Scarface and the Untouchable

by Max Allan Collins

  NESS RAIDS CRIPPLING BEER BUSINESS: CT, May 29, 1932; July 14, 1932 (“Matters became so,” “Mussolini”); August 3, 1932; September 3, 1932; September 17, 1932; September 20, 1932; October 5, 1932; January 10, 1933 (“Why pick me”); October 22, 1938. “Big Buying Wave Brewing,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 42. CHE, July 7, 1932, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 48. “3 Held in Beer Raid Near Loop,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 49. “New Gang Chief May Be Elected by Machine Guns,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 46. “Cost of Living May Be Cut, But Beer’s Still Up,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. CDN, September 12, 1932, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 52 (“We have seized”). “Drys’ Score Is 2,700 to 10,000 in ‘Pin Game,’ ” n.p., September 17, 1932, in “Newspaper Clippings (Photocopies) Circa 1930–1970” folder, DMM. CEA, September 19, 1932, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 49 (“We’ll close these”). CHE, December 28, 1932 (“For there were”); CEA, December 28, 1932, both in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 52. Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 237, 240. Keefe, Man Who Got Away, pp. 276–278, 304.

  NITTO AND CERMAK SHOOTINGS: CT, December 21, 1932. LAT, December 21, 1932. Lyle, Dry and Lawless Years, pp. 254, 258–268. Gottfried, Boss Cermak, pp. 318–324, 424–425. Allsop, Bootleggers, pp. 169–170. Murray, Legacy of Al Capone, pp. 175–179. Lindberg, To Serve and Collect, pp. 233–236 (235, “hoodlum squad”). Eghigian, After Capone, pp. 216–234, 246–252.

  NESS, FUSCO, AND THE END OF PROHIBITION: “$100,000 Capone Brewery Raided; Two Men Arrested,” n.p., n.d.; “$100,000 Beer Plant Raided By U.S. Drys,” n.p., n.d., both in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 54. CT, March 29, 1933; August 13, 1936; June 3, 1941; October 19, 1950; October 24, 1961; December 6, 1976. “Brewers Told Hoodlums Are Periling Trade,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 55 (“or else”). “Ness Proposes Beer Dictator to Bar Gangs,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 56 (“Only a dictator”). CDN, March 23–24, 1948. W. D. Amis, Memo Re: “Joe Fusco Gold Seal Liquor, Inc.,” October 3, 1950; W. D. Amis, Memo Re: “Joe Fusco Gold Seal Liquor, Inc.—Conclusion and Comments,” October 3, 1950; Memo, “SUBJECT: Testimony of Joseph C. Fusco,” October 4, 1950 (“not very strong”), all in Box 86, “Fusco, Joseph C. (Joe)” folder, KC. “Mr. McCain,” Memo Re: “Joe Fusco,” October 17, 1950; “Chicago Crime Commission Letter, September 25, 1950—Bloom,” both in Box 88, “Gold Seal Liquors” folder, KC. Hearings Before the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, pt. 5, pp. 558–569, 593–622. Peterson, Barbarians in Our Midst, pp. 299–303 (303, “The repeal of”). Virgil Peterson, “The Mob Goes Legit,” CT Magazine, November 11, 1956, p. 44. Behr, Prohibition, pp. 234–236. “The Road to Repeal” (“just as fast,” “that this is”). Eghigian, After Capone, pp. 229, 238, 291, 293–294, 354. Alter, Defining Moment, p. 277 (“PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT,” “Bars were opening”). Skilnik, Beer, pp. 173–178 (175, “from top to”), 193–195, 217–218. Haller, Illegal Enterprise, pp. 203–207. McGirr, War on Alcohol, pp. xiii–xiv (xiii, “It’s time the”), 243, 246.

  PROHIBITION BUREAU AND DIVISION OF INVESTIGATION: CT, April 8, 1933; April 11, 1933; June 23–24, 1933; August 7, 1933 (“elders”). “Raid Largest Capone Still,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 1, p. 56. Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 220–228 (“cooker in the sky”). De Toledano, J. Edgar Hoover, pp. 100–101 (101, “They would have”). Powers, Secrecy and Power, pp. 182–185 (183, “super police force”; 185, “American Scotland Yard”). “The Road to Repeal.” Potter, War on Crime, pp. 29, 118–125. Burrough, Public Enemies, pp. 9–15, 48–53, 58–59, 308–315, 323–325, 367–371. Folsom, Money Trail, pp. 221, 223. Erick Trickey, “Eliot Ness vs. J. Edgar Hoover,” Smithsonian, October 2014, p. 81. McGirr, War on Alcohol, p. 233.

