The Untouchables
In the 1920's, Americans lives seem to revolve around their glittering automobiles, blaring radios, rambunctious parties and a "live life in the fast lane" attitude, but underneath all the glitz and glamour lived a group of people who refused to obey any laws. With the enactment of Prohibition in 1919 by the 18th Amendment, a great struggle began to "brew" on the streets of Chicago between the United States government and gangsters. In 1924, when the Department of Commerce estimated the value of liquor being smuggled into the country, by gangsters, at $40 million, a young United States Prohibition Bureau agent, by the name of Eliot Ness, was asked to assemble and lead a team to go after Al Capone's breweries and hard liquor operations. Eliot Ness and his team of nine men would later become known as "The Untouchables". They would successfully enforce Prohibition in the city of Chicago by putting an end to Al Capone and his flourishing bootlegging industry.On December 22, 1917, with the majorities well in excess of the two-third requirement, Congress submitted to the 18th Amendment to the states. This amendment prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors". By January 1919, ratification was complete
Soon, Leeson and Seager confirmed the location of another Capone brewery on South Cicero Ave. In a media frenzy, Ness told reporters ". Ness was given the personnel records of the entire Prohibition Bureau from which he was to select his team of "crack" agents. Ness installed a wiretap in the Cafe and discovered Capone's plan to reopen the brewery on South Wabash Ave. "The Untouchables" watched Capone's mob around the clock and it was this heavy-duty surveillance that formulated Ness's intricate plans for his trademark brewery raids. That night, "The Untouchables" destroyed 40,324 gallons of unbarreled beer and 115 barrels that had already been racked. Capone was now the dominant mobster in Chicago. The success of his mission depended upon the honesty of the agents. Capone was detained in Philadelphia for a few hours between trains. "Quietly and anonymously, the IRS agents went about building their case against Capone by proving that Capone's net worth and net expenditures were far in excess of his income in the years in which Capone had not filed Parker 3any income tax statements," (Bardsley 3). Leeson and Seager noticed a convoy of thugs was protecting the delivery trucks. The federal government had two areas to attack Capone: income tax evasion and violations of the Volstead Act. On June 5th, 1931, the grand jury met again and returned a second indictment against Capone with twenty-two counts of tax evasion totaling over $200,000.
Common topics in this essay:
Al Capone,
Prohibition Bureau,
Street Ness,
Ave Ness,
Svoboda Capone's,
Judge Wilkerson,
Chicago Heights,
Eliot Ness,
Robsky Capone's,
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volstead act,
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eliot ness,
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prohibition bureau,
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income tax,
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grand jury,
chicago heights,
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capone flourishing bootlegging,
al capone flourishing,
chicago heights operation,
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Acceptance Essays
