Noah GalutenIt's been 63 years since he died, but Al Capone is still causing trouble. The iconic gangster who made his name during prohibition is now at the center of a Capone family conflict over the rights to the recipe for his tomato sauce. WalletPop.com is reporting that a wide array of people– some in the Capone family and some not– are at the center of the dispute, claiming ownership over what the gangster himself called “gravy.”
All together, the story reads like some kind of lost Robert Altman script. Dominic Capone III is selling “Capone Family Secret” tomato sauce in select Chicago stores and via Paypal, stating that he is Al Capone's great nephew, having gotten the recipe from his grandfather. But he then goes on to say that his grandfather and Capone weren't actually brothers, but were close, and that he can't divulge where the last name came from because “…it's a little scandalous.”
Capone's Secret Sauce; Credit: CaponeFamilySecret.Com
It gets stranger. Another company is selling “Capone Sauce”, claiming to have gotten their recipe from the daughter of Al Capone's personal chef and housekeeper. Dominic, of course, says that Capone never had a personal chef.
So what do actual members of the Capone family want? Said Chris Capone, “At some point, the family will require a percentage of the proceeds to be donated to children's charities from anyone who begins to use the likeness and image of Al Capone, my grandfather, for profit.”
We're not sure who's right, but we do know that a plate of spaghetti sounds pretty darn good right now.
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