MovieChat Forums > The Untouchables (1959) Discussion > Alphonse Capone anagram

Alphonse Capone anagram

posted 17 years ago by charlizard47
3 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone recall the fake name that was a re-arrangement of the letters in "Alphonse Capone"?

I think it was in the pilot episode and I always wondered if Capone used it in real life as an alias or if it was just a plot device for the series.

[–] joehrobertsjr 17 years ago

It was Paolo Spechanne.

[–] charlizard47 17 years ago

It was Paolo Spechane.

joehrobertsjr:

Thanks for your response. I saw that in the 70s on reruns. Armed with your information, I found out it was from episode 40, The Big Train (part 1).

From tv.com plot summary:

$5-million has been transferred from Capone's liquidations to Naples, Italy, to a Mr. "Paolo Spechanne"; Ferguson points out that's an alias for "Alphonse Capone" with the letters rearranged.

Do you know if Capone used this alias in real life?

[–] joehrobertsjr 17 years ago

Al Capone's most frequent alias in real life was Al Brown. He used this one so frequently that most Chicago newspapers referred to his gang as the Al Brown Mob until the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. He might have used Paolo Spechanne but it's doubtful. That one most likely came from the imagination of a Hollywood screenwriter.