Capone's Wis. 'hideout' up for auction

WINTER, Wis., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin bank says it is promoting a foreclosed resort's ties to gangster Al Capone to boost interest in an auction among Chicagoans.

The Chippewa Valley Bank of Winter, Wis., is set to hold an Oct. 8 auction for the 407-acre property near Couderay, Wis., known as The Hideout because Capone, the infamous Chicago gang leader, built it as a fortified retreat in the 1920s to escape police harassment, The Chicago Tribune reported.

The bank promoted the northern Wisconsin facility in a Sunday Tribune ad touting it as "Al Capone's hideout retreat," noting it has a massive fireplace, a private, 37-acre lake, space for eight cars in the garage and a guard tower.

"I suppose we thought maybe somebody who still had the nostalgia of it would be interested," Chippewa Vice President Joe Kinnear told the newspaper.