The Al Capone of Libya

Comparison Essay # 103729

Criminology > Organized Crime Studies

This paper draws parallels between Libyan leader, Muammar al-Qaddafi and famous gangster, Al Capone.

1,743 words () | 8 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper provides a comparison of Al Capone, the Chicago gangster and leader of organized crime, and Muammar al-Qaddafi, the Libyan ruler. The paper shows how both Capone and Qaddafi were individuals that led an organization to control others on a large scale, using political and violent means to gain power. The paper explains that the correlations between the lives of Capone and Qaddafi are significant because they demonstrate the elements that are essential in creating future gangsters.

From the Paper:

"In the late 1890s the term gangster began to be used in the United States, referring to the member of a gang that committed criminal acts and that was not accepted in society ("Gangster, 2007; "Gangster defintion", 2007). Criminal acts could be as simple as stealing a newspaper or an apple from the corner fruit stand. To be a gangster at the time simply meant that the individual was bad and that those he associated with were bad as well. However, when Al Capone began to be noticed as someone that was the leader of organized crime he was labeled as public enemy number one and the term gangster took on a completely new meaning. A gangster, in the eyes of the American criminal justice system, was an individual that attempted to live above the law, made a living committing criminal acts, was violent, a menace to the society of law abiding citizens and was a member of a gang that was known as organized crime."

Sample of Sources Used:

Al Capone. (2007). Crime Library. Retrieved April 1, 2007, from http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/chapter_11.html
Bianco, Mirella. (1975). Gadafi: Voice from the Desert. London: Longman.
El-Kikhia, Mansour O. (1997). Libya's Qaddafi: The Politics of Contradiction. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Gangster, (2007). Answers.com. Retrieved April 1, 2007, from http://www.answers.com/topic/gangster
Gangster definition. (2007). Your dictionary.com. Retrieved April 1, 2007, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/g/g0036700.html