Most sources, following the Ness MS. (pp. 3–5, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2) give Giannoni’s name as “Giannini,” though court documents and press coverage strongly suggest “Giannoni” is the correct spelling. The Ness MS. also misspells Kooken as “Koken” and Nabers as “Nabors.”
The Ness MS. is vague on the identity of who exactly approached Golding, giving the name “Gramini,” but the narrative seems to suggest that this was Giannoni. The final version of the book, which corrects other errors in Ness’s text, specifically identifies him as Giannoni (Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, p. 48).
NESS AND NABERS JOIN INVESTIGATION: Record for Don L. Kooken, 1910 United States Census. Edward C. Wilcox, memorandum to Mr. Jackson, May 12, 1928; J. M. Doran to Albert M. Nabers, May 16, 1928; Alf Oftedal to Albert M. Nabers, May 21, 1928; Alf Oftedal to George E. Golding, May 21, 1928; Oath of Office, June 1, 1928; Personal History, June 1, 1928; George E. Golding to Commissioner of Prohibition, June 1, 1928; Personal History, March 2, 1929; Savannah Morning News, February 2, 1930; Roy H. Bryant to U.S. Treasury Department, February 2, 1943, all in Albert M. Nabers OPF/ATF. U.S. v. Thomas D’Amico, et al., indictment, April 1929, in Box 1, “Criminal Case 19444 (Prohib. Chicago Heights)” folder, PCF. U.S. v. Joe Martino and John Giannoni, indictment, November 1928, in Box 607, “Criminal Case 18299” folder, CCF. Ness MS., pp. 2–4, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2 (2, “Nine Toed”).
COZY CORNER MEETING: U.S. v. Joe Montana, et al., indictment, June 1928, in Box 583, “Criminal Case 17283” folder 1, CCF. CT, July 7, 1928. CEP, November 28, 1928. CT, December 1, 1928; July 27, 1929. U.S. v. Joe Martino and John Giannoni, indictment, November 1928, in Box 607, “Criminal Case 18299” folder, CCF. Foster, “Blackhand War,” pp. 52–53. Ness MS., pp. 1–5, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2 (1, “spotted with numerous”; 3, “They would leave”). Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 48–54. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 199–202, 347. Luzi, Boys in Chicago Heights, pp. 26, 28–31, 37, 47.
In his manuscript, Ness claims only Giannoni took part in this meeting, but the indictment gives Martino’s presence. Ness’s manuscript gives the name of the saloon as “Cozy Corners,” but Luzi (who gives it as “Cozy Corner”) seems more credible here, considering Ness’s faulty memory for names. Perry (Eliot Ness, pp. 33–35) falsely conflates the Cozy Corner meeting with another in East Chicago, while also giving the wrong amount for the bribe.
HEIGHTS INVESTIGATION CONTINUES: CEP, December 1, 1928. CT, December 1, 1928. U.S. v. Thomas D’Amico, et al., indictment, April 1929, in Box 1, “Criminal Case 19444 (Prohib. Chicago Heights)” folder, PCF. NYT, June 18, 1931. Ness MS., pp. 2–5, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2 (4, “We told him”). Foster, “Blackhand War,” pp. 53–54; Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 48–56.
The chronological location of the night searches is conjectural, though it does seem to fit best at this point in Foster’s “Blackhand” narrative. Ness recalled it happening in the Heights, but seeking out the stills in secret makes little sense if they were trying to earn the gang’s confidence, especially considering Martino’s willingness to show them around. Instead, Ness probably misremembered an incident where the special agents sought out stills in Calumet City on the Syndicate’s behalf, as described in NYT, June 18, 1931. The fact that the special agents later met with the still owners in East Chicago adds more credence to this conclusion, because East Chicago is just across the state line from Calumet City.
EAST CHICAGO MEETING: CHE, June 15, 1931. NYT, June 18, 1931. Evening Star, June 18, 1931, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. “Hail Two South End Men for Overthrow of Alphonse Capone,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. Jack Dillard, “How the U.S. Gov’t Caught Al Capone!” The Master Detective, February 1932, p. 56. Foster, “Blackhand War,” pp. 53–54. Ness MS., pp. 4–5, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2 (4, “the main objector”; 5, “If you don’t,” “The silk-shirted”). Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 54–56. CPD, October 17, 1959 (“I felt young”). Fraley, “Real Eliot Ness,” p. 28.
