The Untouchables - Eliot Ness and Prohibition

Realising the problems with trying to enforce the law, Elliot Ness, an up and coming official known for his outspoken anti-corruption views was recruited to clean the town up. He was told to pick his own officers, form a team and take on Al Capone.

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Going through the records to find people who were not corrupt, he had a shortlist of fifty names. Some he rejested because they had families, others simply on gut feel, and initially he formed a team of nine officers, named in his biography:

Martin "Marty" J. Lahart
Samuel "Sam" M. Seager
Bernard "Barney" V. Cloonan
Lyle Chapman
Thomas "Tom" Friel
Joseph "Joe" Leeson
Paul W. Robsky
Michael King
William "Bill" Gardner

And one unofficial member: his driver, Frank Basile.

Two other officers are often mentioned as members of the Untouchables:
Jim Seeley
Albert H. Wolff

Ness knew that going after the outlets would be ineffective, but if he could destroy the supply, then the outlets would close. He went after the racketeers' breweries and supply lines.

Without the money to continue to supply bribes and pay officials, the mob's influence began to wane. Ness pressed his advantage and continued to attack the speakeasies and breweries.

However the treasury department was working on two fronts. While Ness was eroding Capone's public influence, the IRS were investigating his private affairs and discovered he had never filed a tax return.

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In 1931 Capone was arrested for income tax evasion. His influence and resources reduced he was convicted and sentenced to ten years' hard labour. Released in 1939 his influence over the crime syndicates had gone, and he retired to his home in Florida where he died in 1947.

Prohibition, Shall Uncle Sam Back Down
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With Al Capone in jail, the Untouchables were disbanded at the end of 1931. In 1933 Prohibition ended, removing the lucrative market the racketeers depended on.

Eliiot Ness went on to become Safety Director at Cleveland in 1938, putting him in charge of police and fire. Once again he went after the mob, but also after a serial killer the "Torso Murderer" who was never caught. Running for mayor unsuccessfully, and performing a range of other duties, Ness's life never again reached the heights of his fame in the Untouchables.

He died in 1957 after working with Oscar Fraley on his authorised biography. It was published a month after his death.

A Special edition of the film is now available in the US.