Mob Museum acquires Al Capone's 'Sweetheart' Colt pistol for collection

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Mob Museum in Las Vegas has acquired one of the most significant belongings once owned by notorious gangster Al Capone.

The museum announced Thursday that it purchased Capone's Colt 1911 .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, which his family claimed he called "Sweetheart."

It comes with a letter of provenance from Diane Capone, Al Capone's granddaughter, and has been authenticated by the Office of Colt Historian.

MORE ON NEWS 3 |Former Clark County public administrator Robert Telles' murder trial set to begin

According to the museum, Al Capone left the gun to his wife, Mae, who passed it down to their son, Albert "Sonny" Capone. Sonny made modifications to the gun, and after he died in 2004, the pistol came into the possession of his daughters.

They sold the gun at auction in 2021, and it now has a permanent home in The Mob Museum's artifact collection thanks to the generosity of a private contributor.

"It is a great pleasure to learn that The Mob Museum has procured and will be displaying my grandfather’s favorite handgun," Diane Capone said in a statement. "He said that ‘she has saved my life on more than one occasion,’ and he referred to it as the ‘Sweetheart.’ My sister Barbara and I are delighted it has found a permanent home in such a remarkable museum."

The museum says the family lore about the gun, including the nickname "Sweetheart," hasn't been independently verified.

Al Capone was infamous for his roles in bootlegging, gambling and other illegal rackets. He is believed to be responsible for the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre and remains one of the most enduring figures of America's Prohibition era.

The museum says it will announce when the gun will be displayed to the public in the coming months.

ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmqJ6Wl7KiwI6mpptlnarApsHMZpicqaWev6a%2FjJqjZpuRpbyvsdJmqrCdlam1pq3RrWScp5yperG10q2mpWWWpL9ur86lo56bpJ68r3nMmp2imV2kv6itzaKxnpxdmL%2BqucRmn6KrpKS%2FunnGmqWgq6Sav26tzJ6popuRo65uv86uq6GdoqN6r7HVmpuaZZOqubXB0Z4%3D