The purpose of this WebSite is to provide visitors an opportunity to review an assortment of document pages of original resource material that accurately details some of the most notorius crime stories of the 20th Century. These files are the original Treasury Department, Bureau of Internal Revenue (currently- IRS), Intelligence Unit (“IU”) documents (since 1978- Criminal Investigation) (“CI”). A few of these stories have been told before; but most have not or have been forgotten; and what remembered, memorialized by celluloid fable, even more than fiction.
Periodically, I will adjust the admixture of documents to reflect my voluminous (thousands of pages) cache.
From this vantage, please read on and enjoy
This "Open ME First" link is a synopsis of my archives; as well as some specific details about two files that dispel two American myths that many believed growing up in the 1950s; and since then, have been retold time and again (but not accurately) in books, movies and TV. I am referring to Al Capone and Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping. More specifically, Eliot Ness did not take down Public Enemy #1; nor was Bruno Hauptmann the only person involved in the "Crime of the Century”--- The Kidnapping and Murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr.
I am in possession of many of the ORIGINAL and MOST SOUGHT-AFTER Treasury Department - IRS documents in history. These documents have been vetted by numerous recognized authorities (IRS- Criminal Investigation) and were recently the subject of a 30-minute, FOX National Business TV episode- (“Strange Inheritance” a Towers Production- first airing 2/12/2018 - Mob Files: Season 4 Episode 11).
For many decades, several boxes collected dust in my mother’s attic. Imagine my surprise when I opened them and found my family’s link to some of the most sensational crime stories of the 20th Century! My maternal grandmother's brother, Michael Francis Malone, was the undercover Special Agent of the Intelligence Unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue who lived with Capone at GREAT RISK for nearly 18 months in Chicago’s Lexington Hotel (a.k.a. "Camp Capone")- all the while passing information to his government colleagues on the outside. It was these dedicated agents who cobbled together all the information that finally “Got Capone” – (Eliot Ness was a Prohibition Agent- not part of the IU. He had nothing to do with the Capone felony tax evasion investigation and conviction).
In 1927, the Supreme Court's Manly Sullivan decision created a new M.O. for prosecution; namely, ill-gotten gains were taxable and by filing such for Federal Income Tax Purposes the person/entity was not self incriminating ( as protected by the 5th amendment) . This led to President Hoover charging Elmer Irey, the first chief of the IU, to get Capone. The Capone investigation spanned nearly three years and still ranks among the top four in federal man-power hours expended. Most notably, it was the meticulous work of Special Agents Frank Wilson and my great Uncle Mike Malone that led to the information that was central to Scarface's conviction in October 1931. As a result, these agents “collectively” became known as the "Fathers of Forensic Accounting” (none were accountants). This moniker is especially important as you will read later in this narrative. Shortly after my Uncle Mike's identity was unveiled during the final days of the trial, his parting words to Capone were, "Al, I have more than my mouth and a gun. I have a badge!" (re: Mollie Newton (née Malone), older sister of Mike Malone, my maternal grandmother).
Five months after the Capone trial ended, these agents, were summoned to Hopewell, New Jersey by President Hoover and Ogden Mills, the Secretary of the Treasury and a good friend of Charles A. Lindbergh. They were charged with investigating the kidnapping of Lindbergh's twenty-month-old son. Once again, they painstakingly created an evidentiary trail, including serial numbers of ransom money, that eventually led to the conviction and execution of Bruno Hauptmann- (Only one' kidnapper? - You'll find the truth buried in these documents). In addition, since there were no federal kidnapping laws at that time, their work helped to establish the legal precedents that still exist today.
Only one, of the hundreds of documents in my possession, has seen the light of day since the 1930s. These files are not accessible under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) nor from the IRS. My files tell the accurate stories and correct the fiction about the men who really got Capone; as well as dispel the many misconceptions -- and even conspiracy theories -- about the Lindbergh kidnapping. Imagine my surprise when I was told these files are like having a high definition camera in the room during the agents' many interrogations.
