From Scarface to senile: Inside Al Capone's fall from criminal kingpin to syphilis-riddled madman with the mental age of a 12-year-old who held 'conversations' with men he'd had killed

  • Capone took over the Chicago mob aged just 26, making $40million a year
  • But despite evading rival gangsters, he was taken down by syphilis
  • The sexually transmitted disease eroded his mental faculties over years
  • He spent final years 'talking to' dead men - some of whom he'd had killed
  • And doctors said he had the mental age of a 12-year-old
  • His wife Mae kept his condition a secret, knowing the mob would kill him
  • He eventually died in 1947 due to a pneumonia-caused heart attack 

By JAMES WILKINSON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: | Updated:

In the 1920s Al Capone was one of the most feared men in the United States of America - a criminal kingpin who rose to the head of the Chicago mob aged just 26 and whose campaign of extortion and murder touched the world of politics.

But despite being shrewd and security-conscious, Capone was ultimately taken down by an unstoppable foe: A syphillis infection that left him with the mental age of a 12-year-old, doctors said.

His shocking story and pitiful end are the focus of a new book, 'Al Capone: His Life, Legacy and Legend' by Dierdre Bair, the NY Post reported.

Mobster: Al Capone was the feared boss of the Chicago mob. But despite being careful to guard against rival gangsters, he was felled by the sexually transmitted disease syphilis

Mobster: Al Capone was the feared boss of the Chicago mob. But despite being careful to guard against rival gangsters, he was felled by the sexually transmitted disease syphilis

Last days: The gangster lived out his last days at this mansion with his family. But the disease has ravaged his mind, and he would 'talk' to dead men, including some that he'd had killed

Last days: The gangster lived out his last days at this mansion with his family. But the disease has ravaged his mind, and he would 'talk' to dead men, including some that he'd had killed

Capone - nicknamed 'Scarface' after an attack as a teenager that left him with a marked left cheek - had made his fortune as the vicious leader of the Chicago Outfit.

The Outfit, which had tendrils across the US, ran bootlegging and smuggling operations, and Capone would bomb the stores of those who resisted their protection rackets.

That power turned Capone into a major target, but the wily crook was careful to surround himself with security and shield himself from arrest.

He was also famous for his parties and life of excess, which earned him headlines across the world and fascinating a population hungry for scandal. 

But in 1932, Capone, then 33, was imprisoned on tax evasion charges, and prison doctors immediately diagnosed him with the sexually transmitted diseases syphilis and gonorrhoea.

By the time he was paroled in 1939, Capone was in the midst of late-stage syphilis, and as his mind began to unravel he would be seen talking to himself. 

At least, that's how it appeared from the outside, but inside Capone's head he was having in-depth conversations with men who were long-dead - some of whom he'd had killed.

Capone was given a 'pension' of just $600 a week by the Chicago Outfit - a huge step down from his former life of luxury, in which the mobster, rumored to make $40million a year would wear expensive jewelry and drink fine liquor. 

Family: Capone's family (pictured, with the mob boss center-bottom, in 1929) helped him through his final days, and he would hunt for butterflies with his granddaughter

Family: Capone's family (pictured, with the mob boss center-bottom, in 1929) helped him through his final days, and he would hunt for butterflies with his granddaughter

Protection: Capone's wife Mae (pictured hiding from photographers), protected Capone in his final years
In danger: Had the mob learned Capone was senile, they would have had him killed

Protection: Capone's wife Mae (left, hiding from photographers), protected Capone (right) in his final years. Had the mob learned he was senile, they would have had him killed

Instead, he would walk around his mansion in his pajamas, trying to collect butterflies with his granddaughter.

'It was, in many ways, an ideal, middle-class Italian-American household where family came first,' Bair told the NY Post.

That mansion was sold for $7.4million in 2014 and is now being rented out for movies and private functions. 

Capone was fiercely protected by his wife Mae, who knew that if the reporters who camped out on their lawn found out he was talking about old business, the Outfit would have him killed.

And if his syphilis caused him to lash out, he would be determined to be breaking his parole and be hauled back into the slammer.

But Mae kept her husband safe with the emotional fortitude of any number of Capone's former heavies, and he lived out his final days in the mansion, dying in 1947, aged just 48, after a stroke, heart attack and pneumonia.

It was a muted end for the vicious mobster who fascinated America - and proof that all the henchmen in the world can't protect you from yourself.

The end: Capone (pictured in 1931) spent his final days walking in his pajamas with the mental age of a 12-year-old. He died in 1947 after a stroke, heart attack and pneumonia

The end: Capone (pictured in 1931) spent his final days walking in his pajamas with the mental age of a 12-year-old. He died in 1947 after a stroke, heart attack and pneumonia

Chicago

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