CAPONE’S EXPENDITURES: CHE, October 10–11, 1931 (October 10, “I presume that”; October 11, “She peeled the,” “How big an,” “Well, it was”); October 13, 1931. CT, October 10–11, 1931 (October 11, “You don’t think,” “One man couldn’t,” “The bill payments,” “And they used,” “We were trying,” “Because you did”); October 13, 1931. J. Pankan witness transcript (Capone Trial), n.d., in Box 1, “Transcripts From U.S. v. Al Capone (Various Witnesses) (1 of 2)” folder, USvAC (2, “No, it is”). IRS-2, pp. 36–48. Ross, Trial of Al Capone, pp. 63–80. Prochno, “I Was a Capone Juror.” Runyon, Trials and Other Tribulations, pp. 232–240. Busch, Enemies of the State, pp. 210–216. Trespacz, Trial of Gangster Al Capone, p. 74.
CAPONE’S OVERCONFIDENCE: CHE, October 7, 1931. CT, October 8, 1931 (“enjoying himself immensely”); October 11, 1931 (“former workmen, contractors”). Charlotte Observer, October 19, 1931 (“You don’t need,” “The hell I”). Kobler, Capone, p. 343.
D’ANDREA ARREST: CHE, October 11, 1931; October 28–29, 1931. CT, October 11, 1931; October 14, 1931; October 28–29, 1931. United States vs. Philip D’Andrea, Disposition of Rule to Show Cause, October 28, 1931 (“The pistol was”), in Box 1, “Court Filings from Related Cases” folder, USvAC.
FRED RIES / PROSECUTION RESTS: CHE, October 14, 1931 (“Your honor, there,” “Well, if you”). CT, October 14, 1931 (“Your honor, at,” “Are you ready,” “Well, if your,” “We have a,” “Give us a”). Fred Ries witness transcript (Guzik trial), n.d., in Box 1, “Court Filings from Related Cases” folder, USvAC (14, “Mr. Guzik, Al”; 15, “bosses”). Fred Ries witness transcript (Capone trial), n.d., in Box 1, “Transcripts From U.S. v. Al Capone (Various Witnesses) (2 of 2)” folder, USvAC (3, “And was [this],” “The telegraph office,” “No outsiders. Is,” “Yes sir”; 12, “We have been,” “Of course we,” “I think they,” “The only evidence,” “His name appears,” “On one of,” “Yes,” “Well, what does”; 14, “We find Jack”; 16, “negative evidence”; 18, “Al and his”; 22, “Just what are,” “they are trying,” “And they are,” “By hearsay, yes,” “It is too,” “Very well, I”; 29, “Well, we didn’t,” “It is sometimes,” “We didn’t do,” “No one ever,” “The bets were”; 31, “that no money,” “He didn’t mention,” “He said ‘Al,’ ” “Yes sir”; 32, “You did not,” “I didn’t know,” “No,” “But I figured,” “You thought he,” “Yes sir”; 33, “Do you know,” “No sir,” “Well this check,” “According to the”). IRS-2, pp. 23–24. Ross, Trial of Al Capone, pp. 80–83. Runyon, Trials and Other Tribulations, pp. 240–242. Busch, Enemies of the State, pp. 217–219. Eghigian, After Capone, p. 133. Mario Gomes, “The Truth About Al Capone’s Signature,” My Al Capone Museum, March 2006, http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id76.htm (accessed July 21, 2017).
Chapter Twenty-Seven
JUFFRA ARREST: Landesco, “Organized Crime,” pp. 914, 916 (“Juffra was the”), 1075. U.S. v. Alphonse Capone, et al., indictment, June 1931, Case No. 23256, in “Fusco, Joseph C. (Joe)” folder, Box 86, KC. CT, October 9, 1931 (“What’s the idea”); November 8, 1931; February 9, 1936; June 26–27 (June 27, “the head of”), 1936; August 13–14, 1936. Keefe, Man Who Got Away, p. 168. “Nick Juffra,” Find a Grave, June 22, 2017, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180625663/nick-juffra (accessed November 21, 2017).