Imagine a colossal web of racketeers enmeshed with corrupt politicians, judges and law enforcement at a time when the public is denied work, money, food and alcohol. As Marquis Childs describes, "…decent people despaired." All these complexities seemed to dissolve into darkness; and then arising, America’s true character, alive in the Special Agents of the Intelligence Unit --- America’s T-Men.
These are real stories wrought with: danger and intrigue; extreme conflicts and great risks; high stakes and scandals; both gripping and compelling; and even at times, glamorous and seductive. The cast of characters: the Criminal Elite persistent in their welter of lies; tale after tale of fame through infamy vs. the T-Men, resolute in their integrity; story upon story of principles by the principled. These are the true stories of the team that prevailed-
The REAL UNTOUCHABLES
By 1919, America was saddled with debt from WW I and people were unaccustomed and/or unwilling to pay income taxes. In addition, with the ratification of the 18th Amendment, America served up the 'forbidding' and Capone served the 'forbidden'. Prohibition had created a new cash economy for bootleggers and racketeers, a most welcomed addition to Capone's empire of gambling, prostitution and corruption. Capone frequently would say, "We have taxes and women voting. Any man would want a stiff drink."
From 1919 to the mid-1940s, the Intelligence Unit, which Elmer Irey headed, brought to justice nearly 15,000 cases with more than a 90% conviction rate. Here is an abbreviated list of their legendary inmates: Ralph Capone, Frank Nitti (nee Nitto), Johnny Torrio, Waxey Gordon (Tom Dewey's first big case), Dutch Schultz, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire), Teapot Dome scandal, Huey Long's confederates etc and even several "Public Enemies”. Convictions for tax evasion also included many of the Hollywood's elites: Marion Davies, Tom Mix, Charlie Chaplin, Ringling Brothers, Irving Thalberg, William Fox… (and even in 1954, a former IRS commissioner, Joseph Nunan, Jr.).
In 1940, 64% of prisoners in penitentiaries were there due to the diligence, vigilance and tenacity of the IU. Around that time, under the direction of FDR and Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of Treasury, and to the dismay of J. Edgar Hoover, Irey was also put in charge of Secret Service, Customs, the enforcement arm of the Coast Guard and what now is ATF and DEA. Three months after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt informed Irey that; if it hadn't been for his Unit's aura of “...incorruptibility… and A-1 efficiency…” over the prior twenty years, he would not have been able to raise taxes for the war-chest and stop AXIS forces from moving across Europe.
Lastly, let me state that the work of these Fathers of Forensic Accounting stretches from the 1920s to today. Shortly after 9/11, President Bush gave the green light to "Operation Green Quest". When it was publicly unveiled on October 25, 2001, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Kenneth Dam, said, "Today, I am pleased to announce that the same talent pool and expertise that brought down Al Capone will now be dedicated to investigating Usama bin Laden and his terrorist network."
These are stories about courage, a virtue that not only defines; but also, when necessary, defends one’s good character. As Maya Angelou writes, “Without courage, we cannot practice any of the other virtues with consistency.” Clearly, the hard work, personal sacrifice and dedication to the rule of law that my Uncle Mike and his colleagues exhibited more than 90 years ago, remains embodied in IRS-CI and still resonates with people today. These men collectively spent more than 150 years 'in service' to America. They were not examples of power; but were the power of examples; befitting President Kennedy’s statement, “Stories of past courage: can teach, can offer help, can provide inspiration; but they cannot supply courage itself. For that, each man must look into his own soul.”
These documents detail the stories of the T-Men, reflecting their contribution to the American landscape. Without their diligence and vigilance, our Nation would have been transformed into a 'cartel- state', not unlike those south of our borders today. The time is now to tell the true stories of
The REAL UNTOUCHABLES
Martin J. Dolan, M.D.