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Al Capone's Hideout In Couderay, Wisconsin, Auctioned For $2,6M
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by Yuliya Talmazan | October 7, 2009 at 01:16 pm
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The hideout place of the notorious Chicago gangster and racketeer Alphonse (Al) Capone in Couderay, Wisconsin, is being auctioned off for a prodigious $2.6 million. One of America's most well known mobsters, Capone was charged with tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to 11 years in Alcatraz prison, where he died in 1947. During his lifetime, Capone was targeted by rival gangs and had to have stay overs at different hideout places. The property auctioned off in Couderey was one of them. It was foreclosed in April of 2008.
The 407-acre wooded site, complete with guard towers and a stone house with 18-inch-thick walls, will go on the auction block tomorrow at a starting bid of $2.6 million.
The property is rumoured to have been the transition point for illegal alcohol distribution network during the Prohibition era in the 30's. Reportedly, former Capone's hideout still bears the remnants of the gangster age -- guard towers, foot-thick walls and secret shoot holes.
"This guy really has incredible fame power," said John Russick, senior curator at the Chicago History Museum. "He became this icon for a whole profession of underworld figures, and people are fascinated with that."
"Everyone is patiently waiting to see what's going to happen with the place," she said. "It would be nice if it fell into the hands of someone who was wiling to reopen and carry on the tradition."
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Canadian Tourism (not verified)at 13:31 on October 7th, 2009
That's crazy!Little-known fact: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (aka. Little Chicago) and its tunnels also served as a key hideout for Capone and other bootleggers in the 20's and 30's. It was used when arriving direct from Chicago, along the Soo Line.The only reason I know about this, is because I was part of a team that worked on . You learn something new every day, I guess.