Eliot Ness wanted to up the ante with his nemesis after the murder of one of Ness's associates. Ness figured if Capone got really riled he would act impulsively and slip up. So Ness led a parade of the various trucks and other vehicles that had been used in raids on Capone's bootleg operations down the street outside of Capone's office, in an attempt to mock Capone. Ness even called Capone and told him to look out the window. Capone went ballistic and trashed his own office in a rage. The trucks were also a painful reminder of the millions of dollars Capone lost in Ness's relentless raids.

What ultimately brought the big man down, however, was his long history as a tax scofflaw. An investigation that was years in the making culminated with an indictment against Capone in 1931. He faced twenty-two counts of tax evasion, on top of the evidence Ness had gathered of several thousand violations of the Prohibition law. The tax case was judged the easiest to win, and Capone went to trial.

Twelve Not-so Crooked Men

Capone had a couple of months before his trial began, but the jury had already been selected. His henchmen took the time to locate and bribe the jurors-to-be. Big Al walked into the courtroom quite confident. He got the shock of his life when the judge switched juries, bringing in twelve men from another trial. Capone was found guilty, fined $50,000, and sentenced to eleven years. The reign of Al Capone was over.

Eliot Ness and the feds brought down Al Capone, but the Chicago Outfit (as the mob in the Windy City came to be known) continued on. Frank Nitti took over after Capone's demise, but “offed” himself. Evidently it was too stressful being the big cheese. Anthony “Joe Batters” Accardo, Tony Aiuppa, and Sam Giancana were a few of the successors to the legacy of Capone.