CAPONE, Alphonse ("Al") (1899-1947). Autograph letter signed (as "Al Brown"), to Bill [Sells]. Chicago, IL, 14 June 1924.

1 page, 4to, on a ruled sheet, creased, some minor ink-smudging.

“I WANT YOU TO FIND THAT BOOTLEGGER...TELL HIM I WANT HIM TO COME RIGHT AWAY TO CHICAGO”

In 1923, Chicago voters elected reformer William Dever as mayor after 8 years under corrupt William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson, who was closely aligned with Johnny Torrio. Torrio decided he needed a second base of operations, and chose Cicero, a town just outside of Chicago city limits. Incumbent mayor of Cicero, Joseph Z. Klenha, facing a strong challenger in Democrat Rudolph Hurt during his reelection campaign, turned to Torrio; in return for securing his reelection, Torrio's gang would be granted immunity from the law in Cicero.

The Chicago Outfit secured a favorable result for Mayor Klenha in the April 1 municipal elections, relying on brute force, and Capone and his men, including his brothers Frank and Ralph, roamed the streets. Chicago police officers, responding to an appeal to try to restore law and order, arrived at 22nd Street and Cicero Avenue, in the shadow of the Hawthorne Works facility of the Western Electric Company, and Al's brother Frank Capone opened fire. The squad returned fire, killing Frank Capone, but Al Capone was uncaptured.

On April 2, the Chicago Tribune ran the headline "GUNMAN SLAIN IN VOTE RIOTS" reporting that the Cicero election had been "marked by shootings, stabbings, kidnappings, and other outlawry unsurpassed in any previous Cook County political contest." Capone established his Cicero headquarters at the Hawthorne Inn (now demolished), located 4833 W. 22nd Street, just west of the intersection of 22nd Street and Cicero Avenue. In the aftermath, Cicero would remain the headquarters of the Outfit until after Capone was sent to prison in 1931 for tax evasion.

Cicero solidified as the new headquarters of The Chicago Outfit, Capone wrote to his friend Bill Sells: "Just a few lines to let you know that I am feeling fine... 'Wall Bill' I want you to find that Bootlegger that sold me the Wine and Wiskey [sic] went [sic] I was there and tell him to that I want him to come right away to Chicago because I have a big order for him, tell him to come over to 2242 Cicero Ave, Cicero, that is just a few miles outside of Chicago and when he gets there to ask for Fred Pope in case I am not there." He includes a postscript instructing Bill to write him using Fred Pope's name at 2242 Cicero Avenue, which was located just a half a block from the Hawthorne Inn; it was likely the location of the Hy-Ho Club, a popular haunt for John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. Capone signs the letter using his most common alias when doing business for the Outfit, "Al Brown”; he admitted at his 1931 trial that some people called him Al Brown, but that “wasn’t his name.”

CAPONE LETTERS ARE EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE: According to online records, only 4 Al Capone letters have sold at auction in at least the last 50 years, none of which was written during Prohibition or his years with the Chicago Outfit. CONSEQUENTIAL LETTERS FROM CAPONE'S PRIME PERIOD ARE VIRTUALLY UNOBTAINABLE.

Chicago-area gangsters in the Prohibition era had close ties to Wisconsin – in addition to being an important avenue for bringing bootlegged liquor to Chicago and the Midwest, it was a refuge where they could escape for rest. “They love[d] to vacation in the Wisconsin Northwoods… The hoods of the Depression era enjoyed escaping to and from Wisconsin when the situation demanded… Enjoying gangster holidays of sorts in the Northwoods during the summers from 1925 to 1931 was ‘Scarface’ Al Capone whose refuge, ‘The Hideout,’ is in Couderay, Wis., 50 miles southwest of Manitowish Waters” (Chicago Tribune, “Northwoods’ Gangsters of Old: From Fishing Holes to Bullet Holes,” 2 March 1987).

William and Lowrene Sell, owners of Sell Improvement Company, a realty and insurance company, also owned and operated Sell’s Resort in Manitowish Waters from the 1920s to 1950s, where, in the early 1920s, Al Capone and his associates were regular guests. According to family lore, Capone was adored by those who knew him, and Lowrene would allow him to take over her kitchen to make his famous gravy. The Sells and Capone developed an intimate friendship over the years, as evidenced by correspondence retained by the family. Taking the Sells into his confidence, Capone maintained a correspondence with them over the years, asking for advice on finding bootleggers and real estate in the Northwoods, and even writing his friend two days after the 1925 assassination attempt to let them know he’s alright. The family kept the correspondence and related items for several generations, but offer it for sale now for the first time.