the real Elliot Ness was not the guy Costner played, to be sure. He had had the rep for being a "hotdogger," who was more interested in making headlines with his raids and smashing barrels of alcohol than with actually solving crimes. In the end, the Treasury Department, which Ness worked for, nailed Capone for tax evasion.
Riding high on his reputation for being such a great lawman, Ness tried to tackle the Cincinnati Torso Murders, grizzly serial killings that to this day remain unsolved. Ness' number one suspect, a local doctor, had voluntarily committed himself and remained outside the reach of the law. For the rest of the doctor's life, he sent Ness tantalizing messages that Ness could never confirm were legitimate or not. Broken by this case which left his career in ruins, Ness became a depressed alcoholic who would brag at the end of the bar how he was the man who had nailed Big Al. Nobody believed him till the old Untouchables TV show went on the air during Ness' later years.
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-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
15 Jul 2018, 5:50 am
