Original subtitles

(theme music plays)

WALTER WINCHELL: In 1930, New York City watched the growth

of the world's tallest man-made structure,

the Empire State Building.

1,000 miles to the west,

another empire was still a dream

in the mind of a restless young man

working in the basement of a deserted Chicago tenement.

His name, Jackson Emmit Parker.

On October 16, 1930, he was ready to turn his dream

of empire into a flesh and blood,

dollars and cents reality.

Good morning, Benny.

Good morning, Mr. Parker.

You're right on time,

and, of course, so am I.

You got a big load today, Mr. Parker?

About usual.

Are you getting too weak to carry a big load, Benny?

Oh, no.

It ain't that, Mr. Parker.

It's this coat.

Uh, I mean, I walk a lot.

It gets hot, and, uh, I can't take this off, you know.

Better than you.

In fact, I suppose I know just about everything

better than you; isn't that right?

Yeah, I guess so, Mr. Parker.

You guess so?

No, I know so.

All right, Benny, open it up.

What does your inimitable and, uh,

undoubtedly complex plan of attack call for today, hmm?

What do you mean, Mr. Parker?

You're a stupid man, Benny.

A throwback.

I don't like that, Mr. Parker.

That's a shame, Benny,

but when you work for somebody else, you take it.

That and the two dollars they pay you. I know.

Anybody else in this town would throw you out

with the rest of the trash; you know that don't you?

Yeah, only, uh...

No onlys.

No buts.

Yeses.

What's your schedule for today?

Well, I thought I'd hit the student union.

Um, always good for something there.

And, uh, a couple of the big fraternity houses

I ain't been to in a week.

All right, then off to battle.

I have to keep an appointment today, Benny.

An important appointment for both of us.

We're gonna snowball, we are.

Right out of this tomb and into the sunshine.

Would you like that, Benny?

Hey, sunshine.

An appointment with destiny, Benny.

Destiny in a pinstriped suit.

Destiny in the person of one Frank Nitti.

ANNOUNCER:

"The Snowball.”

Starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.

Co-starring Bruce Gordon,

Gerald Hiken,

with guest star, Robert Redford.

And narrated by Walter Winchell.

WINCHELL: From a room atop the notorious Beaumont Club,

Frank Nitti, the Enforcer, dictated organization policy

to his assembled lieutenants.

And after we get that pipeline set up,

the Feds will have to dig up

every street in Chicago to find it.

(laughter)

What do you want, Harry?

Sorry, Frank.

That kid is here again.

What kid?

That college punk I told you about.

So?

Throw him out on his educated end.

(laughter)

You told me to tell him you'd see him today.

Oh, maybe I did.

Okay, send him in.

We could use a few laughs.

Okay.

All right, kid, you can come in.

The name is Jack Parker, not kid

or Buster Brown or even Mac.

You got that straight, Harry?

Yeah, I got it.

Come in, kid.

(laughter)

My time is too valuable to me, Mr. Nitti,

too valuable to waste standing around having jokes

bounced off of me.

Now, I have a proposition that I would like

to make to you and your associates.

What do you want?

Half? It's yours.

I'm sorry.

I thought I'd be talking to a more intelligent group of men

who would appreciate an interesting investment

when it was presented to them.

Kid, I'll tell you something.

One more like that, and the ice is gonna crack

right out from under you.

All right, then why not hear me out?

Okay, you start and I'll tell you when you're finished.

That's not much of a deal.

But then, it's my game.

I suppose it is.

So then, here's what I have in mind.

First of all, I operate a still over near the university.

Now, it's not big,

at least, not big enough to concern you gentlemen.

Correction, kid:

any still concerns us gentlemen.

But I'm selling, selling as fast as I can deliver

to the college crowd.

Well, we're listening.

Consider the college student.

He has money.

You don't go to college during a depression without it.

And he's trying desperately to be an adult.

So, what does he do when he wants to celebrate?

