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The Untouchables, led by Eliot Ness, were a group of nine law-enforcement agents who sought to enforce Prohibition and take down Al Capone.
Following the election of President Herbert Hoover, Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon was specifically charged with bringing down Alphonse Capone. The federal government approached the problem by passing the Volstead Act and pursuing suspected offenders for income tax evasion. Ness was chosen to head the operations under the Volstead Act, targeting the illegal breweries and supply routes of Capone.
With corruption among law-enforcement agents endemic, Ness went through the records of all the treasury agents to create a reliable team, initially of fifty, later reduced to fifteen and finally to just nine men. Raids against stills and breweries began immediately; within six months, Ness claimed to have seized breweries worth over one million dollars. An extensive wire-tapping operation was the main source of information for the raids.
An attempt by Capone to bribe Ness's agents was seized on by Ness for publicity, leading to the media nickname "The Untouchables". There were a number of assassination attempts on Ness; a close friend of his was killed.
The final group of nine consisted of:
- Marty Lahart - Irish sports and fitness enthusiast.
- Sam Seager - tough man who had been a death row guard at Sing Sing.
- Barney Cloonan - giant muscular, black-haired Irishman.
- Lyle Chapman - problem solver and investigator; body and strength of the Colgate University football player he had been.
- Tom Friel - former Pennsylvania state trooper.
- Joe Leeson - legendary genius in the art of tailing someone from an automobile.
- Paul Robsky - short man, who brought telephone expertise and extraordinary courage to the job.
- Mike King - special talent for absorbing and analyzing facts.
- Bill Gardner - former professional football player of Native American descent.
Even after Prohibition, a new group of Untouchables, still led by Ness, fought the Mafia in the United States.
See also
External links
"The Untouchables (law enforcement)"