S1 E1 • The Empty Chair

Narrator: "Chicago, May 5, 1932. After 7 months of legal delays, Al Capone... was on his way to federal prison, to serve 11 years for income tax evasion."* Eliot Ness and his Untouchables had spent 18 months to get Capone behind bars-- but now who would try to take over the throne, the Empty Chair? May 8. Barbara Ritchie (niece of Jake Guzik) has been grieving over the death of her husband George Ritchie for 12 months-- unaware that it was her own uncle Jake who had him knocked off for being an informer to Ness. At a service at the cemetery, marking the first anniversary of George's death, are: Barbara Ritchie (George's widow), her uncle Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik (treasurer and bookkeeper for the Capone mob), Norma Guzik (Jake's widowed sister, Barbara's mother), Phil D'Andrea (expert machine-gunner), "Fur" Sammons (hijacker and rumrunner), Gus Raddi ("pineapple" expert), Tony "Mops" Volpe (chief triggerman) and last and most important Frank Nitti ("The Enforcer"). May 12. Two of Capone's principle lieutenants-- Gus Raddi and Tony "Mops" Volpe-- go to a barber shop where Enrico Rossi is working as a barber. Nitti barges in with a machine-gun and blasts them, eliminating some competition for the Empty Chair. (Unfortunately, some stray machine-gun bullets hit pretty Tessie DiGiovanni, the 17-year-old manicurist working in the barber shop.) Enrico Rossi uses his straight razor to attack Nitti's henchman and agrees to testify against Nitti. Since being a witness against "the Enforcer" can be hazardous to one's health, the Untouchables must give Rico protection. They figure the best way to do this is to hire him on as their driver. Thus, Rico joins the squad where he will remain for the entire run of the series. Guzik calls a meet of the 4 still-living heirs at the Montmartre Cafe, headquarters of the Capone gang: himself, Frank Nitti, "Fur" Sammons and Phil D'Andrea. Nitti sits in Capone's Empty Chair, saying "Big chair-- big man. It fits all right. Anybody object?" Only bookkeeper Guzik stands up to Frank Nitti "The Enforcer," and insists Capone's chair be kept empty. Guzik also insists they all keep books, and pay income tax on their legit fronts, so they can't get nailed with income tax evasion like Capone. May 21. Ness and his men meet with District Attorney Beecher Asbury. Ness gets a subpoena for Phil D'Andrea's books-- but an audit only proves that Jake Guzik is a genius, both as a bookkeeper and a crook. The Capone heirs all get along peacefully-- until June, when Ness and his men, trying to start a gang dogfight, raid Nitti's places: his handbooks, crap parlors, stills, cathouses and his own speakeasy. Nitti's plenty sore! Nitti figures he's being fingered by one of the heirs, and he's ready to start blasting. Nitti shows up at the meet at the Montmartre with 3 hired guns; but he's confronted by Guzik, Sammons, D'Andrea and SIX of their hired guns. Then both sides send all the hired guns outside. But then Guzik lays down the law, telling Nitti: "We're sick and tired of you and your gun. We're tired of seein' you carry it and wave it and pick your teeth with it!" Guzik says they will rule with the pencil, not the gun. Guzik also says they will give him a share of their take until Nitti can rebuild. Nitti takes the pencil out of Guzik's suit pocket, looks at it, and quips, "That's, uh, some pencil." Then they both laugh. September 23, 1932. Rossi sets up a secret meeting between Barbara Ritchie and Ness, in room 208 of the Federal Building. She agrees to help Ness get the hoods who killed her husband; Ness gives her a small handgun for protection. But her meeting with Ness is reported back to Guzik-- by an elevator operator of the Federal Building (Guzik has informants everywhere). Later that night, at Guzik's home, Barbara confronts Guzik-- and Guzik tells her HE gave the order to have her husband killed. Barbara Ritchie takes out the small handgun Ness gave her, and shoots Guzik, but it's just a flesh wound. Ness and his men barge in; Flaherty and Youngfellow shoot Phil D'Andrea and arrest Guzik. Norma Guzik, in retaliation against her brother Jake, takes Ness to George Ritchie's mausoleum where, behind the headstone, Jake Guzik kept the incriminating records of Capone's huge, secret cash reserves. (the records are in code: Polish backwards.) So Ness wins the first battle, but the rest of his war on crime would constitute the entire TV series.

Première diffusion : 15 octobre 1959

S1 E2 • Ma Barker and Her Boys

January 16, 1935. Oklawaha, Florida. Eliot Ness, along with Bill Youngfellow and Martin Flaherty, are closing in on Ma Barker, who is holed up in a house along with 2 of her sons, Lloyd and Fred. Ness says they are wanted for everything from bank robbery, kidnapping, to first-degree murder. Now that Ness has found where the Barkers are, he contacts half a dozen state troopers and local police for backup. From a distance, Ness yells at Ma Barker and her boys to surrender and come out with their hands up. Ma Barker goes to a closet, and inside is an arsenal of weapons-- machine guns, pistols, hand grenades, etc., enough for a small army. She fires a chopper at Ness; he jumps behind an 8-foot long wooden flower pot that gets riddled with bullets. Ma Barker throws a hand grenade that almost blows up Bill Youngfellow. Ma Barker is the most vicious outlaw they've ever faced. In a flashback, we see how it all started in Tulsa, Oklahoma years ago: Ma Barker was a church-goer, but always making excuses for her 4 boys who were committing petty crimes, which escalated into serious crimes. In 1927, while the 4 boys were looting a store, Herman got shot by a policeman. Pa Barker finally had the guts to walk out on the bunch. Ma and her 3 boys committed bank robberies, and killed a bank guard; also a kidnapping. They committed crimes in a 10-state area. In 1935, Pa Barker tipped Eliot Ness, and Ness almost caught the Barker gang in St. Paul, Minnesota. Then the Barkers kidnapped a millionaire's son and got $200,000 ransom. Arthur "Doc" Barker and his fiancée Eloise left the gang; Arthur took his share of the ransom and went to Chicago, but all the serial numbers were recorded with the police. Around the first of January, 1935, when Arthur spent a $10 bill, the grocer informed Eliot Ness, so Ness knew Arthur was in Chicago. Ma Barker stupidly sent a birthday cake to Arthur (who was using the alias Clarence Tillman), and enclosed a postcard, "Greetings from Oklawaha, Florida." Arthur even more stupidly picked it up at the post office (January 8), even though there was a "Wanted" poster with his photo on it in the post office lobby. Bill Youngfellow tailed him; Arthur was soon arrested by Ness and his men. Back to the present: January 16, 1935. Ma Barker lobs a hand grenade at Flaherty and almost blows him up. Ma Barker throws another grenade at Eliot Ness, crouching behind a large, fallen tree limb, and the explosion almost kills him. Ma Barker is the most malicious outlaw they've ever faced; she keeps firing her machine gun and screaming defiantly. Eliot Ness, trying to give them every possible chance to surrender, brings Arthur to the scene, hoping they will give up. Lloyd decides to surrender, and walks outside and throws down his chopper; his own brother Fred shoots him in the back. Lloyd manages to crawl back inside the house, and dies. Ness lets Arthur walk all the way to the house; he tells his mom they don't have a chance. Then Fred, shot up badly himself, dies. Ma Barker calls Arthur "scum" for surrendering, and points her chopper at him; nevertheless, she lets him walk back to Ness. Arthur couldn't get Ma Barker to surrender, and she finally gets shot inside the house. Thus ended the threat of the Barker gang. (synopsis by: kdh) --------------------------------- [facts: The Barker-Karpis gang rampaged across the Midwest from 1931 to 1935. Their career spanned the entire "public enemy" era of the Depression and included murders, burglaries, bank robberies, mail robberies, train robberies, and 2 kidnappings. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, in his book "The FBI in Action" wrote, "Ma Barker and her sons, and Alvin Karpis and his cronies, constituted the toughest gang of hoodlums the FBI ever has been called upon to eliminate."] [deaths: The first to die was Herman Barker, he shot himself during a gunfight with the police on August 29, 1927. After a shootout that lasted for hours, Ma Barker and her son Fred were gunned down in the Lake Weir, Florida, resort on January 16, 1935. Arthur "Doc" Barker, captured on January 8, 1935, was found guilty of the Bremer kidnapping, and was sent off to Alcatraz to serve a life sentence; 4 years later, after an ill-advised escape attempt gone bad, Arthur was gunned down by the prison guards on June 13, 1939. Finally, Lloyd Barker was shot and killed by his wife in 1949; she was committed to a mental institution.] [trivia: producer Desi Arnaz, of Desilu Productions, had once thought of casting himself in the role of Eliot Ness.]

