In 1939, news reached Alois that Al Capone had been released from prison. Years behind bars combined with a devastating illness had turned the mob boss into a bitter man, hungry for revenge. Everyone became a suspect in his eyes — including Alois, whose sudden disappearance Capone interpreted as an admission of guilt. The ground in America was starting to feel uncomfortably hot for Alois.
He headed to Havana from where he had once arranged rum shipments to Chicago bars during Prohibition. He was convinced he could easily hide on the island. But he soon realized that Capone’s reach extended all the way to Cuba: “I can't stay here long, nor can I rely on my old contacts. The risk of being exposed is too great.” Help came from an unexpected ally — Alois met Ernest Hemingway at the El Floridita bar. Hemingway advised him to disappear to Mexico and gave him the contact of his painter friend, Diego Rivera. With hope for a new beginning and a scrap of paper in his pocket that just might save his life, Alois set off on another adventure.
Cellar Bird