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164:, the Untouchables planned their activities to stop Capone. Ness was ordered to lead raids against the Outfit's illegal breweries and distilleries, depriving Capone of the income he needed to pay the corrupting graft that was his greatest protection against prosecution, while also gathering evidence that could be used to prosecute Capone and his associates for
232:
Because corruption was endemic among law-enforcement officials, Ness searched records of all
Prohibition agents to create a reliable team. The initial group, aside from Ness himself, numbered six. Over the course of the investigation, some agents left the squad for various reasons, while others were
219:
refused to accept
Johnson's agreement and, once Capone changed his pleas, brought the tax case to trial. Although Capone would never be prosecuted on the Prohibition charges, that indictment formed the basis of a tax suit brought by the federal government following Capone's conviction for income tax
223:
Ness and the
Untouchables continued to attack the Outfit's beer and liquor empire during and after Capone's trial, their efforts resulting in estimated lost income in excess of $ 9 million. In recognition of this work, Ness was promoted to Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau for Chicago in
179:
The squad located several Capone breweries and distilleries in and around
Chicago and began raiding them in March 1931. Within six months, Ness's agents had destroyed bootlegging operations worth an estimated $ 500,000 (the equivalent of $ 10 million in 2023 dollars) and representing an
200:
In June 1931, Capone was indicted first for income tax evasion and then for five thousand counts of conspiracy to violate the
Volstead Act, the latter based on evidence gathered by Ness and his Untouchables. Capone pled guilty to all charges after George Johnson agreed to recommend a
180:
additional $ 2 million in lost income for Capone (equivalent to around $ 40 million in 2023). Their efforts reportedly inflicted significant financial damage on Capone and his organization while Frank Wilson and the
Intelligence Unit worked to build their tax evasion case.
138:
In late 1930, Attorney
General Mitchell, impatient with Johnson's lack of progress on the Capone case, decided to implement President Hoover's idea for sending a small squad of Prohibition agents to break up the Capone gang. Johnson selected twenty-seven-year-old
241:
In June 1931, after Capone pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the
National Prohibition Act, the Prohibition Bureau credited ten agents with building the case against him. These may be considered the core members of the Untouchables:
344:
Al "Wallpaper" Wolff, a
Chicago Prohibition agent who served under Ness after the St.Valentines Day Massacre & was one of the youngest members in the Untouchables. Al was the last living untouchable and died in
358:
Frank Basile, a former bootlegger who served as Ness's informant and driver after being arrested for bribery. Although Basile assisted Ness during an earlier investigation of a Capone-connected mob in
224:
1932. By that point, the
Untouchables had essentially been disbanded, though Ness would continue to lead raids against Outfit breweries and distilleries until the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.
143:, a special agent with the Prohibition Bureau who had played key roles on the Chicago Heights case and an investigation into Ralph Capone's bootlegging operations, to head this elite squad.
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49:
laws against his organization. Legendary for being fearless and incorruptible, they earned the nickname "The Untouchables" after several agents refused large bribes from members of the
332:
to his personal All-Time All-America Team. A former soldier and lawyer, Gardner was among the first agents Ness selected for the team, but he soon left the squad for personal reasons.
311:
Carl Hambach, the last "Untouchable" prohibition agent to retire. A 38 year veteran who gained the nickname "Mr Alcohol Tax", and was the agent who put Capone onboard the train to
56:
Due to its significant success and enduring legacy, the unit has subsequently had a lasting impact on the techniques and methods of modern organized crime law enforcement units.
737:
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318:
Don L. Kooken, described by Ness as "a former trapper and expert shot". His obituary described him as "the last surviving member of the T-Men Untouchables".
149:
was the Director of the BOI's Northwest District, including all of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. Harney oversaw the operations of
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bootlegging gang allied with the Capone mob had uncovered financial records suggesting members of the Chicago Outfit could be found guilty of
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once mentioned by Ness as a participant in the investigation, though no contemporary evidence establishing his existence is known to exist.
