alternatehistory.com

I was listening to some 70s rock songs the other day, and it occurred to me that the song by Paper Lace, The Night Chicago Died, contains a bit of alternate history.

"In the heat of a summer night
In the land of the dollar bill,
When the town of Chicago died,
They talk about it still.

When a man named Al Capone
Tried to make that town his own,
And he sent his gang to war
With the forces of the Law."

Of course, nothing of the sort ever occurred, in real history. Al Capone was a businessman, albeit a violent one, and the last thing he wanted was an armed showdown with the government.

But what if the version presented by the song had occurred in reality? Perhaps the Depression is a good deal worse, and the country is precariously perched on the verge of revolution, thus encouraging Al to think he can pull off a coup? Perhaps Al's syphilis progresses a little faster and he goes a little crazy, and is able to convince his lieutenants (with the help of a Louisville Slugger, perhaps?) to back him in an attempt to literally take over Chicago by force? Furthermore, he is able to convince most of the other gangs to go along with him, giving him enough muscle to take on the government with a small chance of success.

However, as the song says, the gangsters lose...

"The sound of the battle rang through the streets of the Old East Side, until the last of the hoodlum gang had surrendered up or died."

What would be the impact of all this on the history of organized crime in the U.S. in the remainder of the 20th century? I can see at least a couple of obvious ones.

1) Obviously, if the gangs have tried to literally overthrow the government, the government is going to be a LOT tougher in it's efforts to root them out. They might even be successful, although I doubt it.

2)Assuming the government is not successful in totally destroying the Mafia and other organized crime gangs, I think you see the gangs go even deeper "underground" than in OTL, making them even harder to combat in the 1970s-1990s when they get involved in the narcotics trade.

Any other thoughts?
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