Page:Summary Report of Al Capone for the Bureau of Internal Revenue.djvu/52

SI-7085-F Unusual difficulties were encountered during the entire course of this investigation because all important witnesses were either hostile to the government and ready to give perjured testimony in order to protect the leaders of their organization or they were so filled with fear of reprisals of the Capone organization in the event they testified truthfully regarding their activities that they evaded, lied, left town and did all in their power to prevent the government using them as witnesses. Many of the witnesses were foreigners and known only by their nicknames having no permanent homes or places of business. As soon as it became known that we were looking for certain witnesses or the organization suspected that the government might need certain of their employees as witnesses, they promptly went under cover or were sent out of town and sometimes out of the country. In order to locate them and serve them with subpoenas it was necessary to pick them up on the streets near the Capone headquarters at the Lexington Hotel, at racetracks, at raids on gambling establishments and houses of prostitution, at Cicero hotels and at night clubs, also through various subterfuges. Considerable of the work in locating witnesses was performed at night in and around the hang-outs of the Capone organization by Special Agents Tessem, Malone, Converse and Sullivan and the agents were facing danger in the event their identity was discovered by the gangsters. Many witnesses were located in New York City, Florida and other points throughout the country.

Early in November of 1930, it apparently became evident to the Capone organization that the United States government was making real headway in the income tax investigations relating to the principals in their organization and that most strenuous efforts were being made to build up a case against the leader, Al Capone. At that time Jack Guzik, the right hand man of Capone was indicted for tax evasion, tried and convicted within one month in spite of unusual efforts made by the organization through political influence and otherwise, to postpone the trial of that case and Frank Nitto, another principal of the organization was apprehended by special agents of this Unit after he had successfully defied arrest for a period of over six months by marshals on a bench warrant for tax evasion. This progress was being reported to the President from time to time by officials of the Treasury Department and he indicated that it was his wish that the drive be continued against the leader of the Capone organization. At that time you made a trip to Chicago to confer with us regarding this case and you advised me that on account of the great interest shown by the President, he was being regularly informed regarding the tax cases relating to the Capone organization by Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Walter E. Hope. Al Capone's fear that he would be the next one to be indicted was - 51 -