Al Capone returned to Chicago in 1930, not knowing that the next year was going to be a series of one unfortunate event after another. He had no way of knowing that one of the first pieces of bad news that he received was an omen of things to come – that his brother Ralph -- who had been in charge of operations when he was at Eastern State Penitentiary – had just been indicted for income tax evasion.
As far as Capone was concerned, this was one of the stupidest things he’d ever heard. Who gets convicted of not paying taxes? Murder, racketeering, gambling, bootlegging – those were crimes for which a gangster went to prison. Nobody gets locked up for a bookkeeping error, right?
Capone had no idea at that moment that this was the beginning of the end. Death and taxes, as they say, can’t be avoided by anyone.