He goes out, he buys a bottle of spiked beer,

he drinks it, he gets sick to his stomach.

Then he goes home and brags about it for a week.

Well, gentlemen, that's it in essence.

A market comprised of thousands of such students

all over Chicago.

A market not yet tapped.

And I can set it up and guarantee 100 cases a day.

You can't guarantee nothing, kid.

I've got a plan that will make it as easy as mailing a letter.

Okay, kid, you're finished.

Now, you run along and give big brother back his long pants.

(laughter)

The idea is good.

The idea is lousy.

You're talking about a bottle-by-bottle hustle.

It stinks.

I'll be talking to you again.

Hey, kid,

you forgot to raise your hand.

(laughter)

WINCHELL: Two days later, Benny Angel

made his routine rounds at the university.

Although most students considered the shaggy man

in the big coat a campus joke.

There were many who took him very seriously.

On this day, they had particular reason to do so.

Benny's bottle-by-bottle hustle

was accomplished brazenly out in the open.

His best pickings were on the far side of the campus

near the stadium.

Traffic there was heavy enough to give him a fair chance

at a few sales and light enough to be ignores

by the small police unit

assigned to the area.

Benny sold three bottles out of 12 attempts.

Shortly before the last class of the day,

he found the fourth.

Psst, pally.

Hey, pally, I got some goods today, pally.

Oh, not till next month, Benny; still in training.

It helps the appetite.

Well, coach says lose the appetite,

or else I'll be getting too fat.

Ah, see me after the Northwestern game, Benny.

Yeah, I'll be here, pally.

You've seen her.

She's in our bio lab.

The one that cried about the frog.

-Right. -Hey, pally.

Hey, look who's here.

I got the best today, pally.

Right off the boat.

A fact, a fact.

Why don't you go sit down?

'Cause I can't.

Well, now, you know there's nothing you can do right now.

That's why it's so hard just sitting here, doing nothing.

Mr. Farris?

Associate professor.

Hal.

How long has it been, Eliot?

Two, 300 years.

Can't tell you how much I appreciate this.

He isn't just a kid brother, you know.

I practically raised him.

Where is he?

Right inside.

Well, who is it?

It's me, Jim,

and an old friend.

Eliot Ness.

Hello, Jimmy.

Hello, Mr. Ness.

Well, you were in bed the first time we met.

Bed?

A crib, actually.

Hal and I were cramming for an exam and babysitting.

I guess I don't remember.

I know it rough, Jim.

I wish I could help, but I can't.

But you can help me

and every student on this campus.

I can't help anybody.

I'm blind, Mr. Ness.

It's only temporary, Jim.

You'll see as well as you ever did.

There's only one liquid that causes blindness, Jim.

Wood alcohol, it attacks the optic nerve.

Most cases are only temporary.

I know.

But not all.

No, Jim, not all.

You, uh...

You asked me to help.

Where'd you get the stuff, Jim?

Where everybody gets it.

From Benny.

Benny who?

Just Benny.

Where do you find this Benny?

He finds us.

He's always around the campus.

Describe him for me.

Well, it's... it's easy, Mr. Ness.

He always wears this baggy overcoat.

Always needs a shave and...

How old?

About 40.

You're doing fine, Jimmy.

Just a few more questions.

How tall?

Five-ten.

Weight?

Hard to say.

He always wears that baggy overcoat.

-About average. -About?

150 pounds.

Now, you say he's always on campus.

It's a big campus; any special place?

No special place.

Where was he today?

He's right on...

You remember the South Grove?

I remember.

Right around there.

Thank you, Jimmy.

Mr. Ness?

Yes?

That, uh...

that exam you and Harold were cramming for,

how'd you do?

Well, I managed to graduate in spite of it.

So long, Jimmy.

Get some rest, Jim.

I'll be right out in the hall if you need anything.

Three other like him right down the hall.

I---

am afraid that isn't much consolation.

Only consolation is none of those boys

took that extra drink or two.

