William Colbeck (gangster) and no one was charged in his shooting. On the strength of the testimony of Egan gangster Ray Renard, Colbeck and eight of his men were convicted on November 15, 1924, and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. While in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, one of his cell mates was Chicago gang boss Al Capone, who assisted him in his work with the Catholic chaplain. Legend has it the two hit it off so well they planned to go into business together once they were both paroled. These plans were foiled by Capone's transfer to Alcatraz in 1934. Paroled
Al Capone along and refused to allow Capone to plead guilty for a reduced sentence. On the second day of the trial, Judge Wilkerson overruled objections that a lawyer could not confess for his client, saying that anyone making a statement to the government did so at his own risk. Wilkerson deemed that the 1930 letter to federal authorities could be admitted into evidence from a lawyer acting for Capone. Much was later made of other evidence, such as witnesses and ledgers, but these strongly implied Capone's control rather than stating it. The ledgers were inadmissible on grounds of statute of limitations,