London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 02, 2026

Family of Al Capone to sell notorious mobster's treasures at auction: 'A very complex person'

Family of Al Capone to sell notorious mobster's treasures at auction: 'A very complex person'

Some 175 artifacts and mementos from the Prohibition Era, including his favorite guns, vintage prints featuring the infamous crime lord with various members of his family, letters written by Capone to his son while at Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary.

Personal effects from notorious organized crime boss Al Capone are up for sale as his three living granddaughters are looking to part with the belongings. The items were once held up in Capone’s estate on Palm Island in Florida following the 2004 death of their father, Sonny Capone, who was Al Capone’s only child.

Some 175 artifacts and mementos from the Prohibition Era – which include the gangster's favorite guns; vintage prints featuring the infamous crime lord with various members of his family; letters written by Capone to his son while at Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary; Sonny’s shooting medals; watches; knickknacks; fine gold-rimmed crystal ware and many other of Capone’s personal belongings – are all on the list.

Diane Capone, 77, a daughter of Sonny’s, told the Washington Post that she and her sisters were concerned the items could be ravaged by ongoing wildfires in Northern California and thus wanted to offload the possessions before they potentially went up in smoke.

Police mug shot of Chicago mobster Al Capone. The photograph was taken by the Miami Police Department. Some 175 artifacts and mementos from the Prohibition Era, including his favorite guns and letters written by Capone to his son while at Alcatraz ar


"It was a tremendous relief for the memorabilia of my grandparents to be removed because there’s no way we could save it from a wildfire," Diane told the publication. "We’d lose it all."

Of the letter penned by the Chicago gangster to Sonny, Diane maintained that they reveal an adverse side of the man known by many as "Scarface."

"I can’t imagine that anyone could read this letter without having at least a hint of an awareness about the fact that this man was a very complex person," Diane Capone said. "His name might be synonymous with Gangland Chicago, but there was another whole side to the man."

Capone is believed to have greenlighted the 1929 mob burnout that was dubbed the "St. Valentine’s Day Massacre." Seven mobsters were gunned down by firing squad on a winter morning in Chicago. Although Capone was rumored to have ordered the hit, he was in Florida at the time the gunfire erupted.

Chicago mobster Al Capone is seen at a football game in Chicago, Jan. 19, 1931. Artifacts connected to Capone are being auctioned off in October.


The ordeal is depicted in several films, including 1987's "The Untouchables," in which Kevin Costner portrays the famed Prohibition agent Eliot Ness, who mounts a team of gun-wielding associates to nab Capone – played by Robert De Niro.

Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Billy Drago and Charles Martin Smith portray Jim Malone, George Stone, Frank Nitti and agent Oscar Wallace, respectively.

When Capone was finally convicted of income tax evasion in 1931, Ness and his team had amassed more than 5,000 indictments for violating Prohibition laws.

Capone spent seven-and-a-half years in prison, much of that time in Alcatraz. He died in 1947.

The relics are being presented by Witherell’s and bidding on the items will commence Oct. 8 at 9 a.m. ET.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Sainsbury Agrees to Sell Argos in £120 Million Deal to Private Consortium
High Court Clears Way for Construction of Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court
UK Fuel Prices Climb to Multi-Month Highs as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Oil Supplies
Severe Summer Drought and Record Heat Put UK Harvests at Risk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backbench Opposition Over Potential Support for New North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
Bank of England Warns Inflation Will Stay Above 3% as Middle East Energy Shock Prolongs Cost-of-Living Pressures
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Charities Allege French Police Used Tear Gas Against Channel Migrants
Norwegian Teenager Convicted Over Iran-Linked Murder Plot in Britain
Christian Organisations File Charity Complaints Against Amnesty International UK
Ofgem Tightens Grid Connection Rules for New Data Centres
FTSE 100 Reaches Record High Despite Global Technology Sell-Off
Millions of UK Households Urged to Check Eligibility for Winter Energy Discount
Labour Restores Parliamentary Whips to Diane Abbott and Joani Reid
UK Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Over Palestine Action Ban
UK Commits More Than £8.4 Billion to Dreadnought Nuclear Submarine Programme
England Declares Severe Drought as Wildfire Burns Near Sizewell Nuclear Site
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
UK Business Confidence Climbs to Four-Month High
Greater Manchester Gains Expanded Powers Under Regional Funding Reforms
UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Over Palestine Action Terror Ban
Shell's Quarterly Profit Doubles to Nearly $10 Billion on Higher Energy Prices
UK Government Removes VAT From Household Electricity Bills
Exceptional Drought Grips Half of England as Wildfire Threatens Sizewell
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Risks Persist
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
UK Employment Holds Steady as Wage Growth Remains Moderate
England to Introduce Artificial Intelligence into Secondary School Curriculum
Wales Launches £1.2 Billion Industrial Regeneration Programme
High Court Upholds UK Digital Surveillance Framework
Northern Ireland Reaches Budget Agreement on Infrastructure and Public Sector Pay
Home Office Expands Digital Border Checks Nationwide
UK Approves Major North Sea Wind and Carbon Capture Project
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
Scotland Approves Major Renewable Energy Expansion
UK and United States Sign AI and Semiconductor Cooperation Pact
UK Treasury Tightens Fiscal Controls After Gilt Market Volatility
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 4.5%
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Funding Overhaul and Workforce Reform
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
×