-What do you mean? -I mean, they're alive.

Afraid I'm not much help to you, Hal,

but I promise you one thing.

I'll find this Benny and his wood alcohol.

Thanks. I'd walk with you, Eliot...

I think I can find my car.

Campus hasn't changed that much, has it?

Good night, Hal.

Look where those vats are.

Just 20 feet from the truck ramp.

Just ram these doors and move in behind these vats.

I still don't get it.

Why the organization would want to build a brewery

in a place like this beats me.

Well, when they make a mistake, they make a beauty.

Eliot.

I couldn't reach you, so I took the liberty of setting it up.

Good.

Did Jack tell you?

He spotted the door.

The layout's even bigger than we thought.

Take a look.

The trucks are ready, police, ammunition, the works.

Looks like a lead-pipe cinch, Eliot.

Just give us the word.

Lead-pipe cinch, huh?

Right.

Go on, knock it over.

I'm gonna check out a punk who sells booze to college kids.

I can check that out for you tomorrow, Eliot.

Eliot, this thing is big, maybe the biggest.

You're talking about some character

selling a pint of booze here and a pint there.

He can't be that important.

He's important to four blind boys lying in a hospital.

He's important to their parents.

He's important to me.

Uses wood alcohol.

Go on, hit that brewery.

Let's go.

Oh, you're late this morning, Benny.

What, a big night out on the town?

You're ribbing me, Mr. Parker.

What are you doing?

We're moving, Benny.

There appears to have been some trouble.

Trouble? What kind of trouble?

You should really be more conscious

of the world around you, Benny.

Four students in our territory were blinded last night.

Somebody sold them wood alcohol.

It-it wasn't me, Mr. Parker.

I'd never do nothing like that.

Of course it wasn't you, Benny.

How could it be you?

You don't need to sell wood alcohol

when we turn out first-class merchandise.

No.

Apparently, we have ourselves a poacher.

Where we going?

We're going to your house.

And you're gonna stay there.

I'm gonna take you there myself.

I have a feeling there are going to be

some uniform visitors in our neighborhood,

and we don't want you to go to jail, do we?

-Oh, no. -No. Then come on.

Let's go, Benny.

WINCHELL: From the description given by the students,

the identity of Benny Angel was easily established

through police records.

Two miles away, the Untouchables began

the arduous task of finding one man

in the nation's Second City.

They were opposed at first by many students

who were reluctant to give information.

Not wanting to alarm the quarry,

his description was kept out of the newspapers.

But a photograph was quietly circulated

throughout the university area.

Benny Angel had worked the campus for six months.

There was nothing about him to blend with the atmosphere,

yet he was largely unseen.

Apparently, he had scheduled his appearances

at different class breaks.

It had given him the chance to confront new students

and to avoid friendships with the old.

And although the picture of Benny Angel

was at last recognized by many,

the man himself remained elusive.

First, those Feds break up the plant,

and then those college punks.

I tell you, boys, I've had better mornings.

Well, Frank, I know the Feds hit us pretty hard,

but what's that other thing got to do with it?

It wasn't our stuff.

You're dumb, Harry.

100% dumb.

You think it makes any difference whose stuff it is?

This kind of thing will scare people

out of the speaks for months!

You think they care who makes it?

All they know is some kids drank some bootleg booze

and now those kids are blind.

So they'll stay away from the hard stuff, including ours.

I'd rather lose five stills

than get hit with something like this.

And not only that, the Feds can use this

and make things plenty hot.

Now, do you think you understand that, Harry?

Yeah, sure, Frank.

What I want now-- and I'll cut his heart out--

is that punk who hustled that rotgut.

What's his name? Parker?

That's his territory.

He said he was working over there on Decatur.

Harry, you know what he looks like; you go pick him up.

You think you can find the way?

I'll get him, Frank.

Sure you will.

Today, Harry.

Yeah, Frank, today.

Frank, you got company.

Kid, you got a lot of guts to come walking in here.

