Papers support Capone car stories

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MOKENA, Ill., July 23 (UPI) -- An Illinois man who paid $5,000 for a car purported to have been owned by a lawyer for Al Capone said he found evidence that seems to back up the legends.

Bob O'Malley, 86, of Mokena said he purchased the 1928 Franklin Airman 12B about 30 years ago and dismissed the Capone legends, including a story about a woman being shot and killed in the backseat during a shootout, as mere myths, the Chicago SouthtownStar reported Friday.

"I thought it was bull," he said.

However, O'Malley said he discovered while restoring the car that putty had been used to patch multiple bullet holes in one of the quarter panels. He said paperwork beneath the rear seat revealed the identity of the original owner, Vincent Ponic.

O'Malley said he now believes Ponic was a member of Capone's legal team.

"Capone probably had 15 to 20 lawyers," he said. "He never had just one."

O'Malley said he doesn't know the real story behind the bullet holes or whether Capone ever rode in the car.

"I wonder sometimes," O'Malley said. "But he probably was riding in Cadillacs and Packards."