Los Angeles (AFP)
Firearms that belonged to Al Capone, one of the most famous gangsters in the world, will soon be auctioned in California by his descendants.
The King's 'Favorite' Colt .45 is one of 174 bundles that also include family photos, a letter written to his son from his Alcatraz cell and the bed he shared with his wife in their luxurious Florida villa. .
The collection put on sale on October 8 in Sacramento by the Witherells house comes from the heritage left by Al Capone in 1947 to his widow, Mae Capone, who herself bequeathed it to their only son Sonny.
Al Capone was one of the most feared underworld leaders during the Prohibition era of the 1920s, when any production or sale of alcohol was officially banned in the United States.
Godfather of the Outfit gang in Chicago, the one nicknamed "Scarface" ("the scarred") was reigning terror with his racketeering network and very violent methods, such as the "Valentine's Day massacre" during which he had seven members of a rival gang executed in 1929.
Despite all the police on his heels - including the famous Eliot Ness - the gangster will never be prosecuted for his violent crimes but for tax evasion, which will earn him a sentence of 11 years in prison and a passage on the penitentiary island Alcatraz, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Auction house Witherells estimates Al Capone's fetish Colt could fetch $ 150,000, with another of his pistols estimated to be between $ 30,000 and $ 60,000.
The lots also include a Patek Philippe pocket watch in platinum and diamonds as well as other flashy jewels monogrammed with Al Capone's initials.
The current owners of these items are the gangster's granddaughters, Diane and Barbara Capone.
© 2021 AFP