Or else you don't care much about walking out again.

I want to talk to you, Nitti.

You did all your talking the other day.

I don't want to hear you talk anymore.

I just want to see you crawl.

You picked the dirtiest possible way to wipe me out, didn't you?

What are you talking about?

The other day, you laughed me right out of your office.

All right, as you said, it was your game.

But you listened, didn't you?

Enough to know it was a good thing,

enough to want the action yourself.

So you sent one of your thickheaded barbarians

in to do the job, and he messed it up.

No, no, no, maybe he didn't mess it up.

Maybe you wanted to push that wood alcohol.

You thought I couldn't ride out the storm, but you could.

Hold it, kid.

Are you telling me one of my boys hustled that stuff?

Your boys or you.

There's nobody else.

How about you?

Oh, that would be really bright.

Destroy the only thing I've got going for me.

It don't do me no good, either.

So in other words, you want me to believe

that you had nothing to do with it.

Kid, I don't care much what you believe.

Only, I ain't about to scare this town to death.

You know, my whole operation runs on people not being scared

of Feds, of booze, or anything.

And right now, this is a pretty scared town.

Then who is responsible?

Maybe there's a cheap punk down there

with a five-gallon can of wood alcohol

and a big hunger for a buck.

If he's there, I'll get him.

Sure you will.

I owe him something.

So do I.

I'll take care of him.

Maybe if I get there first,

I'll be worth more to you than a couple of laughs.

Maybe.

♪♪

It's a charming little place you have here, Benny.

Your own private little oasis.

A delicate refinement in the midst of Chicago's squalor.

Did hear you knock.

Strange thing about knocking on doors.

Sometimes you don't get through them.

Yeah.

What's on your mind, Mr. Parker?

You got something special for me?

I think you'll find it special.

(chuckles)

What have you been up to, Benny?

Well, you know, Mr. Parker.

Why are the police looking for you, Benny?

Oh, come on, Mr. Parker.

I-I don't have to tell you that.

Uh, wood alcohol stuff.

That wasn't a very bright thing to do, Benny.

Well, I didn't have anything to do with it.

Oh, you know that, Mr. Parker.

The only stuff I ever sold was what you gave me.

Y-You packed the bottles on me.

I-I don't make no stop.

Oh.

Is that how you remember it?

Well, Mr. Parker, you know.

I know

that you sold wood alcohol to four young college students,

and now those college students are blind.

Mr. Parker, what are you doing?

(chuckles)

I'm only trying to talk sensibly to the man who's responsible

for giving the honest bootleggers in this town

a bad name with the citizenry.

You see, those universities, Benny,

those centers of culture,

those citadels of higher learning,

they're mine.

I discovered them.

I staked them out.

Owned and operated by Jack Parker,

bachelor of business administration, summa cum laude.

That's Latin, Benny.

It means "with high honors.”

Here, sit down, sit down, Benny.

Pay attention.

This may be the closest you ever get to a higher education.

Now then,

you know what I received

for those high honors, Benny?

$18.50 a week.

Head bookkeeper at a poultry house.

Well, what do you think of that, Benny, hmm?

$18.50.

Every day,

eight to six, Saturdays included.

Now, that's not my idea of living, Benny.

Hm-mmm, no, my idea of living

is brandy and silk underwear

and women who smell of perfume from Paris.

Are a connoisseur of these fine things, Benny?

What do you want with me, Mr. Parker?

A man I can trust, a man who would do his job

-and not ask questions. -Yeah, that's right.

Yeah.

And then that man becomes greedy.

That stupid, grotesque joke of a man

peddles a poison called wood alcohol

to four young students and they go blind.

Mr. Parker, please leave me alone.

That kind of news is very bad for the consumers.

Do you understand, Benny?

Mr. Parker, you're the one who gave it to me.

Benny, you are going to be my initiation fee

to the sacred order of the silk shirt.

What are you doing with wood alcohol in your room, Benny?

I never saw that before.