NESS AND WILSON: Willebrandt, Inside of Prohibition, pp. 234–235 (“An intense bitterness”). G. A. Youngquist, memorandum for the Attorney General, March 24, 1931, in Box 1, Eig Boxes, National Archives and Records Administration, Chicago, IL (“By the way”). CPD, September 19, 1934. Frank J. Wilson to George E. Q. Johnson, June 1, 1937, in Box 2, “Career—General—Correspondence, 1930–1939” folder; Frank J. Wilson, “Insert At X on Page 60,” n.d., in Box 11, “Manuscripts—Crime Prevention Programs—TV Programs Contaminate Children (F. 295)” folder; Frank J. Wilson, untitled manuscript, n.d., in Box 7, “Manuscript—Capone Case (F. 261)” folder; Frank J. Wilson, “Untouchables Re Bad Effects of Television Programs,” n.d., in Box 12, “Manuscripts—‘Untouchables’ Bad Effects of Television Programs (F. 472)” folder, all FJW. Frank J. Wilson, “Mysterious Mike Malone,” CT Sunday Magazine, March 26, 1961. Wilson and Day, Special Agent, p. 6. CPD, October 26, 1941 (“the brains behind,” “excellent”). Application for Employment in the Federal Security Agency, April 3, 1942, in Eliot Ness OPF. Ness MS., p. 9, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2. Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 24, 249.
CAPONE’S FAMILY / EDWARD G. ROBINSON: CHE, October 15, 1931 (“to give Snorky”). Bair, Al Capone, p. 245.
CAPONE’S DEFENSE: CHE, October 12, 1931 (“well-known Chicagoans,” “This argument is,” “statute was used”); October 15–16, 1931 (October 15, Green-witness exchange beginning “You said Capone,” “I am running,” “Who are the,” “I don’t know”). CT, October 15–16, 1931 (October 15, “Do you know,” “I never kept”; October 16, “That is not,” “Then I ask,” “I have never,” “to put Mattingly,” “Well, I think”). Peter P. Penovich Jr., witness transcript, October 14, 1931, in Box 1, “Transcripts From U.S. v. Al Capone (Various Witnesses) (2 of 2)” folder, USvAC (2, “Is he trying,” “I don’t know”; 3, “apparently a list”; 6, “Frankie Pope was,” “Ralph told me”; 9, “a bad location,” “Why did you,” “Because I understood,” “You understood he,” “Yes sir”; 10, “And he could,” “In Cicero,” “Fixing with whom,” “With the powers,” “What powers,” “Political powers, the”; 11, “Well, he seemed,” “Catered to by,” “Well, every place”; 12, “there was an”; 21, “with Al Capone”). IRS-2, p. 35 (“Frank paid $17,500,” “Paid,” “J & A”). Ross, Trial of Al Capone, pp. 59, 83–94. Runyon, Trials and Other Tribulations, pp. 242–244 (242, “world’s worst horse”). Busch, Enemies of the State, pp. 219–221. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 321–322 (322, “a better witness”). Trespacz, Trial of Gangster Al Capone, pp. 75–76.
CLOSING STATEMENTS: CHE, October 16–18, 1931 (October 17, “the only barrier,” “How many defendants”). CT, October 16–18, 1931 (October 16, “Capone himself produced,” “At the start,” “All through this,” “It means that”; October 17, “This does not,” “like many other,” “Suppose he had,” “as a means,” “If the latter,” “The fathers of,” “The government has,” “Because Capone has,” “The government, too”; October 18, “Mr. Johnson was”). “Closing Argument by Mr. Johnson on Behalf of the United States,” n.d., in Box 1, “Closing Argument (11 of 12)” folder, RRPAC (“swept aside,” “American civilization will,” “a halo of,” “Is he the,” “You will remember,” “$27 shirts to,” “Could anyone forget,” “Take every fact,” “from the lips,” “time of national,” “extravagances,” “They will remember”). James H. Wilkerson, Court’s Charge to the Jury, October 17, 1931, in Box 1, “Closing Argument (12 of 12)” folder, RRPAC (20, “Now in this,” “moneys which were,” “expenditures of money”; 22, “You must look”; 32, “You are the”). Ross, Trial of Al Capone, pp. 94–106. Prochno, “I Was a Capone Juror.” Runyon, Trials and Other Tribulations, pp. 244–249. Busch, Enemies of the State, pp. 221–228 (223, “If I were”; 224, “How do you”; 228, “an unusual tribute”). “ ‘They Can’t Win’, Declares U.S. Attorney Johnson, Prosecutor of Capone.”