Première diffusion : 22 octobre 1959

S1 E3 • The Jake Lingle Killing

Gangs have divided Chicago in 2-- the northside is run by the Bertshce mob, the southside by the Viale brothers, Augie & Vito. The line of demarcation being Madison Street. At the news office, Jake Lingle phones in a story to the front desk: gang war has erupted on the near northside, 2 hoods with machine guns smashed the liquor supply at Bertsche's Club Chapeau, in retaliation for Bertsche's mob raiding a Viale warehouse. Jake Lingle gets shot in the back at the subway station. The public turns out by the thousands for his funeral. It was the first time in history that a newspaperman was killed by the mob. Publicly, Augie Viale says Bertsche killed him; Bertsche says Viale did. The newspaper puts up a $25,000 reward for the capture of the killer. Former hood Bill Hagen meets with Ness. He says he'll give Ness information about the booze racket, if Ness finds out who killed Jake Lingle and tells him first, so he can get the reward money. Ness reminds him the Lingle killing is not a federal matter. Later, Ness meets with D.A. Beecher Asbury; he tells Ness the truth. Dead, Jake Lingle is a martyr, a rallying point for the public to demand reform; but alive, Lingle was pocketing 50 grand a year by being a broker-- through him, the mob bought protection from the police. Bill Hagen, who used to be a big-time bootlegger from St. Louis, meets with Barney Bertsche, and gets a job with his mob. Barney Bertsche trusts him. Hagen tips off Ness about one of Bertsche's stills, at a farmhouse 9 miles outside of town. Ness grills all the crooks there, and finds out that a Patty O'Day, who used to drive a truck for Bertsche, supplied the gun for the Lingle killing-- Ness relates this info to Hagen. Over the next few weeks, Hagen tips Ness off 5 more times. Bertsche figures these raids are just bad luck; Jack Zuta tells him Hagen is a stoolie. They set a trap: they give Hagen false info about a still. Hagen calls Ness, tells him there's a cooker on Columbus Drive. If Ness raids it, Hagen is exposed. But it's a residential neighborhood; Ness doesn't smell alcky, so he calls off the raid. Jack Zuta is in big trouble for accusing Hagen of being a stoolie; also cause he had his henchman knock off Lingle-- that's 2 strikes against him. He grabs money from Hagen's safe and tries to make a run for it. Hagen catches him; he lets him go, but without the dough. Jack Zuta goes on the lam. Late one night, Bertsche meets Viale, and to end the gang war, they play blackjack games of death-- everyone time one loses, he has to agree to let the other one knock off a gang member of his. Viale loses Anselmi and Scalice, Bertsche loses Joe Aiello and Jack Zuta-- later, all 4 die in a hail of machine gun bullets. Ness finds out that Bill Hagen is not just a bounty hunter; his wife left him, and took along their young son, because she hated his life of crime. Hagen figures with the reward money, earned legitimately, he can start a new life, and get his wife and son back. Hagen finds out Bertsche is smuggling in 5,000 cases of Canadian booze, which cost him 225 grand, and he can sell for 750 grand. Bertsche offers to make Hagen a partner; Hagen could make 300 grand a year, but he decides to go straight. Later, Hagen tips off Ness in exchange for the name of Zuta's hood that killed Lingle: Leo Brothers. Armed with a gun, Hagen goes to Leo's place and gets him, and collects the $25,000 reward. Ness muses at the irony of it: Lingle was a guy who looked good on the outside, but the center was rotten; Bill Hagen looked bad on the outside, but he only wanted to go legit and get his wife and son back. (synopsis by: kdh) --------------------------------- [facts: in real life, Alfred "Jake" Lingle was a police reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He was shot in 1930, at the age of 39.]

Première diffusion : 29 octobre 1959

S1 E4 • The George Bugs Moran Story

March 2, 1932. Gangster Joe Carroll, sidekick of George "Bugs" Moran, kidnaps 9-year-old Larry Halloran, Jr.-- the son of Lawrence Halloran, president of the United Trucker's Union. It just so happens that at this very moment, Ness and his Untouchables are trying to nail Bugs Moran-- who is now the top criminal in Chicago, since Capone is in prison. Ness leaves Agent Martin Flaherty in charge; Ness has to fly to Washington, DC, since the brass wants him to give Congress the whole story about the Capone operation. Bugs Moran and Joe Carroll phone Lawrence Halloran at his home; they say Halloran should meet them at his union building. There, Moran spells it out: he wants control of Halloran's union. Halloran is to call a meeting of the union, recommend they elect Moran as vice president, and Joe Carroll as executive secretary-- and then Halloran is to keep his mouth shut. In exchange, Halloran will get his kid back; Halloran has no choice but to agree. Flaherty and Youngfellow are tailing Moran the whole time; after Moran leaves, Flaherty talks to Halloran-- but Halloran won't make a move until he gets his son back. Later that night, the kid is returned to Halloran. Next day, Halloran drops in on Flaherty in room 208 of the Federal Building. Flaherty wants to get Moran; but he tells Halloran that as a Federal agent he can do nothing, since kidnapping is not a federal offense, (if it doesn't cross state lines). Halloran leaves, disgusted. Flaherty phones Ness for some sage advice. Ness surprises Flaherty by telling him he should let Moran take over the union: give him enough rope and he'll hang himself. Ness says, let Moran try to put his arm on some interstate hauler, and they'll nail him for violation of interstate commerce: a federal offense. (that's why Ness is the brains of the Untouchables.) Halloran pays a visit to non-union "Patterson & Sons" Trucking & Hauling. Halloran wants to warn them that Bugs Moran is taking over his union, and Bugs will take over their business next. But the president, Mr. Joseph Patterson, a crusty curmudgeon about 70, accuses Halloran of just wanting to unionize his company, and throws him out of his office; his son Tom Patterson, 28, isn't allowed to say much. Outside, 4 of Bellano's goons start beating up Halloran; Moran and Joe Carroll are watching from their car, and Moran says they'll just "sit back and enjoy it." But as soon as they drive off, Flaherty and Youngfellow run to Halloran's aid, and whale into the goons. They call an ambulance; Halloran goes to the hospital. At the union meeting, Bugs Moran turns Halloran's beating to his advantage: he tells all the members that Patterson's goons hospitalized him, inciting the crowd. Then Moran promises them that, if he's elected vice president, he will force Patterson's company to sign a union contract-- even if he has to break a few of their heads. Moran will also double their membership. Moran is a hell of a speech-maker, and is elected with cheers and applause. April 6, 1932. Moran doesn't have any new tricks, so he uses his old one again: this time he kidnaps Mr. Joseph Patterson's younger son, Tom. But Moran's made a couple of mistakes. First, when Flaherty finds out Patterson's company does interstate hauling, this kidnapping is a federal offense, and Flaherty calls his men and the police. Second, this time they know where the kidnap victim is-- Larry Jr. will ride with Flaherty, and lead them to the farmhouse where he was held. And so, 5 carloads of Untouchables and police take off for Moran's place. At Moran's farmhouse, George "Blackie" Anderson's moll, pretty Thelma Devores, is toying with the tied-up Tom Patterson. She cuddles up to him on the couch; (kidnap victim Tom is in no mood to respond). Blackie Anderson is getting jealous, and snaps at her, "Why don't you play those games with me, Thelma?" (it seems she's fooled around with other guys in the past.) Thelma responds by throwing her lit cigarette at Blackie, bouncing it off his head. Joe Carroll phones the farmhouse, and tips Moran that the Feds are coming over. Moran tells Blackie to shoot Tom Patterson, and says to shoot Thelma, too-- making it look like a "love nest" killing, like they were shot by a jealous boyfriend. (who would buy that story? Everyone knows Tom Patterson was kidnapped.) Blackie says, "It'll be a pleasure." Moran leaves. Moran drives his car around the police roadblock, firing his gun at them. At the farmhouse, Blackie plugs Tom Patterson and Thelma. When Blackie goes out the front door, 4 cars shine their headlights on him. In a stupid move, Blackie fires at them; about 15 Untouchables and policemen create the firepower of a small army. Next day, Joe Carroll is being interviewed by a reporter; he talks his way out of everything. It was not Moran's farmhouse. Moran didn't run through a police blockade, he ran by "3 sinister characters" in an unmarked car who fired on him, how was he supposed to know they were Feds? Etc. Bugs Moran is in jail, and he's done running the unions himself: but Joe Carroll does it for him. At the union meeting, Joe Carroll builds Moran up as a hero: he went to jail for the union, just like Halloran got hospitalized for them. They've signed up 15 new trucking companies. The union members cheer. Halloran, bent but not broken, is at the union meeting. Flaherty asks Halloran, "You've been through kidnappings, beatings, threats. Isn't that enough?" Halloran answers, "It's never enough." Halloran will continue to fight the criminals. As long as we have a few honest men like Halloran, the criminals will eventually lose. (synopsis by: kdh) --------------------------------- [note: this episode does not provide a pat ending -- all the criminals captured or killed, the rackets ring was totally smashed, etc. -- that virtually all the following episodes will provide. This was an open-ended story. Much more realistic, but perhaps not so pleasing to the average TV viewer.] [trivia: Robert Stack's birth name was Robert Langford Modini, and he was born on January 13, 1919, in Los Angeles, California.]

