Al Capone
Scarface ran the laundry, played banjo in the Rock Islanders band. Lost power here — stabbed, isolated in D-Block.
1.5 miles from freedom, surrounded by 50°F currents. America's toughest prison held Capone, Machine Gun Kelly — and the most famous escape that may have succeeded.
Scarface ran the laundry, played banjo in the Rock Islanders band. Lost power here — stabbed, isolated in D-Block.
Bootlegger called “Pop Gun Kelly” by inmates for behaving. Worked as an altar boy.
Vanished June 11, 1962 via raincoat raft. FBI closed the case; US Marshals still hunt.
Frank Morris and brothers John & Clarence Anglin chiseled vents with spoons, left papier-mâché heads in beds, and paddled into the night. No bodies were ever found.
After closure in 1963, 89 Native American activists occupied the island for 19 months (1969–71), claiming it under the Treaty of Fort Laramie. Graffiti like “Indians Welcome” still marks the water tower. It sparked modern Red Power and led to federal self-determination policy.