  NITTO TAKES OVER: Anonymous to J. Edgar Hoover, November 30, 1936, in FBI-AC. CDN, February 14, 1939, in FBI-SVDM. Murray, Legacy of Al Capone, pp. 181–205 (183, “We’ve got the”; 185, “If you don’t”), 275. Helmer and Mattix, Public Enemies, pp. 21, 28–29. Russo, Outfit, pp. 135–148, 158–163. Eghigian, After Capone, pp. 239–240 (“independent bastards”), 252–259, 261–272, 289–297, 300–304, 336–337. Helmer, Al Capone and His American Boys, pp. 206–254, 272, 321–323, 345.

  O’HARE LATER LIFE AND MURDER: CT, November 16, 1939 (“put a serious”); October 23, 1955. Metz, “Mystery of Eddie,” pp. 44–49, 87–92. Ewing and Lundstrom, Fateful Rendezvous, pp. 76–80, 85–86, 303, 313. Eghigian, After Capone, pp. 325–329. Helmer, Al Capone and His American Boys, p. 285.

  SHUMWAY COUP THEORY: Visitors’ Register, January 22, 1931; untitled note, October 29, 1931, both in Box 71, “Nitto, Frank (1 of 1)” folder, NOF. CT, November 16, 1939 (“gang associate”). Miami Herald, November 13, 1935; December 30, 1935; January 12, 1936; November 16, 1936; December 11, 1936; December 27, 1936; December 11, 1938; December 25, 1938; December 10, 1939; December 27, 1939; December 19, 1943; December 4, 1949; February 26, 1950; August 11, 1950; January 17, 1964. Metz, “Mystery of Eddie,” p. 91. Hearings Before the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, pt. 1, pp. 616–632 (628, “If I had”). Hearings Before the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, pt. 5, pp. 1295–1297. Eghigian, After Capone, pp. 193–194, 205. Helmer, Al Capone and His American Boys, p. 287. Record for Leslie Shumway, U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2011).

  Shumway’s working at an Outfit-affiliated racetrack fits the pattern of how the gang rewarded other people who took risks for them—such as Leo Brothers, who took the fall for Jake Lingle’s murder and received comfortable jobs in mob-run businesses once he got out of prison. (See Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, p. 285.)

  NESS AND KULAK: George Golding to the Director of Prohibition, August 30, 1930, pp. 30–31, George Golding OPF/ATF. “Coyne Is Made New Prohibition Chief,” n.p., n.d., in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 46. “Robert W. Coyne Made Dry Czar in Chicago Area,” n.p., August 19, 1933, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1, p. 47. W. A. S. Douglas, “Kindling-Wood Peddler,” The American Mercury, July 1933, p. 341. Statement of Walter B. Newton, August 26, 1933 (“patted Mr. Ness,” “that it would,” “that if the,” “very few,” “take care of,” “shook his head”); Statement of Joseph Kulak Jr., August 26, 1933; J. J. Keating, memorandum for Special Agent in Charge M. H. Purvis, November 27, 1933; M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, November 28, 1933; Undated notes (“or E. Ness”), all in FBI-ENA. Service record card, Eliot Ness OPF. Burrough, Public Enemies, p. 147. Sagalyn, A Promise Fulfilled, p. 49. See also Trickey, “Eliot Ness vs. J. Edgar Hoover,” pp. 80, 82.

  NESS’S MARITAL PROBLEMS: M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, November 28, 1933, in FBI-ENA (“apparently preferred to,” “a very dear”). Heimel, Eliot Ness, p. 145.

