Al Capone died in 1947. He had served his sentence for tax evasion and moved to Florida by then, broke and physically diminished. When he died, Capone had no known will. He had no tangible assets, of course, but he did have his mobster, St. Valentine's Day Massacre, "public enemy" reputation and his likeness to pass on. And that's causing a problem some 63 years later.

The current drama involves two legitimate descendants, Capone's granddaughter and his great niece, and a man who is claiming to be Capone's grandson.

The family generally tried to distance themselves from the Capone legacy. The great niece had been ostracized as a girl, and she claims she lost a job when the connection was discovered. Her father committed suicide when he was refused admission to the Chicago Bar -- refused admission even though he had never been involved in his Uncle Al's criminal enterprises.

But the name has earned a certain cachet in recent years, and a resurgence of interest in Capone, Dillinger and other mobsters of the 1920s has made it more profitable to be a Capone. The grand niece, now a Florida retiree, re-adopted the Capone name and wrote a memoir. And the man who discovered his father had been Capone's illegitimate son also added the name to his own, after he wrote a book.

The "usurper" grandson wants Capone's body exhumed so DNA tests can be run. The great niece does not want her uncle's grave desecrated. And Capone's granddaughter would rather the whole thing be dropped and she and her family be allowed to remember her grandfather as the good family man he was to them.

Capone's image, his name, his reputation ... it should be worth a lot to his descendants. But it's up for grabs, even if the DNA tests confirm there's another branch of the family.

All because he didn't have a will.

Resource: Ottawa Citizen "Capone's Family Feuds Over Mobster's Tales" 8/23/10