I don't know how it got here.

Unless...

Unless?

Unless you brought it.

Ha-ha, right.

Very good, Benny, very precise thinking.

I did bring it.

Except it's not quite full, you see,

because I had to use four or five pints to fill your bottles.

Mr. Parker, you always called me bad names

and you make fun of me; I never said nothing

because I know you're better than me.

Y-You know all those words and things,

and you've gone to college.

But-but what you done

ain't nothing for a man like you to do.

I-I-I mean, I never read no books,

but I know what you done is a terrible thing.

That's eloquent, perfectly eloquent.

Why, Mr. Parker?

Why did you use that stuff?

Why? Why indeed.

It doesn't make sense, Benny, does it?

No, it couldn't have been me.

It was your alcohol, Benny.

You peddled it; everybody knows that.

It's got to be yours.

No, I never saw it before.

Well, then what's it doing in your room, Benny?

You can't expect anybody to believe that it isn't yours.

Benny,

whoever is responsible for those four young men going blind

is human scum.

And he deserves to die.

I read that in a newspaper.

Rather violent sentiment, but a compelling argument,

don't you think?

Mr. Parker, don't do it.

I never done nothing against you.

I appreciate that, Benny.

But then I never gave you the chance, did I?

(grunts)

(sighs)

This is Jack Parker.

I'd like to leave a message for Mr. Nitti.

Tell him he better send one of his boys

over to 37 Rookwood

apartment G.

I just tracked down the man who's responsible

for selling that wood alcohol.

No.

No, don't bother.

I just took care of that myself.

WINCHELL: The death of Benny Angel

was reported to the police by an anonymous phone call.

Eliot Ness was notified in the same manner.

Jack Parker was obviously proud

of his work.

Wood alcohol.

You could smell it across the street.

No prints except the dead man's.

Whoever did it was careful.

Knife's clean and it looks like the doorknob's

been wiped clean.

And like I said, there's nothing on that tin.

Well, keep trying.

Except for the ceiling, that's about it.

All right then.

You better get out of here and back to work.

Well, Eliot, it looks like someone closed the case for you.

Think so?

Well, Benny Angel was selling the wood alcohol.

Benny Angel's dead.

What about the man who spawned Benny Angel?

Whoever's hustling those college boys

is making a pretty fair living, right?

Yeah.

This room...

doubt that Benny Angel ever put more

than two dollars together in his whole life.

Besides, being that Benny pedaled good merchandise

on the campus for months,

why all of a sudden serve up wood alcohol?

I see what you mean.

Is someone walking out there who'll spawn

another Benny Angel.

If he's still operating, we'll find him.

We'll search here and around the university.

Building by building, attic to basement.

I want that still.

WINCHELL: Jack Parker had used wood alcohol

deliberately as a means of attracting the attention

of the Nitti organization.

That night he waited for an appointment

near a Lake Michigan wharf.

Okay, Parker.

You've been wanting me to listen

so now I'm listening.

I've been waiting a long time.

Everybody waits.

They also serve, right?

What are you talking about?

Never mind.

Now ,look,

you got something to sell or not?

I've earned this audience.

I'm not going to waste it.

Well, let's get on with, huh?

I'm ready to hand you a greater group

of potential customers than you have right now in Cicero.

Are you still with that college business?

Not college, colleges.

Besides the one I've been servicing,

there's a lot more.

The University of Chicago,

Northwestern, DePaul, Loyola, the medical schools.

You're dealing with a truckload of dynamite, Parker.

You think I can send my boys in there to hustle booze?

Why, they'd stick out like Primo Camera

at a midget's convention.

I don't intend to send your boys in.

You don't intend?

If there's any intending done around here,

I do it.

What I mean is there's a better way of doing it.

Everywhere you go these days you see nothing

but unemployed men, ordinary men.

Not gunmen.

Or ex-punks.

But ordinary men who'd do almost anything

to provide for their families.

So we hire them.