Première diffusion : 5 novembre 1959

S1 E5 • Ain't We Got Fun?

Summer 1933, Chicago. The mobsters were branching out from liquor, going into the numbers racket, call girls, gambling and dope. One of the most successful gangsters is "Big" Jim Harrington; right now he and his gang are in back of Benny Hoff's Blue Poodle nightclub, and they smash a truckload of liquor. Harrington tells Hoff, from now on, he will only buy booze from him-- and Harrington demands 75% ownership. When Hoff balks, one of Harrington's boys, Loxie the Torch, intimidates Hoff. Loxie takes out a whiskey hip flask, but it's not filled with whiskey. Loxie goes, "Alright, now, smell it," as he pours the gasoline on the terrified Hoff, "light a match and >fshhh!!<" and he holds the lighted match up to him. Hoff doesn't want his club to be torched, too; the club becomes Jim Harrington's Blue Poodle. Harrington was out to get ownership of all the speakeasies and nightclubs in Chicago, and flood the town with his rotgut-- 1,000 gallons a day. The violence was a matter for the police; the booze was a federal matter. And so Eliot Ness meets with Hoff, but Hoff doesn't want to talk about it. Hoff also owns another small club on the side, a German beer garden called the Double Eagle. Hoff is manager and best friend of a stand-up comedian named Johnny Paycheck, who is working there this week, and his jokes are strictly from hunger. Paycheck regales the audience, "We were so poor, one day my mom said to the landlord, 'What about the floor?' and he said, 'What about it?' and my mom said, 'We want one'." You get the idea. Harrington is in the audience with his moll Renee Sullivan, and figuring that Paycheck's rotten jokes are no worse than his rotgut, he offers Paycheck a job in one of his downtown speaks, the Blue Poodle. Harrington now has his sights set on taking over the swankiest nightclub in town, Schlessinger's Mohawk club. Eliot Ness warns the owner about Harrington's plan to take over. 6 weeks later, Johnny Paycheck has picked up some better jokes (thank heavens) and is a big hit at the club; he's also picked up Renee as his main squeeze. Renee works as a dancer in the floorshow. Later, Hoff packs up and wants to move to New York; Johnny tells him he and Renee will go with him. Loxie the Torch meets up with Schlessinger; "Have a drink on me," Loxie tells him-- gasoline, and then the lighted match. One night, Harrington is throwing a private party, ostensibly in Johnny's honor: he tells Johnny that he's opening at his new club, the Mohawk. At exactly the same time, Hoff-- knowing that Paycheck will never be free of Harrington-- goes to a phone booth and tells Ness that Harrington has a big still downtown, by a mattress factory, then the booze is pumped via sewer pipes to a bottling company. Ness tells Hoff that he wants to put him into protective custody; Hoff says his famous last words, "You don't have to worry about me." Loxie the Torch is driving a car, and flattens Hoff between a brick wall and his grill. In one of the rare times he's wrong, Ness figures Paycheck had Hoff killed, because he was holding him back from the big time; Ness shakes down Paycheck. In the wee hours of the morning, Ness and his men raid Harrington's still, in an abandoned power plant (with a smokestack to emit fumes) by the mattress factory. In the shootout, Rossi gets winged in the left shoulder. Meanwhile, Johnny gets the straight dope from Renee-- she's not his girl, she's only with him because Big Jim told her to; and the party in his honor was just a cover, to establish an alibi for Loxie the Torch, who was rubbing out Schlessinger at the time. Johnny tries to grab a train to New York. He's intercepted by Loxie. Back at the club, at a private meet, Harrington makes Johnny do his new act-- but he's such an emotional wreck that he's all washed up. Harrington tells Loxie to torch him. Just then, Ness and his men bust in; he's finally got the goods on Harrington, since he raided his still. Gunfire, and Ness shoots Loxie. Harrington is arrested by Ness who has to pull Johnny off of him. Johnny had finally tried to do the right thing after the death of his friend Benny but by then it was a little too late.

