Al Capone In the Panhandle

Al Capone and Destin

   During the midst of prohibition, a group of local business leaders in Tallahassee discovered that the notorious mobster Al Capone  was passing through town. Despite his place on the FBI’s “most wanted” list, a small crowd that included a few police officers enthusiastically welcomed the gangster into the capital city. His ability to be one step ahead of the law made him a folk hero to the common man. With the manner of a lofty celebrity, Al Capone simply rolled down the window of his fast-moving black limousine and waved to the crowd now cheering wildly. 
   Although was most known for his Chicago connection and Miami vacations, Al Capone was no stranger to the Florida Panhandle. It was in the sunshine state that Capone liked to rest. The Sunshine State was his getaway from cold winters and various assassination attempts, but it was also an important part of his vast criminal empire.

The coast of North Florida was where his bootleggers would make landfall, on their long dangerous journey smuggling in spirits from the Caribbean islands.
  “One of Al’s favorite recreation spots was Grayton Beach,” claimed Frank Pericola Editor of the Panama City News Herald. Likewise, the Valpariso Inn just past Fort Walton was another local joint Scarface enjoyed visiting. But, he was always well behaved, the last thing the famous man wanted was attention of any kind.
   Although Capone purchased a massive 14-room Miami Beach retreat under his wife’s name for $40,000 in 1928, he was always moving around the state. He made countless road trips along both coastlines while his mansion was undergoing $100,000 worth of renovations, including the additions of a swimming pool, boathouse and dock. According to local historian Tony Mennillo, one of Capone’s favorite travel destinations was the Emerald Coast given that it was likewise an ideal spot for bootlegging.
“It was desolate and hard to get to, it was known for its moonshine,” said Mennillo.
   During the 1920s, Destin was something of a retreat haven for bootleggers, including Capone. Just a few years ago, the Tampa Tribune had famously proclaimed the location Florida’s “Little Vegas” for its connections to illegal gambling. Locals say Capone would run liquor through the Choctawhatchee bay. That there was a special train located in nearby Defuniak that travelled along a straight shot to Chicago, coupled with the area’s speculated waterways, seemed to confirm forever a local theory that Capone hid a smuggling operation in plain sight.

   According to the book, “Salty Memories Along the Coastal Highway” written by Tony Mennillo, many locals in Defuniak proclaim with absolute certainty that Al Capone, the legendary mobster, was there as a frequent vacationer. The stories go that a man nicknamed “Big Al” who possessed many of the same mannerisms as Al Capone was believed to be him on holiday throughout the 1920s and early 30s. Big Al had his own black limousine, not unlike the one described speeding on the streets of Tallahassee that was confirmed to belong to Capone. He had his own driver and could be found playing marathon rounds of golf on newly trimmed Bermuda grass.
   Sometimes he would approach various locals to be his golf caddies for the day. The young men always accepted the offer because he was known to be a great tipper. After he got to know them a bit he would identify himself as Al Capone. After golfing, Big Al would always take the young caddies back to his clubhouse for a beer. If the bartender declined to give the teenage caddies a beer, the rage of Capone would be felt.
He would yell, “They’re with me and I said get ’em a beer.”

Governor Carlton and Al Capone 

   In hindsight, the state is incredibly fortunate that a man like Doyle E. Carlton  was governor during some of its most difficult periods. Between 1929 and 1933, Carlton faced four major natural disasters, the final collapse of Florida’s land boom, an infestation of the Mediterranean fruit fly which crippled the state’s citrus business, and the national great depression.

   Fearless is the best word to describe the state’s 25th governor. The moral governor whose critics labeled self-righteous once vetoed a pro gambling bill despite being offered $100,000 from the state’s organized crime to sign it into law.  Governor Carlton made a powerful enemy in Florida resident and notorious mafia boss Al Capone. Carlton’s public demand that Capone sale his Miami Beach home and leave the state, caused the mobster to threaten the Governor’s life. The threat was apparently so credible that President Herbert Hoover sent special FBI agents down to the governor's mansion to beef up security.

   According to some sources, this feud stems from the actions of the Governor following Capone’s return to the state after a prolong vacation in 1930. Capone was intending to return to his Palm Island home, and it didn’t take long for Doyle E. Carlton, to issue a statement banishing Capone from returning to Florida on March 19th, 1930. Governor Carlton instructed law enforcement to detain Capone on site and escort him to the state border with instructions not to return. Once you explore the track record of many panhandle sheriffs, it’s not too difficult to understand why the Governor’s wishes weren’t carried out. In fact the behavior of many law enforcement agents towards Capone, almost revering him as a celebrity, meant that he was untouchable.
 Capone was stopped in Fort Walton for speeding according to one retired police officer.  Though as it turns out no ticket was ever recorded. It’s been speculated that the on-duty officer may have either kept it as a souvenir or made it go away. It has only been recently that archivists at the Northwest Florida Heritage Museum have uncovered photos of Capone vacationing in Panama City, which as Diane Plack is quick to proudly point out is the first real concrete proof that Capone was ever here besides the oral histories of those that interacted with him.
There he is in black and white, captured as proof.
While Capone’s legacy is one of Murder and organized crime, his numerous visits to the Florida Panhandle were nothing short of electric to those who saw him. It was here in the Florida Panhandle that he could disappear from the stresses of smuggling bootlegged Whiskey. He would use many aliases during his long travels within the sunshine state, the most prevalent being “A. Brown.” The Mobster kingpin had several ties to the sunshine state, even owning vast property in Deerfield beach. But he also had business connections in Valparaiso and Florosa Florida. Rumor has it that he would run liquor brought in from Cuba across the Choctawhatchee Bay.

For some, the jury is still out as to whether Capone spent much if anytime in the panhandle, though others firmly believe this was his home away from home. What has never been disputed was his influence on smuggling throughout the state, and while some may challenge what his Florida vacation spots were, everyone agrees that members of his organization were located across the panhandle. One story that Diane Plank tells seems to confirm that the mobster’s presence in the panhandle was common knowledge. As the story goes, a family friend when she was a young girl was caught suddenly in a rough patch of weather as she was boating in her tiny schooner along the shore. She and the other members of her party ventured into a darkened and sculpted portion of the coast and their boat was overturned suddenly. They were crowded by several tall men wearing double breasted suits who were extremely curious but equally anxious to see them leave.

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