Gangster Capone beats rap again

MIAMI, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The passing of 80 years didn't help prosecutors of 1930s Chicago mobster Al Capone, who once again failed to nail him for perjury in a re-enactment in Miami.

A mock trial was held in the same Dade County Courthouse where the real Capone successfully defended himself decades ago. Dressed in period-appropriate attire, the participants played out the trial in which Capone contended he was being deprived of his right to walk the streets.

Miami's public safety director at the time, S.D. McCreary, had issued an "arrest on sight" order for Capone, who was living in Miami Beach at the time. The actor playing McCreary told the packed courtroom Capone was a "menace to the good people of our fair city."

But Capone had contended he was arrested and held in secrecy without cause.

"They held me in a back jail and didn't let me call my attorney," the actor playing Capone told the mock jury, reciting from the gangster's original testimony.

And just like back in the 1930s, Capone beat the rap and walked out of court a free man.

The re-creation was the work of Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Scott J. Silverman, official historian for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, which put on the event as part of its centennial celebration.