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Al Capone's favorite gun, personal items head to auction

Al Capone Heirlooms Auction
Al Capone Heirlooms Auction
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Al Capone is infamous for having been a ruthless mob boss, but one of his granddaughters says Capone's softer side will shine through when the family auctions some of his personal belongings in October.

Items heading for the block include a diamond-encrusted pocket watch, family photographs and his favorite handgun.

Al Capone Heirlooms Auction
Brian Witherell displays a Colt .45-caliber pistol that once belonged to mob boss Al Capone, at Witherell's Auction House in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

The Prohibition-era gangster’s three surviving granddaughters will also sell a letter he wrote to their father and his only child from the now-closed federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. That's where he served 11 years after his 1934 tax evasion conviction in Chicago.

The auction will be held on Oct. 8 in Sacramento.