JURY DELIBERATION: CT, October 18, 1931 (“I’m feeling fine,” “Not a thing”). CHE, October 18–19, 1931. Prochno, “I Was a Capone Juror” (“give him the limit,” “A quick verdict,” “You’re not dumb,” “After all, he’s,” “He’s no good,” “But he’s done,” “We asked for,” “We wanted to,” “we agreed to,” “He’ll only get,” “I really believe”).
THE VERDICT: CHE, October 18–25, 1931 (October 19, “Should this prove”; October 20, “By the time”). CT, October 18–21, 1931 (October 18, “Have you arrived,” “How are you,” “I’m feeling fine,” “The verdict speaks”); October 23, 1931. Partial transcript of evidence taken before Judge James H. Wilkerson on October 17, 1931, https://catalog.archi
ves.gov/id/55312156 (accessed April 15, 2017) (“We, the jury,” “and we find”). Ross, Trial of Al Capone, pp. 106–108. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, p. 324.
SENTENCING AND JAIL: Signed Statement of Proceedings, September 25 and 29 and October 24, 1931, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/55311944 (accessed April 15, 2017) (“It is the,” “On count five,” “On count nine,” “On each of,” “be consecutive and,” “The result is,” “Eleven years, did,” “Yes”). CHE, October 25, 1931 (“Let the defendant,” “fearless gangster,” “a picture of,” “Can’t you have,” “No. The order,” “The defendant is,” “You have not,” “You cannot undertake,” “to come along,” “It’s all my,” “Well, it’s a,” “I’ll knock your”). CT, October 25, 1931 (“around a cut,” “Well, I’ll get,” “It was a,” “Think of my”). Ross, Trial of Al Capone, pp. 108–112. Trespacz, Trial of Gangster Al Capone, pp. 78–79.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
RANDOLPH AND NESS STILL FIGHTING: CEA, October 24, 1931, in RIR Scrapbook III, p. 50 (“Now after Capone,” “a militant drive,” “Knock over their,” “It is up”). CT, March 8, 1932; September 26, 1932.
HOWLETT: U.S. v. Alphonse Capone, et al., indictment, June 1931, Case No. 23256, in “Fusco, Joseph C. (Joe)” folder, Box 86, KC. CT, November 15, 1931. “Hunt ‘Playboy’ of Capone Gang as Beer Ring Aid,” n.p., n.d. (“the Jekyll and”); “Howlett, Capone Aid, in Line at Police Showup,” n.p., November 16, 1931, both in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 1. Ness MS., pp. 21–22, in ENPS, Roll 1, Folder 2 (21, “It was not”). Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 244–245.
The accounts of Howlett’s arrest in the Ness MS. and contemporary newspapers are almost entirely different, but certain similar details (the description of Howlett’s sixteen-cylinder car, and Ness’s recollection that he tracked Howlett down on a Saturday) suggest that they both describe the same event. The Untouchables offers nothing to square both versions, but the version presented in the Ness MS. has enough details to seem more credible, while the press version seems too good to be true.
The Ness MS. describes Marty Lahart taking part in Howlett’s arrest, but Lahart had already left for Minneapolis. Service Record Card, n.d., Martin J. Lahart OPF/ATF.
JOHNSON EXHAUSTED: George E. Q. Johnson to Robert Isham Randolph, October 24, 1931, in RIR Scrapbook III, p. 50 (“courageous statement”). Kansas City Star, November 1, 1931, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1 (“resting his chin,” “worn out,” “Why, then, did,” “There were many,” “Industrial and civic,” “Incorruptibles,” “boyish,” “He is an,” “He has no,” “You left this,” “Ever get in,” “Once in a”). George E. Q. Johnson to Frank J. Wilson, May 10, 1945, in Box 2, “Career—General—Correspondence, 1940–1948” folder, FJW (“You remember the”).
