James Vincenzo Capone James Vincenzo Capone Richard James Hart (born Vincenzo Capone in Angri, Italy; March 28, 1892 – October 1, 1952) was the oldest brother of infamous Chicago gangster, Al Capone. Capone left home at age 16 and moved from Brooklyn to Nebraska, ostensibly to join a circus. He worked to lose his Brooklyn accent and tried to disguise his Italian ancestry as well. He enlisted in the United States Army in World War I, served in France, and earned a commission as a lieutenant. After the war, Capone legally changed his name to Richard James Hart, partly in honor of his
Al Capone and the Bowery Boys. He then joined the Brooklyn Rippers, and then the powerful Five Points Gang based in Lower Manhattan. During this time, he was employed and mentored by fellow racketeer Frankie Yale, a bartender in a Coney Island dance hall and saloon called the Harvard Inn. Capone inadvertently insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club and was slashed by her brother Frank Gallucio. The wounds led to the nickname "Scarface" which Capone loathed. When he was photographed, he hid the scarred left side of his face, saying that the injuries were war wounds.