Untouchables (law enforcement)

The Untouchables was a group of 11 U.S. federal law-enforcement agents, led by Eliot Ness, who, from 1929 to 1931, worked to end Al Capone's illegal activities by aggressively enforcing Prohibition and tax laws against Capone and his organization. In their conduct, they became legendary for being fearless and incorruptible, earning the nickname "Untouchables."

The mission of the Untouchables

Upon taking office in 1929, the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover, charged his Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon, with bringing down Al Capone. The federal government approached the problem by attacking Capone's organization on two fronts. The first front was mounted by criminal investigators of the Treasury's Bureau of Internal Revenue, who would examine the financial records of Capone and his subordinates to see if they could be prosecuted for tax evasion. This unit of IRS agents was headed by Frank J. Wilson under the close supervision of Elmer Irey.

The second front would consist of a special unit of the Bureau of Prohibition, then a branch of the Department of Justice, who would attack Capone's beer and liquor empire by raiding speakeasies, stills, and, particularly, breweries. The unit's main purpose was twofold: to make it apparent that law enforcement was indeed still active against Capone, whose opulent lifestyle was turning many people against him as the Great Depression progressed, and to deprive Capone of his sources of the income he needed to pay the corrupting graft that was his greatest protection against prosecution. Ness was chosen to head this elite squad.

Raids against stills and breweries began immediately, and within six months, Ness claimed to have seized breweries worth over one million dollars. An extensive wire-tapping operation was the main source of information for the raids.

An attempt by Capone to bribe Ness's agents was seized on by Ness for publicity, leading to the media nickname "The Untouchables."^[1]

With the conclusion of the Capone case, "The Untouchables" were disbanded and Ness, in recognition of his work, was promoted to Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau for Chicago.

Members

Because corruption was endemic among law-enforcement agents, Ness combed records of all Prohibition Agents to create a reliable team, initially of 50, later reduced to 15, and finally to just 11 men.

The initial nine were:

• Lyle Chapman, former Colgate University football player, tactician, and investigator
• Bernard V. Cloonan, a muscular, Irish agent, known for his strength
• Martin J. Lahart, another muscular, Irish boxer and sports enthusiast
• Thomas Friel, former Pennsylvania state trooper
• William Gardner, Chippewa, former athlete, former soldier, lawyer, oldest member at age 50
• Michael King, deceptively ordinary looking analyst and tactician
• Joseph Leeson, expert driver with speciality of tailing
• Paul W. Robsky, short and unobtrusive wire-tapping expert
• Samuel M. Seager, former Sing Sing death row Corrections Officer

Followed by:

• Jim Seeley, former private investigator.
• Albert H. Wolff, transferred to Chicago from the Kentucky hills shortly after the St. Valentine's Day massacre.

Also deserving of mention is:

• Frank Basile, a former convict whom Ness reformed, killed in action.^[2] Ness' friend, sometime assistant, and driver, was often present at the brewery raids,^[1][3] even though he was not an agent.^[4]

Adaptations

• The Untouchables (1957 book), on which Ness and Oscar Fraley collaborated
• The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
• The Scarface Mob (1959) - A theatrically-released compliation film of the 1959 TV series's original two-part pilot episode
• The Untouchables (film)
• The Revenge of Al Capone (1989) - The first TV movie sequel to the 1959 TV series
• The Return of Eliot Ness (1991) - The second and final TV movie sequel to the 1959 TV series
• The Untouchables (1993 TV series)
• The Untouchables: Capone Rising (TBA) - A forthcoming prequel-of-sorts to the 1987 film concerning the origin story of Al Capone

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Crime Library about Untouchables
2. ^ Eliot Ness and The Untouchables background, on Storeplay
3. ^ (Fun) Trivia on The Real Untouchables
4. ^ War, Politics, and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film, by Marc Dipaolo, in Google Books

External links

• Crime Library about Untouchables
• Dusty Roads of an FBI era, about Eliot Ness And The FBI
• TIME, about The Untouchables
• Free Information Society, Biography of Elliot Ness
• (Fun) Trivia on The Real Untouchables
• another Biography of Elliot Ness
• Eliot Ness and The Untouchables background, on Storeplay
• War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film, by Marc Dipaolo, in Google Books