  NESS TRIES TO JOIN FBI: CT, August 10, 1932; December 8, 1932; July 22, 1933; September 21, 1949. George E. Q. Johnson to J. Edgar Hoover, October 30, 1933 (“did a splendid”); J. Edgar Hoover to George E. Q. Johnson, November 3, 1933; J. Edgar Hoover to Special Agent in Charge, November 7, 1933 (“preferred attention”); J. Edgar Hoover to Eliot Ness, November 7, 1933; W. S. Murphy, Report on Eliot Ness, November 15, 1933; P. T. Sowell, Report on Eliot Ness, November 21, 1933; Howard P. Locke, memorandum for the Director, November 25, 1933; M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, November 28, 1933 (“a connection between”); M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, November 28, 1933; Memorandum, December 1, 1933; M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, December 1, 1933 (“Boss is using”); J. Edgar Hoover, notation on M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, December 1, 1933 (“I do not”); Howard P. Locke, memorandum for the Director, December 13, 1933 (“political influence,” “after the removal,” “does not appear,” “primarily a politician,” “temperamentally unfit for”); M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, January 5, 1934, all in FBI-ENA. George E. Q. Johnson to J. Edgar Hoover, October 30, 1933; Eliot Ness to George E. Q. Johnson, November 6, 1933, both in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. W. H.
D. Lester to J. Edgar Hoover, May 28, 1936, in FBI-EN. Lender and Martin, Drinking in America, pp. 134–136. Bergreen, Capone, pp. 420–421, 594–595. Heimel, Eliot Ness, p. 188. Cahan, Court That Shaped America, p. 96. Burrough, Public Enemies, pp. 65–68, 147, 247–249, 369–373, 411–412. Eig, Get Capone, pp. 387–388. See also Trickey, “Eliot Ness,” pp. 80–81.

  Much of the gossip Purvis forwarded to Hoover came from L. D. Nichols, the Prohibition agent who’d lent Edna Ness a sympathetic ear. Now he seemed determined to sully her husband’s reputation however he could. He related to Purvis a story that Maurice Seager (identified in the letter as “Morris Seeger”) had told him about “a drunken party” supposedly held by several Untouchables. After learning of the incident from an alleged witness, George Johnson put the men up for charges, but Seager rushed to their defense. He was the only Untouchable the witness knew by sight, and he could prove he hadn’t been at any party that night. As soon as Seager demanded a hearing, Johnson dropped the charges against the others. Nichols couldn’t say whether Ness had attended the party, or whether the party had even happened, but he assailed Ness’s character shamelessly. “Mr. Nichols,” Purvis wrote, “states that it is the opinion of various persons who have come in contact with Mr. Eliot Ness . . . that Mr. Ness is an undermining sort of an individual and that he creates dissensions wherever he goes.” Nichols’s evident dislike of Ness suggests this statement, at least, carried some truth. (M. H. Purvis to J. E. Hoover, November 28, 1933, in FBI-ENA.)

  1933 WORLD’S FAIR: CT, May 28, 1933; November 1, 1934. Norman F. Baker to August Vollmer, November 29, 1933, in Box 2, “Baker, Norman Freese, 1898–1941” folder; Leonarde Keeler to August Vollmer, March 19, 1934, in Box 17, “Keeler, Leonarde” folder (“Chicago’s most beautiful”), both in August Vollmer Papers, BANC MSS C-B 403, UCB. CHE, June 8, 1934 (“director of public”); CEA, June 8, 1934, both in RIR Scrapbook IV. Calvin Goddard, “A History of Firearm Identification,” n.d., p. 17, MM. Murray, Legacy of Al Capone, pp. 181–182 (182, “If a wheel”). Hoffman, Scarface Al, pp. 167–168. Russo, Outfit, pp. 97–99. Boehm, Popular Culture, pp. 107–125 (107, “adorn Chicago’s reputation”). Eghigian, After Capone, pp. 237–238. Alder, Lie Detectors, p. 137. Pacyga, Chicago, pp. 140–141, 143 (“White City”), 264–265 (264, “Rainbow City”). Kim Waggoner, “The FBI Laboratory: 75 Years of Forensic Science Service,” Forensic Science Communications, vol. 9, no. 4 (October 2007), https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/fsc/oct2007/research (accessed August 8, 2016).

