohibition Amendment and the view of illegitimate brewing as growth industries. He intended to take total advantage of the opportunities presented in the perceived growth industries ("Famous Cases and Criminals," par, 1). During this period, there was an evident unequal distribution of opportunities to help in achievement of personal goals. This contributed to huge disparities in income among various classes since the America was a class-oriented society during the Prohibition era. Furthermore, the unequal distribution of opportunities between various classes in the society contributed to a huge difference in the goals and means for attaining these goals.

Due to this disparity, Al Capone turned to crime as a means of achieving his goals and lessening the gap between cultural aspiration and the institutionalized means for attaining desired ends. The huge disparity that contributed to Al Capone's involvement in the tax evasion offenses and violation of Prohibition laws also resulted in his generosity. For Capone and his family, the United States did not give him an opportunity to succeed and had no one to guide him to the right direction in achieving his dreams. As an individual from a low-class family, Al Capone not only turned to crime but he could also use his ill-gotten wealth to help other low-class people. Actually, there are numerous stories and examples of how Capone would personally help out others in difficult situations.

In contrast, the application of the General Strain Theory in explaining Capone's involvement in these criminal offenses is identified through the anger and frustration he experienced while growing up. Al Capone's anger and frustration that eventually contributed to his criminal behaviors can be traced to his birth since he was born to a neighborhood that received him with an empty embrace (Fragoso, par, 2). Therefore, one of the major reasons he turned to crime was the terrible neighborhood where he was brought up.