123:
of tax fraud in April 1930, but they lacked sufficient evidence to charge Capone when Loesch met with Hoover. In June 1930, Special Agent
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and A. Brad Schwartz identify these as fictional characters possibly inspired by Bernard Cloonan, who was also suspected of corruption.
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approached the president in March 1930, asking his help in bringing down Al Capone. Hoover, facing the political fallout of the
745:
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E. A. Moore, a member of the initial six but not a full agent, who left after apparently failing to qualify for civil service.
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Robert D. Sterling, a longtime Prohibition agent and the eldest of the core ten, who only served on the team for three weeks.
172:. Ness selected several agents, most from outside Chicago, whom he believed to be trustworthy, before beginning an extensive
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Failed attempts by members of the Capone mob to bribe or intimidate Ness and his agents inspired Charles Schwarz of the
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197:. George Johnson adopted the nickname and promoted it to the press, establishing it as the squad's unofficial title.
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Given the Untouchables' enduring fame, other names have often been attached to the squad in error. These include:
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Other agents known to have served with the squad, but who were not named among its primary members, include:
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Martin J. Lahart, a close friend of Ness's from Chicago, who had worked with him on previous investigations.
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a plan for attacking large bootlegging gangs with small teams of Prohibition agents working under special
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Bernard V. "Barney" Cloonan, a muscular Irish agent known for his strength and investigative experience.
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Ulric H. Berard, another member of the initial six who only served with the team for a brief period.
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Operating out of Room 308 of the Transportation Building at 608 S. Dearborn Street, in what is now
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to begin calling them "untouchables," a term Schwarz borrowed from newspaper stories about the
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Paul W. Robsky, a pilot and daring raider from South Carolina. (He later collaborated with
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George Steelman and Arnold Grant, mentioned in Oscar Fraley and Paul Robsky's book
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Marion A.R. King, a talented undercover agent and the youngest member of the squad.
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At that time, Capone was already under investigation by agents from the Treasury's
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as members of the squad who were dismissed for accepting bribes. Ness biographers
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Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago
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84:. Neither Mellon nor Mitchell moved to implement Hoover's plan until attorney
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362:, he was murdered in December 1928, before the Untouchables were formed.
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brought on as manpower shortages within the Prohibition Bureau allowed.
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521:"Aug 22, 1930, page 45 - The Standard Union at Brooklyn Public Library"
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115:. Agents of the Treasury Department's Intelligence Unit, serving under
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The Strength of the Wolf, The Secret History of America's War on Drugs
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42:
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96:, instructed his administration to make the Capone case a priority.
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Our History (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)
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Joseph D. Leeson, an expert driver with the specialty of tailing.
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a heavily fictionalized account of the Capone investigation.)
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324:, Native American former athlete and football star at the
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were special agents, also known as "dry agents," of the
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Dusty Roads of an FBI era, about Eliot Ness And The FBI
269:
Warren E. Stutzman, an ex-Pennsylvania police officer.
1012:
403:
341:
Thomas J. Friel, a former Pennsylvania state trooper.
157:at Treasury out of the Chicago Prohibition Office.
743:Free Information Society, Biography of Elliot Ness
119:, used this evidence to convict Capone's brother
103:. In 1929, an investigation led by U.S. attorney
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638:. New York: Julian Messner, Inc. pp. 48–50.
45:'s illegal activities by aggressively enforcing
1074:History of law enforcement in the United States
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176:operation to gather information for the raids.
669:"Albert Wolff, Last of Ness's Men, Dies at 95"
465:Collins, Max Allan; Schwartz, A. Brad (2018).
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127:was placed in charge of this investigation.
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471:(1st ed.). New York: William Morrow.
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492:Sroka, Scott Leeson (October 16, 2011).