Ness, in his manuscript, gives a slightly different version of events, writing Martino showed up in place of the still owners, having met with them earlier and agreed to represent them. Ness also implies this was the first time he met Martino, though the indictment confirms Martino’s presence at the earlier meeting. It’s likely that Ness, nearly thirty years later, conflated these separate meetings in memory. The Startling Detective article, written closer to the event, mentions the still owners’ presence, and it seems more credible here, particularly because other published accounts of the knife incident suggest more people were present than are mentioned in Ness’s narrative.
Ness’s manuscript also claims the gangsters made the $500 payoff, but there’s nothing in the indictments to suggest this happened (unlike the Cozy Corner meeting, where the $300 bribe recorded in the indictment closely matches the $250 in Ness’s manuscript and the $300 in Ness and Fraley’s book). Startling Detective doesn’t identify the man who called off the killer as Giannoni (that name, or any of its variations, doesn’t appear in the article), but it’s clear from Ness’s recollections he’s the person referred to as the bootleggers’ “leader.”
Chapter Nine
CAPONE IN HIS PRIME: CHE, April 19, 1927 (“if someone handed”). James O’Donnell Bennett, “Chicago Gangland: Golden Flood Makes Czars, Befouls City,” CT, April 7, 1929 (“really a bigger,” “Capone likes that,” “big business”). Pasley, Al Capone, pp. 8, 60 (“No accurate estimate”), 63–64 (63, “The winnings did”; 64, “a racket”), 177 (“In December of”). Lyle, Dry and Lawless Years, pp. 141, 146 (“in the direct”). Waller and Calabrese, Fats Waller, pp. 62–63 (“swung it so”). Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 178–179. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 244–260. Lucille Zinman and Doc Cheatham, interviewed in “The Road to Repeal” (“Every nightclub you,” “very much of”). Trespacz, Trial of Gangster Al Capone, p. 25. Moore, Anything Goes, pp. 43–44. Brothers, Louis Armstrong, pp. 226–227 (226, “This is our night,” “He had all”; 227, “nice little cute,” “belonged,” “Nigger, you better”).
JOE E. LEWIS: CT, November 9, 1927 (“to take [Lewis]”). CHE, November 9, 1927. Cohn, Joker Is Wild, pp. 3–25, 31–46, 61–69, 78, 89–92 (90, “Why the hell”). Kobler, Capone, p. 148. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 251–254.
CAPONE AND CELEBRITIES: Richman and Gehman, A Hell of A Life, pp. 6–13 (8, “Richman, you’re the”; 9, “It was hard”). Charles “Buddy” Rogers, interviewed in Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults. Welles and Bogdanovich, This Is Orson Welles, pp. 311–312 (“Capone used to”). McGilligan, Young Orson, pp. 149–150, 164.
CAPONE’S GENEROSITY, CHARM, AND WOMANIZING: Sullivan, Rattling the Cup, pp. 44–45 (“Those who have”). CT, March 17, 1930. Pasley, Al Capone, pp. 11 (“a fervent handshaker”), 67, 90. Borden, “Chicago Revisited,” p. 543 (“Capone fans,” “with tears in,” “the hungry and,” “with a catch,” “the petted and”). Irey and Slocum, Tax Dodgers, p. 37. Kobler, Capone, pp. 320–321. Berle and Frankel, Milton Berle, pp. 168–169 (169, “I don’t need”). Bergreen, Capone, p. 149. Doc Cheatham, interviewed in “Road to Repeal” (“Everybody was making”). Bair, Al Capone, pp. 40–41, 66–67, 91.