Première diffusion : 12 novembre 1959

S1 E6 • The Vincent Mad Dog Coll Story

February 1931. In Churchill Downs, the entries for the Kentucky Derby are closed. Tight-fisted Dutch Schultz, beer baron of the Bronx, places a bet with the Syndicate: 100-grand in the Winter-book on Enchantment to win the Kentucky Derby. Trying to get the most for his money, Dutch knows he will get much better odds now than if he waits until race day. Dutch's lieutenant is "Lefty" Gallagher, and his bodyguard is Benny Bristow. Schultz has a powerful enemy in Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, who earned his nickname (which Schultz stuck him with) due to his violent actions; his sidekicks are "Needles" Bledsoe and "Fats" Finney. Lefty Gallagher cautions his boss Dutch: if anything should happen to the horse between now and the Kentucky Derby in April, the Syndicate doesn't give refunds. But money-loving Dutch is savoring the 7-to-1 odds he's gotten; at post-time, he might only get 8-to-5. When Lefty leaves, Coll and Needles put the snatch on him; Coll knows what a notorious cheapskate Dutch Schultz is, so he holds Lefty for $100,000 ransom-- so it'll get Schultz right where it hurts most, in his wallet. Ness and his men are in New York; Ness hears about the kidnapping from a juvenile eyewitness. Coll makes Lefty write 3 ransom notes, which Coll will turn in to Dutch one at a time. When Coll dictates he wants $100,000 Lefty fears for his life; he pleads with Coll that Dutch is so tight with a buck he'd never pay that amount, Lefty wants it lowered to 25-grand. Fats Finney reads to them from the paper; Schultz is betting 100-grand on a horse, it says so in Walter Winchell's column. Lefty, figuring he's almost as good as dead, writes in the last note that he swears to Schultz he'll repay the money. Coll attaches a silencer to his gun, then pumps 6 slugs into Lefty; Coll tells Needles to get the notes, saying, "Them we need, him we don't." Coll tells Finney to stuff the body in the closet. In the following days, Lefty Gallagher's kidnapping is big news in the papers. Dutch Schultz correctly figures Lefty is dead already. But his bodyguard Benny tells him the boys are upset: if Dutch won't go to bat for Lefty, they figure he won't go to bat for them. Dutch reluctantly agrees to pay the $100,000. But miser Dutch is incensed with the ransom demand to toss the money into a garbage can in Foster Park in Long Island; "Money in a garbage can!" Dutch rants, and he calls Coll "nuts." Meanwhile, Coll and his boys start their watch in a house, just a couple of hundred feet from the garbage can drop-off. Ness has 2 interests in the case: he wants to get Coll for kidnapping, and if he catches Dutch Schultz (who says he doesn't have much money) with 100-grand, Ness might nail him on an income tax evasion charge. But there's a snag in Coll's scheme: a cleaning lady finds Lefty's body in the closet, where it's been for 4 days; she faints. Ness and his men are alerted. At the scene of the crime, Ness finds the newspaper with the item in Walter Winchell's column circled: Schultz's $100,000 bet. When Schultz finds out Lefty is dead, Schultz says he pinned the right tag on Coll: "Mad Dog." Ness drops in on Schultz; he tells Ness about the noon time drop-off demand. Penny-pinching Schultz is happy: not only did he save $100,000 but Ness will save him the cost of having Coll rubbed out, too. But Coll finds out the newspaper carried the story of Lefty's death; Coll and his 2 boys split before Ness and his men show up. For the next couple of months, Ness looks everywhere for Coll. Dutch Schultz seems to forget about Coll, as Dutch celebrates his birthday.* On April 20, as Diana Carten, owner of Enchantment, has her horse transferred from Lexington, Kentucky, to Churchill Downs, Coll kidnaps the horse. Ness warns her not to pay the $50,000 ransom. But she does, and Coll runs off with her money. However, Coll decides to return the horse after all-- Coll has a scheme: he bets the $50,000 at 6-to-1 odds on Dream Prince (he'll only get those kind of odds if Enchantment is running against him). Coll plans to shoot Enchantment-- during the running of the Kentucky Derby. Just before the Kentucky Derby race starts, Ness notices a cameraman above the crowd-- armed with a high-powered rifle. Youngfellow shoots Needles; Fats Finney is apprehended. Ness does a flying-tackle on Coll just before he fires his rifle. Ironically, Dream Prince comes in # 1, and Enchantment # 2 -- Coll would have won his bet, and Schultz lost his $100,000 without Coll trying to shoot the horse, and getting arrested by Ness. It seems Coll was not charged with murder (no bail on that), but only extortion; Coll skipped bail and fled to New York. The Underworld (specifically Schultz) put a price on his head: 50-grand. On February 7, 1932 (actually February 8), Coll died in a hail of machine-gun bullets, in a telephone booth on W. 23rd Street. (synopsis by: kdh) --------------------------------- *[Goof: Dutch Schultz was born on August 6, 1902 -- so he wouldn't be celebrating a birthday in April.] [facts: in real life, Dutch Schultz (1902-1935) was known as the "Beer Baron of the Bronx." His real name was Arthur Flegenheimer.] [sports trivia: in 1931, the Kentucky Derby was won by a horse named "Twenty Grand" ridden by jockey Charlie Kurtsinger (who would later ride Triple Crown winner War Admiral) -- they completed the 1-1/4 mile lap in 2:01-4/5. Note: this episode uses some very good stock footage of an actual running of the Kentucky Derby.] [Note: this early episode does not have the familiar Untouchables theme music running throughout.]

Première diffusion : 19 novembre 1959

S1 E7 • Mexican Stake-Out

Chicago. October 1, 1932.* In 32 hours, Judge McGinnis will consider evidence against racketeer Theodore Newberry-- owner of gambling parlors, speakeasies and houses of prostitution. Ness and his men had been working on the case for a year. The key witness in the case against Newberry is a timid City Hall clerk named Julius Embry. That night, Newberry's hitman Jerry Fanning goes to Embry's house to shoot him-- he fires at a shadow in the window. But police guarding the place fire back, chasing Fanning away. Fanning then goes to Newberry's place to report his failure-- Newberry takes the bad news graciously: he belts Fanning, giving him a black eye. Newberry is holding a party, and one of the guests is a corrupt Commissioner. Ness has Embry moved to a hotel room for safe keeping. However, the corrupt Commissioner sends a couple of City Hall crooks (Whelan & Dottweiler), pretending to be agents (and having a document signed by the Commissioner) to the hotel, and they tell the guard they have orders to put Embry into protective custody. The hoods knock the guard unconscious, and put the snatch on Embry. The next day, D.A. Beecher Asbury has to ask the judge for a postponement because Embry has vanished. That night, Ness is sitting alone at a table in the Savoy restaurant. A Mr. LaMarr strikes up a conversation with him. Then LaMarr hands Ness an envelope with $20,000 in it. Before a surprised Ness can react, a photographer takes a picture of the "transaction." Ness has been framed! The photo winds up on the front page of the newspapers the next day, along with the headline: "What was in that envelope, Mr. Ness?" To make matters worse, the kidnapped Embry has been taken out of the country-- down to Chihuahua, Mexico. Newberry decides to rub out Ness and Embry at the same time. Newberry has Fanning pose as a cab driver, and give Ness and Agent Martin Flaherty a sob story-- Fanning tells them he's ratting on Newberry because he "added a new girl to his collection," his "kid sister, who's only 17." And Fanning shows them his black eye as proof. Assuming they took the bait, Fanning tells them that Embry is in Mexico, and Newberry has sent Fred Metcalf to kill him. Later, in Ness' office (room 208 of the Federal Building), Ness tells Youngfellow, "That Fanning gave quite a performance, right down to the black eye." Ness almost cracks a smile as he quips, "You should have heard that bit about his kid sister." So Ness will take the train to Mexico, where he has no jurisdiction, and no police backup; Ness doesn't want to involve his own men in this, so he calls Washington, DC, for Agent Nick Del Gado-- who knows the language, the country and the customs. Ness and Nick get on a train the night of October 5. The next night, just before they get to El Paso, Texas, they barge in on Fred Metcalf, in his train compartment. At gunpoint, they shake Metcalf down for information: he was to meet Guzman in Chihuahua. Nick drops Metcalf off with the local police in El Paso, and will meet up with Ness later. Ness continues down to Chihuahua to meet Guzman-- Ness will impersonate Metcalf. In Chihuahua, Mexico, Guzman tells Ness that to find Embry, he will have to take a bus 450 kilometers southwest to the seaport town of Tupelo Bompo, and meet Maximiliano Charcas. But Guzman knows he is really Ness, and has his servant hold a knife to Ness' back; Ness however has a gun under the table pointed at Guzman, so Ness wins. Later, Nick meets up with Ness; Nick decides to impersonate Metcalf from now on. They take a bumpy, 10-hour bus ride, 270 miles south to Tupelo Bompo (which, since it's all filmed on a Desilu studio lot, looks just like Chihuahua). That night, at the Hotel, Nick meets his contact Charcas; but Charcas sucker-punches Nick, and hauls his unconscious body out the back door, right under Ness' nose. Charcas takes Nick to Fanning, who already has Embry captive. Meanwhile, Ness pumps the Hotel clerk for information on where to find Charcas; the clerk tells him Pasquale, a drunk at the Cantina, might know where Charcas is. When Pasquale babbles drunkenly, Ness sticks Pasquale's head into a horse trough, and then drags him off to someone who can speak English: the town Padre. The priest translates that Ness should find Charcas' girlfriend Lucita-- but when Ness does, Lucita hasn't seen Charcas either (so the whole thing was a wild goose chase). Meanwhile, time is running out for Nick and Embry: it's now midnight, and Charcas and Fanning are going to take them out on one of Newberry's rumrunning boats-- a "one-way ride." On the boat, Nick sees a Gas Drain (which is clearly labeled in big, white painted letters-- in English yet!), and furtively opens it, dumping all the engine's gas into the water. So Charcas has to go to a gas station in town; Ness sees Charcas riding on his donkey cart, and pummels him. Ness then goes to Fanning's hideout and gets the drop on him. Ness says to Nick, "The investigation reconvenes on Monday." Ness brings Embry back to Chicago, just in time to testify. Walter Winchell: "On October 14, 1932**, the grand jury heard the evidence against Theodore Newberry, and handed up a true bill. Largely due to the testimony of Julius Embry, the witness provided by the Untouchables, Newberry was indicted and ordered to stand trial-- and subsequently found guilty of all charges." (synopsis by: kdh) --------------------------------- *[October 1, 1932 was a Saturday; odd that court would be in session. And "32 hours later" would be Sunday afternoon.] **[which was a Friday, not a Monday.] [note: fine character actor Joseph Ruskin, best known for playing dour-faced villains like "Happy" Levinsky and Louis "Lepke" Buchalter in "The Untouchables," is uncredited in the episode. This was one of his first TV appearances.]

