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uncutpizza t1_iu5tvjd wrote

Reply to comment by HPmoni in TIL Al Capone was only 33 when he was locked away for tax evasion and developed neurosyphilis, leading to his death at 48. Eliot Ness was 27 when he formed the Untouchables--he died in a state of financial ruin in his 50s, likely hastened by his heavy drinking in his later life by capsaicinintheeyes

Ness got all the credit, but it was actually forensic accountant Frank Wilson that was the real hero.

>These nerds were supercool, not just supersmart—enduring near-misses of mob hits. “Wilson fears nothing that walks,” his boss Elmer Irey observed. “He will sit quietly looking at books eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, forever, if he wants to find something in those books.” He “sweats ice water,” a criminal interrogated by Wilson sighed.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-bean-counter-who-put-al-capone-in-the-slammer

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HPmoni t1_iu6vpoo wrote

Yeah, some random bureaucrats put Capone away.

Ness lived long enough to turn himself into a legend. He was charismatic.

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