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41:, who, from 1930 to 1932, worked to end
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16:American anti-alcohol trafficking agents
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710:"Albert Wolff, Last of 'Untouchables'"
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64:Shortly after taking office in 1929,
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162:Chicago's Printer's Row neighborhood
603:Hambach, Carl (November 27, 1966).
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13:
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215:-year sentence. But Federal Judge
14:
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567:from the original on May 29, 2023
256:football player and investigator.
72:, gave Secretary of the Treasury
1069:Prohibition in the United States
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1001:The Untouchables of Elliot Mouse
755:another Biography of Elliot Ness
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259:Samuel Maurice Seager, a former
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153:and the other Untouchables and
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596:
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70:President of the United States
1:
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284:The Last of the Untouchables,
738:TIME, about The Untouchables
653:. No. 17. May 30, 1959.
605:"Capone-era-agent-to-retire"
374:The Last of the Untouchables
7:
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10:
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890:Bureau of Internal Revenue
590:"CPI Inflation Calculator"
252:Lyle B. Chapman, a former
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113:evading federal income tax
101:Bureau of Internal Revenue
59:
35:U.S. Bureau of Prohibition
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912:
877:
851:
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563:. Sandmeyer's Bookstore.
561:"Printer's Row Fun Facts"
94:Wall Street Crash of 1929
90:Chicago Crime Commission
391:The Untouchables (film)
82:United States attorneys
326:Carlisle Indian School
135:
26:
25:Eliot Ness around 1933
885:Bureau of Prohibition
748:May 28, 2020, at the
365:Jim Seeley, a former
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76:and Attorney General
24:
634:Ness, Eliot (1957).
545:Valentine, Douglas.
494:"Revisionist theory"
367:private investigator
266:corrections officer.
134:Mugshot of Al Capone
105:George E. Q. Johnson
609:The Chicago Tribune
78:William D. Mitchell
900:Elmer Lincoln Irey
674:The New York Times
667:(March 25, 1998).
665:Goldstein, Richard
322:William J. Gardner
254:Colgate University
217:James H. Wilkerson
186:Chicago Daily News
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1009:
973:(1989 video game)
943:(1959 TV series)
908:
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718:. March 23, 1998.
615:on March 22, 2020
478:978-0-06-244194-2
378:Max Allan Collins
328:who was named by
276:, as Ness had on
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1079:The Untouchables
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978:The Untouchables
970:The Untouchables
962:The Untouchables
953:The Scarface Mob
940:The Untouchables
921:The Untouchables
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796:The Untouchables
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611:. Archived from
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350:Disputed members
279:The Untouchables
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895:Frank J. Wilson
878:Law enforcement
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815:William Gardner
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360:Chicago Heights
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313:Alcatraz Island
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282:before him, on
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237:The primary ten
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168:to violate the
125:Frank J. Wilson
109:Chicago Heights
86:Frank J. Loesch
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1053:Modern history
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678:. Retrieved
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649:"obituary".
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569:. Retrieved
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330:Knute Rockne
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274:Oscar Fraley
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191:untouchables
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174:wire-tapping
170:Volstead Act
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31:Untouchables
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965:(1987 film)
869:Frank Nitti
831:Prohibition
68:, the 31st
47:Prohibition
1063:Categories
810:Eliot Ness
530:August 15,
505:October 6,
397:References
246:Eliot Ness
166:conspiracy
155:Dry Agents
151:Eliot Ness
141:Eliot Ness
117:Elmer Irey
39:Eliot Ness
864:Al Capone
680:April 26,
619:March 22,
264:death row
261:Sing Sing
220:evasion.
43:Al Capone
983:episodes
947:episodes
746:Archived
565:Archived
385:See Also
1015:Portals
993:Related
852:Targets
824:Context
803:Members
571:May 29,
228:Members
210:⁄
107:into a
88:of the
60:History
37:led by
924:(1957)
475:
932:Media
345:1998.
195:India
121:Ralph
913:Book
682:2020
621:2020
573:2023
532:2024
507:2018
473:ISBN
29:The
1041:Law
193:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