PREMATURE OPTIMISM: Untitled memo, March 16, 1931, in Presidential Subject Series, Box 164, “Federal Bureau of Investigation—Capone Tax Case, 1930–1931” folder, HHPL. NYT, June 18, 1931; December 21–22, 1931 (December 21, “Organized law enforcement”; December 22, “exorcised her evil”). Kansas City Star, November 1, 1931, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1 (“a busy winter”). Hopkins, Our Lawless Police, p. 170. CT, December 15–16, 1931 (December 15, “found a home,” “the greatest ovation”; December 16, “We now have”). LAT, December 20, 1931 (“CHICAGO WINS WAR”); December 22, 1931. “Capone ‘in Bag,’ U.S. Turns Guns on N.Y. Gangs,” n.p., n.d.; “U.S. Plans to Wipe Out Gangs,” n.p., n.d., both in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. “Chicago’s Victory Over Gangdom,” The Literary Digest, January 9, 1932, pp. 21–22 (“the signs are”). Lyle, Dry and Lawless Years, pp. 270–271 (270, “the summer of,” “If Chicago had”). Allsop, Bootleggers, p. 189 (“Unless citizens,” “Citizens already paying”). Calder, Origins and Development, p. 146. Hoffman, Scarface Al, pp. 165–166. Pacyga, Chicago, pp. 253–256, 259–260.
CAPONE IN COOK COUNTY JAIL: Anonymous to George E. Q. Johnson, December 2, 1931, in Box 1, “Correspondence (3 of 12)” folder, RRPAC (“WISH TO INFORM”). W. A. McSwain, Report on “David T. Moneypenny, Superintendent; George Gibson, Assistant Superintendent; Cook County Jail,” December 17, 1931, in Box 1, “Contempt of Court Report (6 of 12)” folder, RRPAC (also in FBI-AC) (“special privileges,” “that Capone is,” “escorted a number,” “Mr. Johnson was,” “without a pass”). W. A. McSwain to Director, Bureau of Investigation, December 7, 1931; V. W. Hughes, Memorandum for the Director, December 16, 1931; CDN, December 17, 1931 (“Capone has been”); CDT, December 18, 1931; CHE, December 18, 1931 (“discovered that late,” “had been unable,” “petty politicians”); Kansas City Journal-Post, December 18, 1931 (“crack proof,” “a lot of,” “Capone’s in a”); CHE, December 19, 1931 (“soft mattress, clean,” “I didn’t want”); W. A. McSwain to Director, Bureau of Investigation, December 19, 1931 (“Mr. Johnson expressed”); CDT, December 21, 1931; W. A. McSwain, Report on “David T. Moneypenny, Superintendent; George Gibson, Assistant Superintendent; Cook County Jail,” January 22, 1932; M. H. Purvis to Director, Bureau of Investigation, January 26, 1932 (“information to the”); CT, January 26, 1932 (“Mr. Smith,” “Mr. Jones,” “I’ll put a”); CHE, January 27, 1932; M. H. Purvis to Director, Bureau of Investigation, February 1, 1932 (“Mr. Moneypenny takes,” “and placed in”); CHE, February 26, 1932, all in FBI-AC. CT, December 18, 1931 (“I’m in jail”). George E. Q. Johnson to William D. Mitchell, February 20, 1932, in Box 1, “Correspondence (4 of 12)” folder, RRPAC (“in fact directing,” “With the influence”). Kobler, Capone, pp. 352 (“If I’d had”), 359, 379. Helmer and Mattix, Public Enemies, p. 43.
PETER NESS DEATH: CT, December 24, 1931. “Hail Two South End Men for Overthrow of Alphonse Capone,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. Heimel, Eliot Ness, pp. 134–135.