Première diffusion : 26 novembre 1959

S1 E8 • The Artichoke King

April 19, 1931. New York City. Every 48 hours, more than 25 million pounds of fruits and vegetables stream into the city; this multi-million dollar business is the target of gangsters. Eliot Ness and his Untouchables have recently been brought to New York on special assignment to investigate the produce market racket. After senior Angelo Cestari, a produce retailer, is machine-gunned by one of Terranova's gangsters, Ness talks to his son Tony Cestari; Tony tells Ness that his father didn't deal with Terranova like the other retailers did, and now he's paid the ultimate price. Ciro Terranova is The Artichoke King; his racket is simple: he buys carloads of artichokes at $6 a crate, and sells them for twice the price-- at the point of a gun. Despite his wealth, Terranova is a notorious cheapskate. Right now, Terranova is mad at his henchman Frankie Yale, and Yale's sidekick Marlowe, for rubbing out Cestari. But Yale has a surprise for Terranova: Yale says that Terranova is no longer his boss, from now on they are partners. Yale and Marlowe go to Tony Cestari and demand $1,200 for artichokes he should have bought from them; and they tell Tony he has to buy $600 worth of artichokes a week from them from now on. Ciro Terranova, meanwhile, goes to Chicago and hires a hitman for 20 grand-- to get rid of his new "partner." Hitman Felix Burke is expensive because he's the best, he did the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Terranova gives him 5 grand now, and promises to pay the rest of the money immediately when the job is done; Burke makes him sign a contract, in case Terranova tries to stiff him. Felix Burke rubs out Frankie Yale, and tosses the machine gun. Eliot Ness finds the tommy gun, and traces it back to the Capone mob. Just as Burke figured, miser Terranova is slow to pay him the rest of the 20 grand; so slow, that Ness and his men have time to tail Burke. When Burke gets the rest of the dough, he demands another 20 grand from Terranova, since his procrastination has put Ness on his tail; true to form, cheapskate Terranova decides it's cheaper to hire 5 hitmen from Detroit to rub out the blackmailing Burke. To keep Burke from being suspicious, Terranova tells him he will give him the money at a big banquet at the Roman Gardens; nothing to fear, all the guests are respectable businessmen, even Judge Humboldt will be there (a crooked judge that Terranova has in his pocket). When Ness finds out about the gangster bash, he tells Enrico Rossi to get a tux; Ness quips, "With that Valentino profile of yours, they won't be able to tell you from the mobsters." (Rossi takes this ethnic jab in stride.) To try to throw suspicion off himself, Terranova has the Detroit hitmen put on Halloween masks, and act as if they are robbing the guests at the banquet. But Burke sees through this when one of the hitmen robs him, and takes the time to inspect the contract. Burke kills the hitman and gets the contract back. Enrico Rossi, trying to crash the party, tangles with a mobster. Then there is a shootout between the gangsters and Ness and his men; Ness shoots Burke. With the contract in his hand, Ness now has the evidence to put the Artichoke King behind bars for a long time.

Première diffusion : 3 décembre 1959

S1 E9 • The Tri-State Gang

In the latter part of 1933, there was an epidemic of truck hijackings in the states of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania; this was the work of 6 gangsters: the Tri-State Gang. Tonight, in Richmond, Virginia, they're hijacking a truckload of radios. As usual "Big" Bill Phillips, a 6'4" ox of a man, takes over the hijacked truck, transferring the load onto their truck; Artie McLeod, a cheap tinhorn gambler, puts a burlap sack over the driver's head, blinding him, and chains the driver to a tree. Other gang members are Georgie Kaufman, an ex-boxer, the oldest of the gang; and James Jonathan Harris, aka Gentleman Jim, aka "Harris the Fence"; and the 2nd-in-command, Bobby Mais. Their leader is the vicious, sadistic Wally Legenza-- he shoots 4 bullets into the driver (who never got a good look at the gang members, and couldn't identify them) because Legenza is a psychopath. Ness and his men, who had been assigned by Washington, DC, to investigate the Tri-State Gang, are on the scene. May 14, 1934. That night, Wally Legenza calls a meet, to go over tomorrow night's hijacking job. "Big" Bill Phillips is absent-- he's seeing his sweetie, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dauphine, a French girl from Quebec, Canada that he nicknames Alouette. Legenza goes to their place and breaks it up. The night of May 15, in Oakhurst, Virginia, the gang hijacks a truck hauling $20,000 of tobacco. Again they chain the driver to a tree, but this time Legenza only shoots one bullet into him; the driver doesn't die, and when the sack over his head falls off, he sees their license plate number: T-4514. Ness and his men are staying in Richmond; Ness investigates this first break in the case. The Dept. of Motor Vehicles shows the truck is registered to Briggs Salvage Co.; the Internal Revenue shows the owner is James J. Harris. Ness and his men stake out the Briggs Salvage place; it is virtually deserted, only Harris and one watchman. But on the 5th night, Harris shows up with Legenza and "Big" Bill Phillips. There's a shootout. Phillips shoots LaMarr Kane; Ness shoots Phillips. Harris and Legenza escape. LaMarr Kane dies. Bill Phillips dies, too-- his last word is mumbling "Alouette," which Ness only hears as "Al"-somebody. To make sure they can't be identified, Legenza tells Georgie Kaufman to knock off that "French pastry" that Bill Phillips had been seeing. Georgie goes to her place, and shoots her once; but she survives and winds up in the hospital. Ness is contacted and informed that Lizzie Dauphine was Phillips' girlfriend. Next, Legenza sends James J. Harris to bump her off; but Ness and his men are guarding the hospital, inside and out. As James Harris tries to sneak into the hospital by going up the fire escape, Ness spots him; James Harris fires his gun, and Ness shoots him-- Ness recognizes him as "Harris the Fence." Ness then gets Lizzie Dauphine to name names. Later, bungling Georgie Kaufman is found in his car, riddled with machine gun bullets. (there are now only 3 gang members left alive.) Legenza figures they need $60,000 to skip the country. They can get it by kidnapping, and they put the snatch on Willie Weinberg, a bookie. Artie McLeod takes them all to a new place, being rented by a blonde he knows. Legenza phones Willie's wife, Flora, and demands the money; but next morning, she's only raised $28,000. Legenza gives her another day, to call Willie's brother in Baltimore for the rest of the money. That night, Legenza figures they can get the other $32,000 without Willie, so he and Bobby Mais take him for a "one way ride." Legenza shoots Willie, but they can't dump the body in the river like they planned, because of a police roadblock. They dump the body by the road, where they think it won't be found for days, but it's discovered an hour later. Ness tells Flo and Sidney that Willie is dead; they offer to cooperate to capture the kidnappers, they'll drop the money off as planned: in the zoo area of McDowell Park. Next morning, Ness and his men and some police are watching; Ness is dressed in a groundskeeper uniform. When the gangsters go to retrieve the money, there's a shootout. (with park visitors running for cover!) Flaherty and Rico shoot Bobby Mais. Artie McLeod, surrounded by 3 cops, wisely surrenders. Legenza tries to escape, and stupidly goes over the fence into the polar bears exhibit; he falls down a ledge and breaks his legs. And that's how Legenza's Tri-State Gang ended, not with a bang but a whimper, with him pleading, "Help-- help me," over and over. Artie McLeod was convicted on seven counts and got life in prison. Legenza died in the electric chair on February 2, 1935. Little Lizzie Dauphine made it home to Quebec. [Agent LaMarr Kane gets killed in this episode, yet he would be back in episode # 11, "You Can't Pick the Number." How is this possible? This episode takes place in 1934, and episode # 11 takes place in 1932. The shows are in no chronological order.]

