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
in the Chicago area alone," (Ness 59). In its first six months of operation, Ness had closed down some nineteen distilleries and key breweries, worth an estimated $1,000,000. The Broadway Mob took over most of the bootlegging in Manhattan. On Chicago's South Side, the area known as Little Italy, was run by six Sicilian-born brothers, the Terrible Gennas,"(Gingold 31). Johnson took the deal and agreed to recommend a 21/2-year sentence. There was only one problem, there wasn't a single soul in the place. District Attorney George Emmerson Q. I needed a men who were excellent drivers, for much of our success would depend on how expertly they could trail the mob's cars and trucks. Things became even worse for Capone when he was indicted by the Grand Jury for income tax evasion. Soon, Leeson and Seager confirmed the location of another Capone brewery on South Cicero Ave. Ness was making a significant dent in Capone's business. Ness waited several days until all the new equipment was installed and the brewery was online, then he made his move. Ness's brother-in-law, Alexander Jaime, was the chief investigator for the Justice Department's Prohibition Bureau.
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