CAPONE IN WISCONSIN AND MIAMI: Miami Daily News, January 10, 1928. NYT, January 22, 1928. Sullivan, Rattling the Cup, pp. 45–46. Pasley, Al Capone, pp. 84–85. Fred Girton, “Al Capone Tells His Side of It,” Startling Detective Adventures, September 1931, pp. 20 (“very general and,” “I wanted a,” “They threaten to”), 70. IRS-2, pp. 36–38, 40–42, 49. Ross, Trial of Al Capone, pp. 66–68 (66, “Albert Costa”), 79. Kobler, Capone, pp. 220–222 (221, “Let’s lay the,” “You can stay,” “I’ll stay as,” “I’ve been hounded,” “the garden of”). Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 193–195. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 268–272, 283, 286–288, 291–292. Mario Gomes, “Al Capone’s Tax Trial and Downfall,” My Al Capone Museum, January 2010, http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id146.htm (accessed July 3, 2017) (“PH”). Bair, Al Capone, pp. 43, 70 (“Your father
broke”), 80–83, 110–119, 132–134, 156–157.
PINEAPPLE PRIMARY: CT, March 22, 1928. Seattle Daily Times, April 1, 1928 (“to protect American”). Merriam, Chicago, pp. 268–299. Pasley, Al Capone, pp. 204–223 (216, “Ours is a”; 219, “The political revolution”; 220, “the good city”). Burns, One-Way Ride, pp. 216–223. Wendt and Kogan, Big Bill of Chicago, pp. 303–317 (312, “He drank constantly”). Lyle, Dry and Lawless Years, pp. 185–186. Kobler, Capone, pp. 223–228. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 195–197. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 276–281. Hoffman, Scarface Al, pp. 34–35.
BURKE AND THE “AMERICAN BOYS”: L. A. Foster, “High Lights of Burke’s Crimson Career,” True Detective, July 1931, pp. 12, 62–64. Helmer and Bilek, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, pp. 80, 84–85. Waugh, Egan’s Rats, pp. 105–106, 120–121, 240–242. Shmelter, Chicago Assassin, p. 174. Helmer, Al Capone and His American Boys, pp. 19–24, 307, 322–323, 346. Bair, Al Capone, p. 8 (“Americans”).
YALE MURDER: NYT, July 2, 1928; August 1, 1928. CT, August 1, 1928. Winkeler, “I’m on the Spot,” p. 67. Burns, One-Way Ride, pp. 225–228. Kobler, Capone, pp. 229–231. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 201–203. Johnson and Sautter, Wicked City, p. 274. Helmer and Bilek, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, pp. 91–93. Shmelter, Chicago Assassin, pp. 150–154. Helmer, Al Capone and His American Boys, pp. 72–75, 361–362.
LOESCH AND THE FAIR: Cook, Educational History of Illinois, p. 646. Year-Book of the Union League Club, p. 24. CT, March 23, 1928 (“America’s worst advertisement,” “Well, I see,” “heard evil remarks,” “Judging from the”); August 1, 1944. Dawes, Notes as Vice President, pp. 144–146, 165–166. Allsop, Bootleggers, pp. 166–167, 188, 269. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 176, 290–291. Hoffman, Scarface Al, pp. 8–10, 13–15, 31–32. Bergreen, Capone, p. 86. Boehm, Popular Culture, pp. 108–109. “Frank Joseph Loesch,” Find a Grave, August 23, 2011, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gran damp;grid=75389266 (accessed April 12, 2016).
CAPONE MEETS LOESCH: CT, March 25, 1931 (“But they’ll only,” “I’ll have the,” “I can tell”); October 13, 1931. Hearings . . . on the Nomination of James H. Wilkerson, pp. 144–146 (145, “I am here,” “I’ll help”). Dobyns, Underworld of American Politics, pp. 1–3. Kobler, Capone, pp. 11–15. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 203–204.
CAPONE GOLFING AND SHOOTING HIMSELF: CT, September 21, 1928 (“The bullet plowed”). Clinical Record: Family and Personal History, n.d., in Box 203, “[Capone, Alphonse] [40886-A]” folder, BOP-AP. Timothy Sullivan with John Kobler, “Caddying for a Man Who Never Shot Par,” Sports Illustrated, November 6, 1972, pp. 72–78 (73, “Nobody had ever”; 75, “He could drive”; 78, “and carry a,” “You might get”). Bergreen, Capone, p. 183. Eig, Get Capone, p. 179. Bair, Al Capone, pp. 95, 159.
