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The Untouchables - The Empty Chair

Seizoen: 1 - Aflevering: 1 / 3 - Eerst uitgezonden: 15 oktober 1959 - Episode ID: 336930

Narrator: "Chicago, May 5, 1932. After 7 months of legal delays, Al Capone... was on his way to federal prison, to serve 11 years for income tax evasion."* Eliot Ness and his Untouchables had spent 18 months to get Capone behind bars-- but now who would try to take over the throne, the Empty Chair? May 8. Barbara Ritchie (niece of Jake Guzik) has been grieving over the death of her husband George Ritchie for 12 months-- unaware that it was her own uncle Jake who had him knocked off for being an informer to Ness. At a service at the cemetery, marking the first anniversary of George's death, are: Barbara Ritchie (George's widow), her uncle Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik (treasurer and bookkeeper for the Capone mob), Norma Guzik (Jake's widowed sister, Barbara's mother), Phil D'Andrea (expert machine-gunner), "Fur" Sammons (hijacker and rumrunner), Gus Raddi ("pineapple" expert), Tony "Mops" Volpe (chief triggerman) and last and most important Frank Nitti ("The Enforcer"). May 12. Two of Capone's principle lieutenants-- Gus Raddi and Tony "Mops" Volpe-- go to a barber shop where Enrico Rossi is working as a barber. Nitti barges in with a machine-gun and blasts them, eliminating some competition for the Empty Chair. (Unfortunately, some stray machine-gun bullets hit pretty Tessie DiGiovanni, the 17-year-old manicurist working in the barber shop.) Enrico Rossi uses his straight razor to attack Nitti's henchman and agrees to testify against Nitti. Since being a witness against "the Enforcer" can be hazardous to one's health, the Untouchables must give Rico protection. They figure the best way to do this is to hire him on as their driver. Thus, Rico joins the squad where he will remain for the entire run of the series. Guzik calls a meet of the 4 still-living heirs at the Montmartre Cafe, headquarters of the Capone gang: himself, Frank Nitti, "Fur" Sammons and Phil D'Andrea. Nitti sits in Capone's Empty Chair, saying "Big chair-- big man. It fits all right. Anybody object?" Only bookkeeper Guzik stands up to Frank Nitti "The Enforcer," and insists Capone's chair be kept empty. Guzik also insists they all keep books, and pay income tax on their legit fronts, so they can't get nailed with income tax evasion like Capone. May 21. Ness and his men meet with District Attorney Beecher Asbury. Ness gets a subpoena for Phil D'Andrea's books-- but an audit only proves that Jake Guzik is a genius, both as a bookkeeper and a crook. The Capone heirs all get along peacefully-- until June, when Ness and his men, trying to start a gang dogfight, raid Nitti's places: his handbooks, crap parlors, stills, cathouses and his own speakeasy. Nitti's plenty sore! Nitti figures he's being fingered by one of the heirs, and he's ready to start blasting. Nitti shows up at the meet at the Montmartre with 3 hired guns; but he's confronted by Guzik, Sammons, D'Andrea and SIX of their hired guns. Then both sides send all the hired guns outside. But then Guzik lays down the law, telling Nitti: "We're sick and tired of you and your gun. We're tired of seein' you carry it and wave it and pick your teeth with it!" Guzik says they will rule with the pencil, not the gun. Guzik also says they will give him a share of their take until Nitti can rebuild. Nitti takes the pencil out of Guzik's suit pocket, looks at it, and quips, "That's, uh, some pencil." Then they both laugh. September 23, 1932. Rossi sets up a secret meeting between Barbara Ritchie and Ness, in room 208 of the Federal Building. She agrees to help Ness get the hoods who killed her husband; Ness gives her a small handgun for protection. But her meeting with Ness is reported back to Guzik-- by an elevator operator of the Federal Building (Guzik has informants everywhere). Later that night, at Guzik's home, Barbara confronts Guzik-- and Guzik tells her HE gave the order to have her husband killed. Barbara Ritchie takes out the small handgun Ness gave her, and shoots Guzik, but it's just a flesh wound. Ness and his men barge in; Flaherty and Youngfellow shoot Phil D'Andrea and arrest Guzik. Norma Guzik, in retaliation against her brother Jake, takes Ness to George Ritchie's mausoleum where, behind the headstone, Jake Guzik kept the incriminating records of Capone's huge, secret cash reserves. (the records are in code: Polish backwards.) So Ness wins the first battle, but the rest of his war on crime would constitute the entire TV series.