Most people don't know much about Al Capone except for what they see in movies and sensationalized headlines: that of a violent bootlegger whose name was among the most notorious during the days of Prohibition.
But one of the last people on Earth with actual memory of Al Capone, his niece Deirdre Marie Capone, doesn't see him this way and is trying to change how history views her uncle.
This Saturday, NYY Steak and Deirdre Capone pay tribute to her Uncle Al on his birthday by hosting a four-course Templeton Rye Whiskey Dinner at the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek.
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Capone and South Florida share a special connection. After serving his prison sentence at Alcatraz for tax evasion, Capone retired to a mansion in Miami-Dade County's Palm Island for nearly seven years before dying there in 1947.
Even though his niece Deirdre was only 7 years old when he died, she holds many fond memories of her uncle, and she wants to share them with the world. She's made several public appearances over the years dispelling what she considers an inaccurate version of her uncle's character. Despite Hollywood's previous depictions of her uncle, Deirdre herself alludes to a soon-to-be-released movie telling what she considers a more accurate story of her uncle's life. Deirdre tells more about her uncle at her website, UncleAlCapone.com.
She talks about the discrimination she faced when growing up with the last name of Capone in Chicago in the years following her uncle's death. She eventually married and moved to Minnesota with her husband in 1972 before eventually relocating to the Fort Myers area in Florida, where she's been living for the past 19 years.
Templeton whiskey was Capone's favorite, according to his niece. This Saturday, he would have been 116 years old. Clean Plate Charlie recently got a chance to talk with Deirdre about her uncle.