We give them a cover...

and then they blend into the surroundings like chameleons.

Those are lizards that change their color.

I know what they are.

And I know what you are.

You're a kid on the make.

You're a kid who's been to a fancy college,

and ever since then you think you got the edge

on everybody else.

Well, let me put you straight, Parker.

I don't like you.

I don't like the way you dress. I don't like the way you talk.

And I don't like the way you look at me as though

I ain't worth spitting on.

But I'm beginning to like your idea.

That's all I'm interested in.

I'm not looking for a friend.

I supply the booze and you supply the set up.

Is that how you figure it?

That's how I figure it.

All right.

Now I'll tell you what I intend.

I'll supply you with all the booze you need for 30 days.

At the end of that time, if you ain't pushing

100 cases a day, I cut you off cold.

Agreed.

Oh, one other thing.

Any trouble, I don't care what kind,

and I pull out.

Messing with college students is like

sticking a gun to your own head.

They got parents can scream all the way to Washington.

Then we got an army of Feds to worry about.

There won't be any trouble.

Maybe not.

But if there is,

it'll be your neck before mine.

Now if you could drop me off.

I'd like to get started tonight.

Run every step of the way, don't ya, kid?

That's how you win.

Come on.

Well, he's packed up and gone.

Yeah, looks like it.

Something strange about it though,

he left his equipment.

Some very expensive stuff.

A penny ante bootlegger's about all he has.

Well, how do you figure it?

I don't.

Hey, take a look at this.

Page torn out.

Comes between...

umbrella and upholstery cleaning.

Undertakers?

Yeah, that's what I'd of said.

Must be the business we're in.

Unites States Government Offices?

I'm sure that's the last thing he'd want.

Umbrellas, undertakers, uniforms,

universities...

That's it. Of course, universities.

Ah, we've been concentrating on this campus so hard

we forget there must be eight or nine other

colleges and universities right in and around the city.

You think he'll start hitting all of them?

From the size of this equipment,

he probably wasn't even able to cover this one too well.

He skips out and leaves it.

And takes the listing of all the universities in the area.

You know, Eliot, it could be that he's found

a new source of supply.

Our boys about to put a Benny Angel on the front steps

of every fraternity house and classroom in Chicago.

If you're right, he's quite an operator.

And a murderer.

Benny?

We're after Benny. He knew that Benny

could lead us right to him.

Well, it fits.

Let's get out of this pigpen.

WINCHELL" Jack Parker, an honor student,

had learned his political science thorough.

To build an empire

you need an army.

The recruiting office;

a room in a shabby hotel

on Chicago's South Side.

What do you mean? Well, what's wrong with me?

I'm a good salesman.

-All right. Out... -I can sell...

(indistinct shouting)

Now then, Mr., uh...

Sloan. Harvey Sloan.

Sloan. Won't you sit down, Mr. Sloan? Please.

Yeah. Yeah, thanks.

Now then, uh, how old are you, Mr. Sloan?

-Thirty-nine. -Married?

No, I couldn't afford it even if I wanted to.

Oh, no. I'm sorry.

What's being married got to do--

Wait a minute, mister. Look, I need the job...

(indistinct shouting)

I hope I have better luck than he did.

So do I. So do I, Mr...

Meadows. Paul Meadows.

Meadows, Meadows...

Would you sit down, please?

Sure.

Now then, before we proceed any further, Mr. Meadows,

are you married?

Yes, I am. I've got three children.

Ah, splendid, splendid.

You've answered my second question as well.

Ever been arrested?

Come on. I've never even gotten a parking ticket.

Who are you?

What's the difference?

This is the only time we'll see one another

whether you take the job or not. Address?

1989 South Hamilton.

That's avenue.

Avenue.

And how old are your children, Mr. Meadows?

Eleven, four...

and the baby is 7 months old.

That sounds like a fine family.

It would be if it had a father.

I don't understand.

A father. A bread winner.

Someone to bring home the bacon.