Première diffusion : 10 décembre 1959

S1 E10 • The Dutch Schultz Story

March 1935. One of the toughest mobsters in New York City is Dutch Schultz. He and his mob were responsible for over 100 murders. Dutch is into every racket: liquor, narcotics, labor shakedowns, the numbers, selling protection. But "Lucky" Luciano is muscling in on his territory; to try to keep his clients from paying to Luciano, Dutch Schultz has his boys work his clients over with fists. When Joe Floris won't pay 30% protection money to Schultz, saying he is already paying 15% to Luciano, Joe Floris gets some acid in the face, blinding him. But Dutch has a gentler side, too-- his wife just had a baby. Eliot Ness and his Untouchables are on special assignment in New York City. Agent Flaherty works undercover, and Ness and his men get Schultz's books. It looks like Eliot Ness is about to nail Dutch Schultz on income tax evasion, just like he did Al Capone. One night, Dutch Schultz offers Eliot Ness and Flaherty a $75,000 bribe; the Untouchables facetiously pretend they are interested. Flaherty: "That's a lot of money. I could buy a whole chain of delicatessens." Ness: "You know, I've always thought I'd like to own a chateau in France." Flaherty: "Well, if you throw any parties, I'll cater them from my delicatessen." Ness: "Special rates?" Flaherty: "You'll be rich, you can afford to pay the going price." Ness: "Now wait a minute, with a special chateau I ought to get special rates..." Dutch Schultz is angry at being mocked, and leaves in a huff. Later, Schultz is indicted. But Schultz's crafty attorney says his client can't get a fair trial in New York City, and asks the judge for a change of venue. Arriving in the small town of Clearview, in upstate New York, Schultz ingratiates himself to all the townsfolk by spreading money around; not by bribery, but legally. For example, he talks to the grade school teacher, Marsha Harper, and offers to buy uniforms for the school's baseball team; that sort of thing. By the time the trial starts on September 7, the town thinks Dutch Schultz isn't such a bad guy; he had made many generous contributions to charities and hospitals. He even has his wife and baby in the courtroom, proof that he's a good family man; it looks like Schultz is going to get off scot free. It's up to Ness and his men to expose Schultz for the gangster he is. When Ness gets a witness to testify in court as to Schultz's brutality, and show the jury her acid scars she got from one of Schultz's boys, the case takes a sharp turn. Schultz is going to be convicted. But the night before the case goes to the jury, Schultz has his wife Vera invite school teacher Marsha Harper to dinner at a roadhouse; unbeknownst to Marsha, the place is a speak. They slip Marsha a mickey; while she's unconscious, they take photos of her with a strange man (one of Schultz's boys). On top of that, Schultz tips the cops, so they raid the place. Marsha is blackmailed; her uncle, Joseph Harper, is foreman of the jury. At 11 o'clock the next morning, the jury retires to deliberate; 18 hours later, they bring in their verdict.* Dutch Schultz is found not guilty, to the shock of the judge, and Eliot Ness. Schultz goes back to New York City; he wants to pick up where he left off, but he has a rude awakening. In the weeks he has been gone, Lucky Luciano has muscled in on his territory. On top of that, Ness and his men start a series of raids on Schultz's places. Schultz had spent 10 years building up his empire; now, he is bankrupt. Wednesday, October 23, 1935. Out of desperation, Schultz sets up a late-night meet with Luciano; Schultz is willing to give him half of his action, he wants a partnership. But the meet doesn't go as planned. Shortly after midnight, Luciano tells Dutch's boy, Lulu Rosenkrantz, to shoot Schultz. It's a double-cross. Then Luciano's boy shoots Lulu Rosenkrantz. It's a triple-cross! Ness and his men show up. In the shootout, Ness shoots Luciano's boy. Schultz is rushed to the hospital. For almost 18 hours, Dutch Schultz rambles incoherently. Ness and his men stand watch over him in shifts. Police stenographers take down everything Schultz says, even though it is all meaningless. Ness says to Schultz, "You can't beat this one, Dutch, you're all shot to pieces. It was Luciano, was it? Come on, say it." But Schultz is delirious; he stares blindly into space and rambles, "A boy has never wept nor dashed a thousand kim." Around 6 p.m., he goes unconscious. Dutch Schultz died on Thursday, October 24, 1935, at 8:35 p.m. He was 33 years old. That day the number 835 got the most play in the numbers racket. Like the Dutchman, it was a loser.

Première diffusion : 17 décembre 1959

S1 E11 • You Can't Pick the Number

Chicago, October 1932. The depths of the Great Depression, marked by unemployment and poverty. The only chance some people felt they had to rise out of poverty, if only for a short time, was to win the lottery or at the punch-boards. The mob saw this as an opportunity, by coming up with a numbers game. People picked a number from 0-999; their odds of winning were 1-in-a-1,000-- the payoff was 600-to-1. The thousands of losers, pouring money into the mob, were never mentioned. Right now, mobster Phil Morrisey is pulling up in his fancy car, and making a big show for the crowd by giving today's winnings to a Mrs. Pollock-- for her investment of 25 cents, she is now getting $150, a fortune by Depression standards. And all those watching are determined to bet again, convinced they will all be winners someday. Phil Morrisey has also attracted the attention of Eliot Ness and Agent Flaherty. Ness tells Phil that $400,000 out of every million collected goes to the Syndicate-- for corr

Première diffusion : 24 décembre 1959

S1 E12 • The Underground Railway

The night of August 3, 1933, outside the Louisburg Federal Prison in Pennsylvania. After serving 2 years of a life sentence for his part in the holdup of a Federal Reserve bank shipment, Frank Halloway is busting out, climbing over the wall. When a fellow inmate breaks his leg from the jump from the high prison wall, ruthless Frank Halloway hops into the getaway car that was left there for him-- and runs over the hapless inmate. Halloway's share of the loot, which was never recovered by the police, comes to $250,000-- and it's being held by Ed Johnson in Los Angeles, who never got caught. At the Palace Ballroom, they are in hour 257 of a dance marathon; Mona just wants to win and collect her half of the $500 prize money, but gangster Daniel Oates has other plans for her-- he wants her to escort Frank Halloway to L.A., since a traveling couple would look less suspicious to the police than Halloway traveling by himself. Daniel fixes Halloway up with a car, driver's license, suits and

