Al Capone’s signature to star in gangster auction

If he was known by his full name, he might not have been so universally feared.   But that’s the way the notorious king of Chicago’s Prohibition-era underworld signed it — “Alphonse Capone.” And that flowing signature, which Capone inked four times on a transcript of his January 24, 1925, interrogation by Chicago Police, could fetch $100,000 next month when it will be the star lot in an auction of gangster memorabilia. The four-page, typed deposition details a mostly nonresponsive interview Capone gave detectives investigating the attempted murder of his former mentor and associate, John Torrio. Though Capone almost certainly knew that members of the rival O’Bannion gang were responsible for Torrio’s shooting, he stonewalled the cops with deadpan humor, the transcript shows. Asked what he did for a living, Capone told the officers he had an antique furniture business at 2224 S. Wabash. Asked the name of the store he said it had “no name.” Later asked how many times he’d been arrested in Chicago, Capone told the officers, “Every time something happens, I get arrested.”