  CONCLUSION: Sullivan, Rattling the Cup, p. 57 (“I told them”). M. A. Jones to Mr. Nease, January 1959, in FBI-ENA. Milton S. Mayer, “Myth of the ‘G Men,’ ” The Forum, September 1935, p. 148 (“The war on”). Powers, G-Men, pp. xi–xix, 24–25, 33–50, 74–93, 102–109, 139–160. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, p. 24 (“There’s plenty for”). Potter, War on Crime, pp. 5, 29, 57–74, 118, 121–139, 141, 198. Burrough, Public Enemies, p. 154. “The View From Mt. Carmel,” CT, September 28, 2007, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007–09–28/news/0709270652_1_mt-mob-family-secrets (accessed November 25, 2017). Cheryl Honigford, “Morbid Detour—the Celebrities of Mt. Carmel,” July 28, 2017, http://cherylhonigford.com/index.php/2017/07/28/morbid-detour-the-celebrities-of-mt-carmel/ (accessed November 25, 2017).

  Epilogue

  NESS’S SECOND CAREER: Transfer Order, March 10, 1934; Arthur J. Mellott to Eliot Ness, August 7, 1934; Service Record Card, n.d., all in Eliot Ness OPF. “Liquor Office Lost to Cincinnati,” n.p., n.d.; “Alcohol Tax Unit to Be Abolished,” n.p., n.d., both in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 1. CPD, September 19, 1934 (“an average of”); January 11, 1936. Eliot Ness to August Vollmer, December 16, 1935; Eliot Ness to August Vollmer, January 4, 1936, both in Box 24, “Ness, Eliot” folder, August Vollmer Papers, BANC MSS C-B 403, UCB. August Vollmer to Eliot Ness, December 26, 1935, in Box 44, “Letters Written By Vollmer, Dec. 1935” folder, August Vollmer Papers, BANC MSS C-B 403, UCB. August Vollmer to Eliot Ness, January 17, 1936; August Vollmer to Mrs. Herman Matzen, January 23, 1936, both in Box 44, “Letters Written By Vollmer Jan.–Feb. 1936” folder, August Vollmer Papers, BANC MSS C-B 403, UCB. CN, April 4, 1936, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 2, p. 62 (“Dick Tracy Detective”). CPD, February 21, 1937, in ENPS, Roll 1, Scrapbook 5, p. 142. CP, August 4, 1937, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 6, p. 39. CPD, December 10, 1937, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 10, p. 12. CPD, December 16, 1937, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 10, p. 16. Elliot H. [sic] Ness, “Public Safety and the Three E’s: Enforcement—Engineering—Education,” The Clevelander, March 1938, pp. 4, 21, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 10, pp. 135–136. Buffalo Courier-Express, February 2, 1938, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 10, pp. 80–81. Buffalo Courier-Express, February 6, 1938, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 10, p. 81. CT, July 21, 1939 (“Millions have been”). Eliot Ness, “Radio-Directed Mobile Police,” The American City, November 1939, pp. 35–36. Eliot Ness, “The Participation of Boys,” The Phi Delta Kappan, March 1940, pp. 337–344. CPD, March 31, 1939, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 8, p. 133. CN, March 29, 1940, in ENPS, Roll 2, Scrapbook 7, p. 104. Eliot Ness, “Streamlining Protection,” Real Detective, October 1941, pp. 4, 92. Ness and Fraley, The Untouchables, pp. 255–256 (255, “Moonshine Mountains”). Messick, Silent Syndicate, pp. 10, 29, 85, 89–125, 132–133, 138–140, 174–175. Messick, Secret File, pp. 26–27. Porter, Cleveland, pp. 97–103. Jedick, “Eliot Ness,” pp. 49–57. Van Tassel and Grabowski, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, p. 122. Scott Leeson Sroka, “Revisionist Theory,” CT, October 16, 2011, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-perspec-1016-untouchables-20111016,0,3602318,print.story (accessed October 16, 2011).

  CAPONE’S LATER YEARS: Alphonse Capone Identification Card, in Box 0202, “[Capone, Alphonse] Capone-Atlanta #1 [40886-A] [Folder 1 of 4]” folder, BOP-AP. Sanford Bates, “To the Warden of the U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia or His Duly Authorized Representative; and to the Warden of the U.S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, California,” August 15, 1934, in Box 0202, “[Capone, Alphonse] Capone-Atlanta #1 [40886-A] [Folder 2 of 4]” folder, BOP-AP. “Capone, Alphonse, Case History,” October 23, 1939, in Box 0205, “[Capone, Alphonse] 1–19 [397-CAL]” folder, BOP-AP. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone, pp. 330–355 (353, “He is nutty as”). Bair, Al Capone, pp. 255–297 (285, “He talked to”).

