James Vincenzo Capone

Richard James "Two-Gun" Hart (born Vincenzo Capone; Italian: [vinˈtʃɛntso kaˈpoːne]; March 28, 1892 – October 1, 1952) was an Italian-American sharpshooter and prohibition agent noted for his cowboy style,[1] and the older brother of the gangsters Al Capone, Frank Capone and Ralph Capone.

Richard Hart
Born
Vincenzo Capone

(1892-03-28)March 28, 1892
Angri, Campania, Kingdom of Italy
DiedOctober 1, 1952(1952-10-01) (aged 60)
Homer, Nebraska, U.S.
Resting placeOmaha Valley Cemetery, Nebraska, U.S,
NationalityItalian
Other namesTwo-Gun Hart
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationSharpshooter
OrganizationBureau of Indian Affairs
Spouse(s)
Kathleen Winch
(
m. 1919)
Children3
RelativesAl Capone (brother)
Frank Capone (brother)
Ralph Capone (brother)

Early life

Capone was born in 1892, in Angri, Province of Salerno, Italy[2]. He was the first of the nine children of Gabriele Capone, a barber, and Teresa Raiola, a seamstress. In 1895 with his family, including his brother Ralph, he emigrated in the United States, settling in downtown Brooklyn. He went by the Americanized form of his first name, James, and during his early years in America were born his siblings Frank, Al, Ermina, John, Albert, Matthew Capone and Mafalda Maritote.

Career

Capone left home at age 16 then fled New York City, joined a circus as a roustabout and eventually adopted the last name of his idol, William S. Hart, the foremost star of Western silent films in the 1920s. He also adopted the actor’s persona as much as possible, "even earning the 'Two-Gun' moniker long attached to the motion picture star".[1]

He worked to lose his Brooklyn accent and tried to disguise his Italian ancestry. He enlisted in the United States Army during World War I, served in France, and earned a commission as a lieutenant.[3]

After the war, Capone legally changed his name to Richard James Hart, partly in honor of his favorite cowboy film star, William S. Hart. He married in 1919 Kathleen Winch, and they had three sons: Richard, Sherman and Harry Hart. He soon became a federal prohibition agent, making his home in Homer, Nebraska. Following a series of successful raids against bootleggers, he gained the nickname of "Two-Gun" Hart.[4]

In 1926, Hart became a special agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was assigned to the Cheyenne River Indian reservation in South Dakota. While there he once had the duty of protecting President Calvin Coolidge and his family on their visit to the Black Hills.[4] He was later transferred to the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. He was credited with the arrest of at least 20 wanted killers while in that area, besides pursuing Indian law breakers and hunting down moonshiners and busting their stills. He spent some time as a law enforcement officer on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Plummer, Idaho.[3]

He learned of his siblings' life of crime from newspapers, when their exploits became national news.[1]

Later years

He returned to Homer as a prohibition agent, in 1931. With the repeal of Prohibition two years later, he became a justice of the peace. In the early 1950s, newspaper reporters learned of his kinship to the Chicago gangster.[4] He died in Homer, Nebraska, in 1952, of a heart attack at the age of 60.

His life and career were fictionalized in the 1990 TNT TV-movie The Lost Capone, in which he is portrayed by Adrian Pasdar.

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References
  1. DeArment, R. K. "'Two-Gun' Hart: The Prohibition Cowboy". History.net. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  2. User, Super (June 17, 2013). "Al Capone, il gangster americano piu' famoso del mondo era di origini angresi". Le tre scimmiette. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  3. "truTV | Funny Because it's tru". truTV. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012.
  4. Hendley, Nate (2016-09-06). The Big Con: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts, and Swindles in American History: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts, and Swindles in American History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610695862.
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