The St. Valentine's Day Massacre: Was it Really Al Capone? New Book Offers Fresh Perspective on Infamous Legend

FORT MYERS, Fla., Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The story is well-known: The morning of February 14th, 1929, five gangsters walk into a garage in Chicago and gun down seven men. Al Capone, of course, ordered the killings.

Or did he?

In her new book, Uncle Al Capone: The Untold Story From Inside His Family, Deirdre Marie Capone reveals startling facts about Valentine's Day, 1929. Ms. Capone, the last living member of Al's family born with the name Capone, now offers convincing evidence gathered from decades of interviews and research of what really happened that infamous day.

The belief that her uncle was responsible for the cold-blooded slaughter that day turned public opinion against her family. Ms. Capone asserts that the massacre was a significant turning point that caused her many years of heartache.

Her countless conversations with every member of her family and her personal knowledge of "Uncle Al" provided her with secrets about the most notorious mobster in history -- secrets that none of his many biographers could ever have known.

In the book, Ms. Capone provides detailed accounts of her knowledge of the event -- including a phone call her grandfather received from Al shortly after the shooting -- and concludes that the killings were indeed committed by someone else.

But Ms. Capone's research goes beyond family lore and provides details of how the conclusion is corroborated by relatives of one of the victims, overlooked or suppressed facts from the investigation, and even official statements by Chicago's prohibition administrator at the time. The result is convincing proof that this infamous event could not have been the work of Al Capone.

Ms. Capone writes, "It took me about fifty years to fully convince myself that at least this one event -- a shocking, unforgettable event to be sure -- was not ordered by my Uncle Al."

The surprising revelation about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is just one of many revealed in Uncle Al Capone – the only book about Al Capone written by someone who actually knew him. It offers an intimate profile of the man behind the legend and reveals:

• How Al influenced the careers of Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole
• Al's plan to buy the Chicago Cubs and integrate major league baseball in the 1930's
• Al's role in a successful escape from Alcatraz
• What happened to the millions Al had stashed

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SOURCE Deirdre Marie Capone