Chapter Ten
GOLDING, JAMIE, AND YELLOWLEY: E. C. Yellowley to L. C. Andrews, November 25, 1926 (“a very fine”); E. C. Yellowley to James E. Jones, December 4, 1926; E. C. Yellowley to James Doran, July 5, 1927; John T. Doyle to the Secretary of the Treasury, May 23, 1928; G.C.B., memorandum, June 11, 1928; Alexander Jamie to Alf Oftedal, August 6, 1928; C. M. Cuneo, memorandum, August 10, 1928; Alf Oftedal to Alexander Jamie, August 11, 1928; George Golding, “Special Agent Alexander Jamie,” August 31, 1928 (“lazy,” “a sort of”); Alf Oftedal to the U.S. Civil Service Commission, September 5, 1928, all in Alexander Jamie OPF. Alf Oftedal to George Golding, May 16, 1928, Box 4, “April-May 1928” Folder, PU (“If you deal”). CT, June 23, 1938 (“little black book”); August 29–30, 1928; September 1, 1928 (“reign of terror”); September 11, 1928. CHE, December 1, 1928. George Golding to the Director of Prohibition, August 30, 1930, pp. 29, 31, George Golding OPF/ATF. W. S. Murphy, Report on Eliot Ness, November 15, 1933, p. 10, FBI-ENA.
ADAMS SHOOTING: CT, August 22–23, 1928 (August 22, “in a frenzy,” “Get out”); August 25–26, 1928 (August 25, “the size of,” “I got him,” “grape juice salesman”; August 26, “in a frenzy,” “Dumdums are often,” “monstrous”). Record for Merle and Connie Adams, 1930 United States Census.
Perry (Eliot Ness, pp. 19, 301) claims Ness took part in this raid, apparently citing documents in Golding’s OPF that, as far as we have been able to determine, do not exist. Given Perry’s rather loose attitude when it comes to other sources, we are skeptical Ness was involved. The NYT later noted, “Ness never took part in any of the high-handed forays that made Golding unpopular.” (NYT, June 18, 1931; see also The Evening Star, June 18, 1931, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1.)
GOLDING’S DISMISSAL AND JAMIE’S PROMOTION: CT, August 26, 1928; August 29–30, 1928; September 8, 1928; September 11–12, 1928; September 20, 1928; October 1, 1928; December 1, 1928. J. M. Doran to H. M. Dengler, September 13, 1928; H. M. Dengler to J. M. Doran, September 1928 (“a Chicago man”), all in Alexander Jamie OPF. CHE, December 1, 1928.
GOLDING’S DOWNFALL: George Golding to the Director of Prohibition, July 17, 1930; Myron M. Caffey to George Golding, July 17, 1930; L. V. Treglia to George Golding, July 17, 1930; Harry S. Webster to George Golding, July 17, 1930; Myron M. Caffey to George Golding, July 18, 1930; George Golding to Earle E. Koehler, July 18, 1930; Ireland H. Caffey, sworn statement, July 18, 1930; L. V. Treglia, memo, July 23, 1930; Myron H. Caffey, memo, July 23, 1930; Howard T. Jones to George E. Golding, August 13, 1930; George Golding to the Director of Prohibition, August 30, 1930 (“fight until the last”); Everett H. Kuebler, memo to Amos W. W. Woodcock, October 18, 1930 (“It is impossible”); A. W. W. Woodcock to George E. Golding, October 18, 1930; Thomas M. Lee and Leon B. Stayton to George Golding, n.d. (“succeeded in kissing”), all in George Golding OPF/ATF. CT, August 19, 1930.
NESS’S HEIGHTS INVESTIGATION: Alf Oftedal to Harry Dengler, November 19, 1928, in Box 4, “December 1928” folder, PU. CEP, December 1, 1928. CT, December 1, 1928 (“one of the”); January 8, 1929. Ness MS., pp. 5–6, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2. Bergreen, Capone, p. 347 (“was on the”).