JANUARY 1932 RAIDS: CDT, January 8, 1932; January 21, 1932 (“customary calling card”). CT, January 9, 1932; January 22, 1932. CHE, January 14, 1932 (“rival gangs were”); “A $375,000 Dent in the Traffic,” The Bureau Bulletin, January 23, 1932; “U.S. Raids Big Brewery; Six Men Arrested,” n.p., n.d.; CEA, January 21, 1932; “5 Capone Hoodlums Seized By Drys in $75,000 Beer Raid,” n.p., n.d., all in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. Eghigian, After Capone, pp. 134, 214–216 (216, “too much ambition”). Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 91–92. “Federal Agents Demolish a Brewery and Puncture Beer Barrels in Chicago, Illinois During Prohibition,” Critical Past, 00:46, January 25, 1932, http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675023921_raiders-in-brewery_barrels-punctured_beer-flushed-on-streets_brewing-containers (accessed June 14, 2016). CEA, February 20, 1960, in “Newspaper Clippings (Photocopies) Circa. 1930–1970” folder, DMM. Tony Berardi, interviewed in The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults. Tony Berardi, interviewed in “Eliot Ness,” The Real Untouchables, written and directed by John Fothergill (Thousand Oaks, CA: Goldhil DVD, 2001), DVD. Kobler, Capone, p. 278.
Ness and Fraley (The Untouchables, pp. 106–109) falsely list the Lumber Street raid as the Untouchables’ first. Perry (Eliot Ness, p. 76) incorrectly dates it to April 1931. Ness calling up reporters in advance of the South State Street raid is conjectural, but based on comments cited above and the press coverage given this bust, it’s all but certain he did.
NESS AND PUBLICITY: CT, November 7, 1926; September 18, 1927; January 7, 1929; March 26, 1931 (“assistant”). CDN, March 25, 1931 (“aid”). CEA, February 20, 1960 (“a publicity hound”); “Ness Called ‘Mild, Quiet’ in Real Life,” n.p., February 11, 1962 (“At times the”), all in “Newspaper Clippings (Photocopies) Circa. 1930–1970” folder, DMM. P. T. Sowell, interview with William J. Froelich, November 21, 1933; M. H. Purvis to J. Edgar Hoover, November 28, 1933 (“headline publicity”); H. B. Myerson, interview with W. E. Bennett, December 26, 1933 (“egotism and publicity,” “dissension”), all in FBI-ENA. Raymond M. Schwartz to Eliot Ness, June 17, 1931 (“short but very,” “The proceeds should”), in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. Carte and Carte, Police Reform, pp. 24–25, 50–53. Tony Berardi, interviewed in The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults (“Becaus
e I knew,” “a messenger boy,” “Personally, I hated”). Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 89, 178. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 148–151, 433 (“not quite a”). Tony Berardi, interviewed in “The Road to Repeal.” “Prohibition: Tony Berardi—About Eliot Ness and ‘the Untouchables,’ ” Onlinefootage.tv, 08:42, http://www.onlinefootage.tv/stock-video-footage/7684/prohibition-tony-berardi-about-eliot-ness-and-the-untouchables (accessed August 26, 2015).
Purvis’s letter describes a conversation special agent L. D. Nichols had with a member of Ness’s squad named “Morris Seeger,” who can only be (Samuel) Maurice Seager.
LITTLE CAESAR AND THE PUBLIC ENEMY: Powers, G-Men, pp. 13–16. McGilligan, Backstory, pp. 56–58 (56, “I had the”). Black, Hollywood Censored, pp. 111–121. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 524–526. Richard Maltby, “The Public Enemy,” Senses of Cinema, December 2003, http://sensesofcinema.com/2003/cteq/public_enemy/ (accessed June 16, 2016).
SCARFACE: Scarface (1932), directed by Howard Hawks (Universal City, CA: Universal Studios, 2003), DVD (“Some little typewriter”). The Film Daily, March 25, 1932; April 5, 1932; April 13–14, 1932 (April 14, “It should never”); June 5, 1932; June 30, 1932. Hecht, Child of the Century, pp. 125, 129, 131–132, 486–487 (486, “They had a,” “Is this stuff,” “God, no”; 487, “If this stuff,” “That’s the reason”). Barlett and Steele, Howard Hughes, pp. 73–74. Powers, G-Men, p. 43. McGilligan, Backstory, p. 60. MacAdams, Ben Hecht, pp. 6–7, 101–102, 124–126, 149. Nollen, Boris Karloff, pp. 216–217. Bergreen, Capone, p. 527. Black, Hollywood Censored, pp. 124–130 (126, “Under no circumstances”), 132.
Nollen (Boris Karloff, p. 216) notes that Scarface “was shot in mid-1931, before Karloff began work on Frankenstein,” even though the latter was released first.
Scarface and the Untouchable Page 72