Not ox tails.

Well, I, uh,

I think we can remedy that.

What are you selling, mister?

Bacon.

That's not bacon.

No.

But it buys bacon, Mr. Meadows.

A great deal of bacon.

And steak, and roasts.

And milk for babies.

You're asking me to break the law?

I'm not asking you to do anything, Mr. Meadows.

I'm giving you a chance to feed your family.

Now this merchandise...

retails for $5. It wholesales for 4.

I represent the wholesaler.

Now he furnishes the merchandise,

and the sales territory.

And you...

you're credit has been established.

What if I take the merchandise and you never see me again?

You wouldn't do a thing like that, Mr. Meadows.

How do you know I won't?

For the same reason you won't go to the police.

For the same reason you won't talk to them

if you should happen to be arrested by them.

You seem to be pretty sure.

I am.

I don't think I've made myself clear, Mr. Meadows.

I said you're credit with me was established.

What do you mean by that?

I'd really hoped

that you were more intelligent, Mr. Meadows.

But if you would like it spelled out for you, I will.

Now there lives

at 1989 South Hamilton Avenue

a Mrs. Meadows with three children...

aged 11, 4, and 7 months.

Now I don't think that the father of that family

would want to do anything to endanger their lives.

Do I make myself clear, Mr. Meadows?

Meadows.

I don't wish to harm your children.

I'm more interested in seeing

that they don't starve to death.

Here you are, Mr. Meadows.

This is your merchandise.

You will receive full instructions by mail.

Oh, and on your way out, I, uh...

wouldn't talk to any of the other men outside if I were you.

One, nine, eight, nine.

Oh, you see? I already have it memorized.

Glad to have you with us, Mr. Meadows.

-Next. -(loud, overlapping chatter)

Won't you sit down, please?

WINCHELL: On October 24,

Jack Parker began to distribute his merchandise,

now supplied by the organization.

The well-attended baggage counter

of a Loop bus terminal was selected

as the central distribution point.

Various shapes and sizes of standard men's luggage

served as the carriers.

Only public facilities were used.

Parker himself never again faced his employees.

He was convinced that his hiring

of Depression-ridden men with families to support

was his protection.

And the brief look they had of him

in the South Side hotel room would soon be blurred.

The baggage checks were mailed to the distributors,

who, each in turn, arrived at the depot

to claim a very special suitcase.

Contents-- a fair to good grade of whiskey,

manufactured in dozens of Chicago distilleries

by the organization.

Payments in cash,

claim checks for empty suitcases

with orders for refilling,

were mailed to a post office box.

A box rented by Parker himself.

And the process repeated again and again and again.

Jack Parker's snowball was rolling fast.

Greeting, gents.

Got some new merchandise for that party Saturday.

Black tie, isn't it?

Party's over, Mister.

All right, let's try once more.

Who supplies you?

What's the difference? I'm guilty.

Could make a lot of difference.

You're no hood, no record, not even a parking ticket.

If you talked, they might go easy on you.

Now, who supplies you?

Look, you got me. I'm guilty. Ma...

What more do you want?

I don't want a confession. I got the suitcase.

I want to know who puts the bottles in it.

I can't tell you a thing.

Why don't you find one of the others and ask him?

What others?

Well, the others, like me, who've been peddling this junk.

How many? How many others?

-I don't know. Plenty. -Five? A hundred?

-I don't know! -500?

No, no. Maybe 12, 15, but maybe more.

Do you know any of their names?

-Never even seen them. -How do you know how many?

I don't know. I'm guessing.

More than one to a school?

I can't tell you anymore!

You haven't told me anything yet!

Eliot, Dr. Monice called from the university hospital.

Wants you to call him right away.

(sighs) Okay, Bill. Tell him I'm on my way.

With a friend.

Who is there?

Eliot Ness, Jim.

Hi, Mr. Ness.

How are they treating you?

Pretty good.

Any complaints, send them to me.

I contribute to the alumni drives.