  NESS’S LATER YEARS AND THE UNTOUCHABLES: Fraley, “Real Eliot Ness,” pp. 26–30. William J. Ayers, “As I Knew Eliot Ness,” The Potter Enterprise Sportsmen’s Special, November 24, 1971, PCHS. Jedick, “Eliot Ness,” pp. 92–94. Scott Martell, “ ‘Untouchable’ Memories,” News-Press, December 7, 1994, PCHS. “Bill Ayers,” n.d., PWH. “Virginia Kallenborn Interview,” March 25, 2000, PWH (“It makes me”). Paul Heimel, “Coudersport’s Most Famous Citizen,” Potter Leader-Enterprise, April 16, 2003 (http://www.tiogapublishing.com/potter_leader_enterprise/coudersport-s-most-famous-citizen/article_cb0189bf-8079–5abd-873d-cd6cdf3eaff4.html [accessed December 6, 2017]). Dyja, Third Coast, p. 385 (“Whatever else the”).

  CHICAGO’S REVIVAL AND DALEY: Spinney, City of Big Shoulders, pp. 213–240 (214, “Chicago personified”; 216, “The old bosses”; 219, “the Builder”). Pacyga, Chicago, pp. 288–290, 324–327 (325, “Chicago ain’t ready”), 342, 347. Dyja, Third Coast, pp. xxi–xxxiv, 66, 260–264, 296–301, 304, 328–343, 396–397, and passim. “History and Facts,” Willis Tower, http://www.willistower.com/history-and-facts (accessed December 10, 2017).

  GANGSTER BUILDINGS DEMOLISHED: CT, April 9, 1967; November 1, 1967 (“Generally we try”); February 17, 1972; August 2, 1978; February 11, 1979; December 23, 1979; February 13, 1987. LAT, October 17, 1988. Chicago Sun-Times, October 16, 1988; December 4, 1988; May 22, 1992. Lindberg, Return to the Scene, pp. xii–xiii, 101–102, 366–373, 379–381. Bilek, First Vice Lord, p. 264. Mario Gomes, “The Four Deuces,” My Al Capone Museum, May 2009, http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id152.htm (accessed November 14, 2017). Pacyga, Chicago, p. 327. Edward McClelland, “It’s Time to Embrace Al Capone,” NBC Chica
go, April 21, 2011, https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/its-time-to-embrace-al-capone-120363329.html (accessed November 14, 2017). Cahan, Court That Shaped America, pp. 107–108, 140–142, 154–159 (156, “cracker box surroundings,” “pure justice”). “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall,” The Mob Museum, https://themobmuseum.org/exhibits/st-valentines-day-massacre-wall/ (accessed December 6, 2017).

  SOUTH SIDE SLUMS AND METROPOLE: CT, January 31, 1975 (“attached to the,” “a good old”); January 11, 1976 (“How long will”). Spinney, City of Big Shoulders, pp. 220, 227–228 (227, “Black Belt”), 231, 240 (“city that works”). Pacyga, Chicago, pp. 292–293 (293, “Second Ghetto”), 300, 307. Dyja, Third Coast, pp. xxvi, 393 (“On Lake Shore”).

  PRAIRIE AVENUE LANDMARK FIGHT: NYT, November 29, 1954 (“the father of”); March 22, 1989; April 21, 1989. Chicago Sun-Times, October 16, 1988 (“Chicago’s most famous”); October 18, 1988 (“No doubt, Chicago”); October 28, 1988 (“Chicago has vainly,” “this attempt to,” “stereotype all Italians”); October 30, 1988; April 14, 1989; April 17, 1989; April 20, 1989; May 30, 1989. CT, April 14, 1989; October 29, 2014 (“Untouchable”). AJ Latrace, “Al Capone’s First Chicago Home Returns with Big Price Chop,” Curbed Chicago, February 4, 2016, https://chicago.curbed.com/2016/2/4/10941846/al-capones-house-returns (accessed November 29, 2017). 7244 S Prairie Ave, Zillow, https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7244-s-prairie-ave-chicago-il-60619/2140426578_zpid/ (accessed November 29, 2017).