A Chicago official says the
Prohibition-era lawman isn't worthy of having the new Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' headquarters named after him.
By Lalita Clozel
March 1, 2014, 4:00 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Federal
Prohibition agent Eliot Ness' legendary campaign against Chicago mob boss Al
Capone inspired the 1960s TV series "The Untouchables," a blockbuster
Hollywood movie, countless books and perhaps even the comic-strip hero Dick
Tracy.
But a recent move in the Senate
to name the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' glassy new
Washington headquarters after the 1930s lawman has sparked an acrimonious
debate over whether the storied crime fighter really deserves the honor.
________________________________________
FOR THE RECORD:
Eliot Ness: In the March 2
Section A, an article about the controversy over naming the new Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives headquarters after Prohibition-era
law enforcement agent Eliot Ness misstated Ness' job title after leaving
Washington. He was not Cincinnati's public safety director, but a senior
investigator. —
________________________________________
The proposal to dedicate the
ATF building is being championed by the two Illinois senators, Republican Mark
Steven Kirk and Democrat Richard J. Durbin, who issued statements heralding
Ness as a tireless federal agent whom "no amount of money could buy."
But Chicago Alderman Edward
Burke, who has written several books about the city's history, has drafted a
city resolution in Ness' hometown to oppose the honor.
Burke says that the real-life
Ness was nothing like the tough-as-nails character depicted by Kevin Costner in
the 1987 movie and that the agent's role in putting Al Capone behind bars has
been widely exaggerated.
"He's a Hollywood
myth," Burke said. "He probably never laid eyes on [Capone]."
Burke says he's worried that
the building dedication might perpetuate historically inaccurate notions about
the alleged archrivalry between the men. "There are probably a thousand
federal law enforcement agents who are more worthy of the honor," he said.
"I think that the sponsors of the proposal are not well-informed."
Ness was hand-picked by
then-U.S. Atty. George E.Q. Johnson to lead the Bureau of Prohibition
investigation against Capone. But Johnson also launched a group of IRS agents
to target the crime boss. When Capone finally faced justice in 1931, he was
convicted for tax evasion — not on any of the more than 5,000 counts in Ness'
bootlegging indictment. Johnson reportedly feared that a jury might be too
sympathetic to Capone's moonshining activities since Prohibition was so
unpopular, but he figured jurors would convict a tax cheat.
Capone was eventually sentenced
to 11 years behind bars and became an early resident of Alcatraz Island prison
off San Francisco.
Other Ness critics say his
personal shortcomings contradict the strait-laced, incorruptible persona that
brought him fame. By the end of his life, Ness was in debt, drinking heavily
and had cheated on all three of his wives, according to several biographical
accounts.
After grabbing headlines and
leading the 1930s detective squad, Ness fell into relative obscurity. He died
shortly after reading a draft of his original book, "The
Untouchables," co-written with sports journalist Oscar Fraley. Ness is
said to have complained that Fraley's version strayed too far from the truth,
according to Doug Perry, author of "Eliot Ness: The Rise and Fall of an
American Hero."
Defenders of Ness say his
personal struggles were irrelevant to his crime-fighting record.
District of Columbia Assistant
U.S. Atty. Scott Sroka, the grandson of "Untouchables" member Joe
Leeson, said the crime-fighting squad never claimed to be pillars of society.
They "weren't
teetotalers," he said. "They were fighting against organized
crime."
By most accounts, Ness was a
dedicated gangster-buster, regardless of his role in convicting Capone. After
leading the charge against Chicago bootleggers, he became Cincinnati's public
safety director, and at 31 he led a team of 34 agents to clean up Cleveland,
where legend has it he took down "a still a day" from liquor mobsters.
Said Perry: "Even if you
completely take Al Capone off of his resume, he still is a very significant
figure in law enforcement."
lalita.clozel@latimes.com
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