CHICAGO PROHIBITION AGENT ELIOT NESS UNTOUCHABLE POSTER

A digital art rendering of top Federal PROHIBITION Agent Eliot Ness's Bureau of Prohibition credentials. Sepia tone done in a painterly style with subtle canvas texture. Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 - May 16, 1957) was famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago, Illinois. He led a legendary team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables who battled directly with Al Capone's outfit. In 1926, Ness' brother-in-law, Alexander Jamie, an agent of the Bureau of Investigation (which later became the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935), influenced Ness to enter law enforcement. He joined the U.S. Treasury Department in 1927, working with the 1000-strong Bureau of Prohibition, in Chicago. He was specifically charged with bringing down gangster Al Capone. The federal government pursued his illegal activities in two areas: income tax evasion and violations of prohibition. Ness was chosen to head the operations under the National Prohibition Act (informally known as the Volstead Act), targeting the illegal breweries and supply routes of Capone. There were a number of attempts on Ness's life, but ultimately the government succeeded in prosecuting Capone for tax evasion and he was dispatched to prison. Ness was promoted to Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau for Chicago and in 1934 for Ohio. Following the end of Prohibition in 1933, he was assigned as an alcohol tax agent in the "Moonshine Mountains" of southern Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In 1934, he was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio where the mayor Harold Burton hired him as the city's Public Safety Director, where he headed a campaign to clean out police corruption.