Will do. Can you stay a while?

Not right now, but I'll be back later.

Just wanted to see

if they dragged you out of that bed yet.

Well, it was a hard fight. I lost.

Never fight a nurse, Jim. They only know how to win.

See you later, huh?

Right, Mr. Ness.

Did you see that tree outside his window?

Yeah.

He can't.

He never will.

He's 19 years old, Meadows.

How old are your children?

Mr. Ness...

he threatened to hurt my family.

I can't tell you anything.

I can't.

Okay.

Let's go.

What about the others, Eliot?

The ones he mentioned?

Yeah, it makes it big. It makes it Nitti.

Yeah, it'd be pretty tough

to get an operation this size underway without him.

Not just tough. Impossible.

MAN: Mr. Ness?

Doctor.

I got your message.

We were just in seeing Jim Farris.

He's making a good recovery considering.

Mr. Ness, I wanted you to know that a few hours ago

another case of wood alcohol poisoning was brought in.

Did he say where he got it?

A girl, Mr. Ness, 18 years old.

A sophomore here named Barbara Harriston.

A bottle bought about a week ago,

a fraternity party.

May I talk to her?

I'm sorry. She died about 20 minutes ago,

just before I called you.

She never came out of coma.

I thought you should know about it.

Thank you, Doctor.

Yours.

Hold it, boys.

Tell 'em to get out.

Get out, fellas.

Mr. Ness here is an old friend.

Okay, Ness, what do you want?

Want to know who's running booze in the colleges.

Why come to me? I don't know anything about any colleges.

I don't even know what you're talking about.

You know exactly, probably to the bottle.

You and your punks are flooding every campus in Chicago

with your special brand of poison.

Now, look, I don't have to put up with this.

You got no warrant, you got no charge.

So all you got is a bad guess.

I said you'll take it right here!

Now, sit down!

Okay. You finish whatever you got to say,

then get out of here.

First, you're mixed up in the school racket up to your neck.

-Hold it. -I'll stop when I'm finished.

Okay, okay, talk.

It's not the way you usually operate,

so, somebody must have handed it to you in a package.

Whoever it was is probably running the action for you

for a good cut.

Like I said, nothing but a bad guess.

I don't think so.

I'll tell you something that's no guess.

He's the same man who sold the wood alcohol

that blinded those four boys.

You're way off base.

The guy who did that was a two-bit grifter

named Benny Angel.

They found the stuff in his room.

Or don't you read the papers?

That's what your friend told you after he killed Benny?

All right, Frank, think this over.

Benny Angel's prints were found all over that still.

Are you listening?

They worked together. He tell you that?

You ever hear of an 18-year-old girl named Barbara Harriston?

-No. -You will.

If you read the papers.

Probably a small item on the back pages.

She died tonight. Wood alcohol poisoning.

Your friend has real talent, Frank.

Four young men blinded, one girl killed.

You never did that well, even in your prime.

No, you can't tie me in with anything like this.

Can't I?

Where was he sitting, Frank?

To your right hand?

With his eye on your chair?

You're way off base.

This isn't the Frank Nitti I used to know.

The old enforcer's grown rusty.

Can't even protect himself.

-Get out. -Tell me his name.

I'll get him off your back, Frank.

I'll put him in prison for a half a dozen lifetimes.

Think about it, Frank.

Who's the real enforcer-- you or him?

Get out.

(door closes)

Parker?

Did you hear him?

Yeah, I heard him.

You don't believe all that, do you, Frank?

What should I believe, kid?

I had nothing to do with it.

The wood alcohol, the girl, any of it.

Scout's honor?

(tires screeching)

(engine revving)

Who is he?

Can't you smell it?

Must have soaked him in wood alcohol.

WINCHELL: At 11:32 on the night of October 29, 1930,

a dream of empires ended in a dirty gutter.

Eliot Ness had succeeded in destroying an evil

whose face he had never seen and whose name he never knew.

(crowd chatter)