Certainly the fact that any major gangster who ever lived has been the subject of a dozen books and had at least one feature film made about them suggests that we are very interested in their lives. Is it possible that most of us, at some point, secretly crave a little more risk and excitement in our lives? Do these highly dangerous individuals represent a world that part of us would perhaps like to experience, just for a moment? With lifestyles that are often synonymous with glamour, wealth and high living it is easy to see the appeal. As August is our Crime Month, here's a look into the world of those who chose to live - and die - outside the law.

Al 'Scarface' Capone - The original gangster
Perhaps the most notorious - and popular - gangster of the 20th century, Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born in 1899 and his life of crime started early: as a teenager he joined two gangs and engaged in petty crime. When he moved to Chicago, his career took off and by 1922 Capone was second in command to eminent local gangster Johnny Torrio, After an attempt on his life, Torrio handed over power to his deputy and during Prohibition, Capone controlled the Chicago underworld and raked in millions from illegal gambling, prostitution and alcohol; he was also largely immune to prosecution due to witness intimidation and the bribing of city officials. By the end of the 1920s Al Capone was on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list, especially after he allegedly orchestrated seven of the most notorious gangland killings of the century, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The fall of Capone famously came thanks to Prohibition Bureau agent Eliot Ness and his hand picked team of incorruptible U.S. Treasury agents "The Untouchables", when he was convicted of income tax evasion and sent to the notorious island prison of Alcatraz, where he slowly lost his mind. Released in 1939 a broken man, he retreated to Florida, where he died following a stroke in 1947.

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel - the celebrity gangster
Benjamin Hymen Siegelbaum was born in New York, and quickly took to a life of petty crime and bootlegging. Success moved Siegel to the West Coast of America, where he won many friends and associates in Hollywood. Siegel was a notorious womaniser, engaging in a string of high-profile affairs, but he was also a textbook sociopath. In his mind, other people were there to be used by him without remorse, which was demonstrated by his long record of robbery, rape and murder. Ultimately his downfall came from using Mob money to try and build a star- studded casino empire in Las Vegas, which failed spectacularly. Suspected of stealing money from Mob investors on the east coast, it was decided that Bugsy's time was up. On June 22, 1947 a hitman shot him in the head with as he read the Los Angeles Times at his home. Siegel's sudden death is seen by many to represent the end of the Classic Mob Era.

The Krays - The twin gangsters
Born in 1933, Ronald and Reginald Kray were twin brothers and the foremost organised crime leaders in North and East London in the 1960s. Raised in the East End, both boys had some success as amateur boxers, before enlisting in the army. This proved disastrous and the twins wound up in a military prison for numerous crimes. It was here that Ronnie began to show signs of antisocial personality disorder. Following their release they returned to London and by the end of the 1950s, the Krays were involved in hijacking, armed robbery and arson. In the 1960s they each added murder to their list of crimes, but were also prosperous nightclub owners and became part of the 'swinging' London scene, welcoming the fame that accompanied this lifestyle. At the same time some of their criminal activities came to police attention, but they had such a reputation for violence that witnesses would not come forward. Eventually both twins were arrested in 1968 following the build-up of a substantial body of evidence against them. Once arrested, witnesses came forward and both were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 30 years. Ron was certified insane and died in a mental institution in 1995. Reg was eventually freed on in 2000 on compassionate grounds as a result of inoperable cancer. That year Reg Kray died a free man.

Charlie Richardson - The respectable gangster
In the 1960s London was not just ruled by The Krays. True enough, the deadly twins owned the north of the river, but to the south the Richardsons were in charge. On the surface, Charlie Richardson seemed the model citizen - he paid his taxes, gave employment to people and helped the elderly people in his 'Manor'. Indeed, he could have been a great success as a straight businessman, but he worked his way up to becoming a notorious mob boss, using torture and violence to get his way. On 30 July 1966 - the day England won the World Cup - Charlie Richardson was arrested and tried in what became known as the 'torture trial' - a case so significant that even today the files remain sealed, while each of the twelve jurors was given a personal bodyguard. Charlie Richardson was sentenced to 25 years in prison and was released after 18 in 1984. He then worked in The City, which rather ironically, he claimed to find considerably more dishonest than any of his previous work!

John Gotti - The media gangster
Born in 1940, Gotti was known as The Dapper Don and The Teflon Don, and was the boss of the Gambino crime family, New York's largest and most feared mafia family. Gotti started as a mob assassin and murdered his way to the position of Gambino family godfather. Extremely popular in his Queens neighbourhood, he organized free lavish street parties and festivals, and became something of a celebrity, revelling in media attention. Gotti was arrested several times throughout his career, and it is known that he bribed or threatened jurors in several trials. The FBI bugged his club, phones, and other places of business, and he was eventually caught on tape discussing a number of murders and other criminal activities. Gotti was arrested in 1990, after his underboss, Salvatore "Sammy The Bull" Gravano, testified against him. Convicted for numerous crimes he was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 23 1992. Ultimately, Gotti met his end in a hospital bed, when he died of throat cancer in 2002.

Henry Hill - The wiseguy gangster
"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." So began the classic Scorsese film "Goodfellas", which portrayed the life of Henry Hill, the original wiseguy turned mob turncoat. Henry Hill was born in Brooklyn, which was controlled by the Lucchese capo Paul Vario and as the film suggests, he was drawn to the lifestyle from a young age. Henry started off doing small errands for Vario and became well known for his ability to make money out of everything. After a brief stint in the army, he returned to New York in 1963 and resumed his life of crime. He went to prison for four and a half years after roughing up the brother of a typist for the FBI, but being in prison allowed Henry to start drug dealing. After his release, Henry started a lucrative narcotics operation that was against 'Family' law, and he got hooked on his own cocaine, causing him to be sloppy and get caught. Rather than incur the wrath of 'The Family' He chose to become a government informant, ratting out among others, Vario himself. By becoming a turncoat he was forced to go into hiding with his family, but today, Henry is alive and well, appearing on talk shows and writing books. Most recently, Henry has released a cookbook for wiseguys with his favorite Italian recipes!

Did you know?

Al Capone featured in the comic book, Tintin in America, the only case of a real person appearing as a character in the Tintin adventure stories!

The character of Moe Green in The Godfather was based on Bugsy Siegel.

The Krays were the inspiration behind the Monty Python "Piranha Brothers" sketch, which featured one of the Pirana siblings imagining that he was being pursued by a massive hedgehog called 'Spiny Norman'.

In the film based on the life of Charlie Richardson, the lead was played by Luke Goss, the former drummer of the frankly dreadful 80's boy band Bros!

The 1996 biopic Gotti was the highest rated original TV movie in HBO history at that time. Its success convinced HBO to cast film co-stars, Dominic Chianese, Vincent Pastore and Tony Sirico in a series in development at the time called The Sopranos.

In Goodfellas the word "f**k" is used 246 times - mostly by Joe Pesci.