Dating the still raids is difficult, because the internal chronology of Ness’s manuscript is so scrambled, but it seems to make the most sense here.
Citing a pseudonymous interview with a former Heights bootlegger, Bergreen (Capone, p. 347) describes an incident where Ness and other agents supposedly assaulted the drivers of some liquor trucks around this time, refusing to let them pass until they received a bribe. Perry (Eliot Ness, p. 35) claims that Ness and Nabers were responsible for this attack, though Nabers’s personnel file proves he wasn’t in Chicago when this would have taken place. (Recommendation for Change in Designated Post of Duty, October 22, 1928; Alf Oftedal to Albert M. Nabers, October 26, 1928; Dwight E. Avis to the Commissioner of Prohibition, October 29, 1928; Alexander G. Jamie to the Commissioner of Prohibition, January 8, 1929; Alexander G. Jamie to Alf Oftedal, January 31, 1929, all in Albert M. Nabers OPF/ATF.)
It seems more likely, as Perry suggests in his endnotes (p. 303), this incident “was something mistakenly attributed to the legendary Eliot Ness long after the fact.” The kind of brutality Bergreen describes fits Golding’s other special agents, but not the resolutely nonviolent Ness. This is one of several instances in which Bergreen’s book relies on anonymous or pseudonymous sources and offers scant verification for their claims. See Kirkus, August 1, 1994, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/laurence-bergreen/capone/ (accessed March 13, 2016).
MARTINO INDICTMENT AND ARREST: Bench Warrant for Joe Martino, November 27, 1928, in Box 607, “Criminal Case 18299” folder, CCF. CEP, November 28, 1928. CHE, December 1, 1928. CT, December 1, 1928. Ness MS., pp. 8–9, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2. Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 210–213.
Ness claims that Nabers went with him to arrest Martino, but Nabers was not in Chicago at the time, per his personnel file (see above).
MARTINO MURDER: Chicago Heights Star, November 30, 1928 (“lying on the”); December 4, 1928. CT, November 30, 1928; December 1, 1928. CHE, January 8, 1929. Daniel Anderson to George E. Q. Johnson, “Re: Killings of Defendants or Gov
ernment Witnesses,” March 26, 1932, in “Records Relating to Indictment and Sentencing (2 of 12)” folder, RRPAC. Ness MS., p. 9, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2 (“That was the”).
Ness’s own manuscript and most other accounts (such as Perry, Eliot Ness, p. 37) accept the early press report that Martino died in a drive-by shooting (Chicago Heights Star, November 30, 1928; CT, December 1, 1928). But Martino’s death certificate confirms the later report from the Chicago Heights Star (December 4, 1928) that he died at the hands of a revolver-wielding pedestrian. See death certificate for Joseph Martino, December 3, 1929, in Box 607, “Criminal Case 18299” folder, CCF.
GILBERT MURDER: Chicago Heights Star, December 7, 1928; December 11, 1928. CT, December 7–9, 1928. CEP, December 7, 1928. CHE, December 8, 1928; December 13, 1928. St. Petersburg Times, December 8, 1929.
Perry (Eliot Ness, pp. 26–27), apparently following Foster, “Blackhand War,” p. 53, falsely gives Gilbert’s first name as “Lester” and incorrectly places his death before the start of Ness’s Heights investigation.
BASILE MURDER: Alf Oftedal to Alexander G. Jamie, December 5, 1928, in Box 4, “December 1928” folder, PU. CDN, December 12, 1928. CHE, December 13, 1928 (“The challenge to”). WP, December 13, 1928. Chicago Heights Star, December 14, 1928. Daniel Anderson to George E. Q. Johnson, “Re: Killings of Defendants or Government Witnesses,” March 26, 1932, in “Records Relating to Indictment and Sentencing (2 of 12)” folder, RRPAC. CT, April 3, 1928. NYT, April 3, 1932. Ness MS., p. 6, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2. Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 191–194.
Scarface and the Untouchable Page 62