Première diffusion : 31 décembre 1959

S1 E13 • Syndicate Sanctuary

(No date given, but probably 1932 which was a presidential election year.) 30 miles from Chicago, the (fictitious) Calum City; population: 10,000. Judge Leon Zabo is running for mayor, to clean up the town. Working hard in his campaign headquarters is his lovely daughter, Rosetta Zabo. Judge Zabo tried to put an end to vice, graft and corruption; in the last 6 months, he had closed down 110 bars, clubs and gambling casinos in the notorious Barbary Coast district. Late at night, Judge Zabo takes a taxi home; driver Joe Donato makes it a point to tell him the right door is stuck, and he has to use the left door. In front of Zabo's house, Donato again tells him to use the left door, which opens to the street side. A car driven by gangster Harry Mauldin runs the judge over. Ness and his men are on the case. With Capone in prison, and a crime crackdown in Chicago, the Syndicate is looking for another city to make its headquarters for the nationwide narcotics racket: Ness knows they

Première diffusion : 7 janvier 1960

S1 E14 • The Noise of Death

Chicago, March 31, 1933. Giuseppe ""Joe"" Bucco is at home when he gets a visit from his wife's cousin, Barbara Vittorini-- she says her husband Arturo has been missing for 3 days, and accuses Bucco of killing him. Bucco has his flunkie Abe Garfinkel take her home. Bucco knows about rub-out attempts, Guzik's boys once shot him 4 times, but he lived; Bucco swears to his wife Anna that he doesn't know where Arturo is. That night Ness and Flaherty go to the Vittorini restaurant for a raid. Mrs. Vittorini won't tell Ness anything about her missing husband; Ness knows that's Omertà , the Mafia code of silence. Inside, Ness finds crates filled with bottles of cheap whiskey. When Ness walks into the freezer room, he finds Arturo's body, tied up and hung on a meat hook. Barbara Vittorini breaks the code of silence, and tells him Joseph Bucco did it. Ness and his men pay Bucco a visit at one of his places. Although Bucco, in his 50s, gives the outward appearance of being a family man, he i

Première diffusion : 14 janvier 1960

S1 E15 • Star Witness

1934. The Depression was over 4 years old, and Al Capone was in Alcatraz. Many of the rackets had seemingly legit fronts, such as Midwest Enterprises, Inc. -- the president is Luigi Renaldo, former lieutenant for Capone. Renaldo is going to Florida on business, and leaving his 2nd-in-command in charge: his Enforcer Paolo Rienzi. But, unbeknownst to his boss, Rienzi tells Tubby to get a couple of guys and work over their accountant, William Norbert, who wanted to retire from the rackets; (nobody is ever allowed to retire). William is a mild-mannered sort, 42, with a wife and kid; is also a genius with numbers which he keeps in his head, and he never makes a mathematical mistake; (sort of like a computer, before they were invented). They rough up William with some brass knuckles. Florida was the gambling mecca of America; (this is long before Las Vegas was built). Every month, at the Club Sorrento, the ""Big 5"" bosses would meet: Luigi Renaldo (Chicago), Charles ""Fingers"" Maccioli

Première diffusion : 14 janvier 1960

S1 E16 • The St. Louis Story

Spring 1931. Gangland warfare had broken out again with sudden violence in the streets of St. Louis. Tim Harrington, who was long entrenched as the undisputed boss of the city, was fighting off the challenge to his leadership from Joe Courtney, an upstart hoodlum. The elder Dink Conway calls for a sit-down between the two, at the Jockey Club. Dink points out they are operating the old way: shootouts and dealing in cash. He offers them organization and protection, and says the new way is to use fronts to cover your criminal activities and keep books so the Feds can't get you on income tax evasion (he knows what happened to Al Capone). Dink wants them all to pool their resources; he says working together they can triple their take. Joe Courtney says, ""I buy that,"" but Tim Harrington says, ""I pass."" As Harrington leaves, Dink gives a sign to Whitey Deering. Instead of the valet pulling up with Harrington's car, the driver is Whitey-- ready to take him on the infamous ""one way ride

Première diffusion : 28 janvier 1960

S1 E17 • One-Armed Bandits

Chicago, February 1932. Crime has been spreading all over, from the dark alleys of Cicero to the social atmosphere of the Gold Coast. Crooked attorney Paul Curtiz is attending a party being hosted by gangster overlord Augie Viale, king of the southside of Chicago. At the affair, Viale is openly paying off this guests with cash-- police commissioners, judges, lawyers, and businessmen; all of them ready to hand Chicago to Viale on a silver platter. There are also lots of women at these parties. However, Eliot Ness has the place under surveillance--one of his Untouchables, agent William Youngfellow, is working there as a waiter. The next day, he reports to Ness and his men. Viale's newest racket will be slot machines, One-Armed Bandits. While they are only nickel slots, it adds up-- to $15-million a year in St. Louis for the underworld; it would be twice as much in Chicago. Meanwhile, Frank Odine is just being released from the Illinois State Pen in Joliet, after doing 7 years, 6

Première diffusion : 4 février 1960

S1 E18 • Little Egypt

Little Egypt (not the Belly Dancer) was the city of Morraine, the heart of the gangster-infected area in downstate Illinois known as ""Little Egypt."" Election night, 1931. New mayor Marcus Stone is giving a speech on the radio-- he meant what he said about reform, and promises to rid the town of Charlie Byron (a Major in WWI) and his gang, whom he calls ""bloodsuckers"" and ""scum."" Listening to the radio is Major Byron, who gives his gang orders to knock off both Mayor Stone and Sheriff Mooney; they both get tommy-gunned that night. Governor Joseph Stone calls in Eliot Ness; they decide one man should infiltrate this gang, and pick Cam Allison Jr., the son of Judge Cameron Allison who was killed by the mob. Since trying to communicate by phones (which can be wiretapped) is too risky, they decide Cam should communicate with Ness via carrier pigeons, which Enrico Rossi has trained for a hobby. The birds can fly the 100 miles from Morraine to Chicago in less than 2 hours (they say). Ca

Première diffusion : 11 février 1960

S1 E19 • The Big Squeeze

Chicago. Prior to May 1934, robbing state banks was not a federal offense. Bandits only had local police to contend with, and they were often understaffed, inefficient or corrupt. This led to a rash of successful, though clumsily executed, bank robberies. In this city alone, there were 422 robberies in the last year, with 221 casualties. On March 1934, Eliot Ness is meeting with his friend D.A. Beecher Asbury. Ness tells him that until bank robbery becomes a federal offense, there's not much he can about it. Beecher is heading to Washington, D.C., to get the Senate Committee to make bank robbery fall under federal jurisdiction; to help his case, he wants Eliot Ness to go after a big-time professional bank robber: Ace Banner, who just pulled off a $150,000 heist in Kansas City. Finding Banner should be easy: he's right here in Chicago, staying at the swanky Crestmoor Arms. Although pinning something on him would be another matter. At this moment, a dapper Ace Banner walks into

Première diffusion : 18 février 1960

S1 E20 • The Unhired Assassin (1)

Movie: ""The Gun of Zangara"" Chicago. November 9, 1932. FDR has just been elected president, and the repeal of Prohibition is inevitable. But later that night, Ness and his men smash another of Capone's breweries. Agent Youngfellow asks Eliot, ""Are we going to be out of work?"" But Ness tells him no-- after all, bootleg booze was only a part of the Capone empire: there's still narcotics, gambling, prostitution, protection rackets, etc. Capone may start muscling in on legitimate businesses; in fact, Ness is having a meeting with Mayor Anton Cermak-- they want to ""clean up this town"" before the Chicago World's Fair in the spring of 1933. Miami. Giuseppe ""Joe"" Zangara, a man with homicidal tendencies, decides to kill the president. A newspaper vendor is hawking his papers; Zangara talks to him, and is surprised to learn that Hoover is no longer president. But Zangara sticks to his crazy idea to kill the president, no matter who he is. Chicago. Ness attends a press conference with

Première diffusion : 25 février 1960

S1 E21 • The Unhired Assassin (2)

Movie: ""The Gun of Zangara"" (continued) Nitti's plenty sore! Mayor Cermak's stepped-up law enforcement has cut deeply into Nitti's operations. In the Montmartre club, Nitti takes a newspaper with a big photo of Cermak on the front page, and tacks it to the wall-- then Nitti takes out his 6-shooter and blasts 7 bullets into the photo. Nitti talks to 4 of his lieutenants. Frank Diamond says they better rub the Mayor out when he's out of town, or Capone won't like it; Louis Campagna knows of a good hitman in Florida: Fred ""the Caddy"" Croner, so-named because he poses as a golfer and keeps his rifle in a golf bag. The Mayor will be in Miami on February 15, the same time President FDR will be visiting there. While Nitti is planning Cermak's hit, in Miami Joe Zangara is planning to shoot the president. In Chicago, as if the Mayor hasn't made Nitti mad enough, he is now having a meeting with some City Council members and Ness. The Mayor announces a new policy in his war on crime-- from

Première diffusion : 3 mars 1960

S1 E22 • The White Slavers

March 31, 1934; Prohibition is over. Al Capone is still running things from Alcatraz, his new money-maker is ""white slavery"" which refers to prostitution; his main operation is run by a mean gangster named Mig Torrance. Right now, Eliot Ness is conducting his 7th raid since being assigned to closing down the houses. While all the other hookers are escaping through a trap door, one of them, young Mary Sage, lays on a bed-- dead from a drug overdose. She is being mourned by 21-year-old Ernie Torrance; despite being Mig Torrance's younger brother, Ernie is a nice guy. Next day, Ness is talking to some reporters, he wants them to print stories in their newspapers telling how hoods take out ads in magazines: phony acting schools promising to make young women movie stars, phony modeling agencies promising to make young women famous models-- then they get the women hooked on dope, and reeled into prostitution. By day, Ness raids these phony agencies; by night, Ness raids the cathouses. M

Première diffusion : 10 mars 1960

S1 E23 • Three Thousand Suspects

September 1932. The Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, 430 miles west-southwest of Chicago, houses some of the nation's worst criminals. One of them is Nick Segal, who murdered 6 people, but only got convicted for violation of the Volstead Act; he got sentenced to 3 years, and is eligible for parole now after serving only one year. While unloading a truck, inmate Gus Caserta ""accidentally"" drops a 100-pound bag of potatoes on Nick, almost killing him; skinny inmate Phil Thorne sees the whole thing, he is there when it happens. Nick only gets a broken left arm, though. Later he gets worse news: parole denied. Ness gets called to meet with a small-time hood who runs part of the prison grapevine: Ed ""Peanuts"" Kieffer. (who is always eating peanuts, and cheats the peanut vending machines by sticking in a penny attached to a wire, then he retrieves the penny.) Kieffer tells Ness that Nick Segal wants to talk to him; but Ness says he doesn't want to talk to Segal-- who has a

Première diffusion : 24 mars 1960

S1 E24 • The Doreen Maney Story

New York City: Yankee Stadium, the Bronx. On the evening of June 8, 1933, Max Baer knocked out Max Schmeling in the 10th round of their scheduled 15-round championship boxing match.* The gate was $240,000. (Since 60,000 fans were there, that means the average ticket price was $4.00) An hour later, one of the Granite Armored Cars, with 4 armed guards, drives off with the receipts. Doreen Maney steps in front of the moving truck; the driver slams on his brakes, but Doreen falls down as if she's been hit. When the driver gets out of the truck and checks on her, she pulls out a gun. Sheik Humphries drops a tear-gas canister through a conveniently-located vent in the armored truck, forcing the other 3 guards out. Jake Logan, a triggerman who was hired just for this job (not a member of the gang), keeps his chopper handy. Then Len Carson, the 3rd member of the gang, drives up with their getaway car; he starts stealing money from the armored car. Everything was going as Doreen wanted

Première diffusion : 31 mars 1960

S1 E25 • Portrait of a Thief

Chicago, 1931. Eliot Ness and his men had cracked the bootleg empire of Al Capone, by smashing his breweries and speakeasies.* But now, thousands of gallons of alcohol were coming into the city from an outside source. Ness meets with D.A. Beecher Asbury; it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out where the booze is coming from, they've found 5-gallon cans with ""Brawley Mills, Brawley, New York"" stamped on them. Chemical analysis showed the stuff is 190 proof, no doubt produced under U.S. Government permit-- but it contained no denaturant, so it is safe to drink. Ness goes to New York, and takes Enrico Rossi and Cam Allison with him. Ness meets with John Carvell, Federal D.A. in New York. They know Brawley Mills is making the alcohol legally, so now it's a matter of checking out 52 warehouses that store and ship the stuff; that takes 3 days. Rico finds out a lot of the alcohol is shipped by United Trucking Services; Ness says that's owned by Tommy Haynes, a crooked and powerfu

Première diffusion : 7 avril 1960

S1 E26 • Underworld Bank

New York City. Saturday, September 23, 1933. Top rackets boss Milo Sullivan is the head of ""Crime, Inc."" He has a meet with 5 other crime lords: Augie Epstein (gambling, Miami); Harold Bishman (political power in Louisiana); Ralph Lucci (rumrunner, Detroit Purple Gang); Dino Monteiro (slots, K.C.); and Arte Martin (numbers, prostitution, Seattle). Their profits from Prohibition had been enormous; with Prohibition ending, they were going to put their money to good use, creating the Underworld Bank. For every $1 they lend out, they'll get $2 back; they will provide the funding for hoods, who are preparing men and materials to pull off big jobs. Milo Sullivan says that right now, their $50,000 funding of a million-dollar fur heist will get them $100,000 in return. The Bank's operations are financed and managed on a business basis. In the following weeks, a series of hijackings sweeps the whole country; also shocking is the ruthless murder of a policeman by Duke Mullen. Ness and hi

Première diffusion : 14 avril 1960

S1 E27 • Head of Fire - Feet of Clay

Chicago. (year?)* The jury had been out for 12 hours, on the case Ness had worked so hard on, trying to get a conviction for top mobster Johnny Fortunato. Now the newspaper reads: Fortunato got off, the chief witness was a ""suicide."" At 9 p.m., Ness decides to get some spaghetti at Socrates Eatery. Ness' old high school buddy, Frank Barber, drops in. They laugh and smile as they recount their glory days at Garfield High, when Barber was the star football quarterback, and Ness was his favorite receiver. Frank Barber is prosperous now, he owns the Chicago Sports Palace. Ness and Barber go to the boxing matches, and Ness is shocked to learn that Johnny Fortunato is one of Barber's ""customers."" Veteran boxer ""Pops"" Gantry is pummeling a green kid named Fabiano. Ness comments to Barber about the 7 empty seats in the front row; Barber tells him Fortunato will show up for the 8th round, when Gantry takes a dive. Right on cue, Fortunato marches in, with 3 boys on each side; Fortunato

Première diffusion : 21 avril 1960

S1 E28 • The Frank Nitti Story

1934. Prohibition had been repealed (the Volstead Act ran from January 17, 1920 - April 7, 1933). The syndicate was looking for new sources of revenue. Frank Nitti expands his empire, and goes after small theatres-- with his extortion racket. Late one night, after theatre owner Harold Coldman had refused to pay, Nitti has his triggerman Louie Campagna throw some acid into Coldman's face, blinding him. Eliot Ness and his men are on the case-- this is only the latest in a series of muggings and beatings; even a theatre was burned down. Ness knows if he lets Nitti get away with extorting the small, independent theatre owners, in a few months Nitti will go after the big chains. Ness is determined to stop it now. Frank Nitti is throwing a private party, some of the guests are Sidney Rogers (the glib liaison man in the extortion racket), and his main squeeze Ellie Morley (former showgirl), and crooked lawyer Ramsey Lennox (who used to be the mouthpiece for Al Capone). Frank Nitti's h

Première diffusion : 28 avril 1960