How tax laws helped the federal government catch mob bosses during Prohibition

Al Capone's business structure kept him from ever getting charged for bootlegging

During the Prohibition era, Al Capone sold then-illegal alcohol through people who funneled cash and held bank accounts for him. His name never showed up on any paperwork, meaning it was impossible to actually charge him with bootlegging or any of his violent crimes. But no paper trail for his lavish lifestyle also meant he wasn't paying taxes, which is how prosecutors ultimately put Capone in jail.

How the federal income tax affected Prohibition

In the early 1900s, 30% to 40% of government tax revenue came from liquor, wine, and beer, a reliance that made Prohibition seem like a fiscal impossibility. But the passage of the federal income tax in 1913 changed the calculus, which helped allow the government to ban alcohol production and sales.

Hear why the IRS has been a frequent victim of arson

This podcast episode takes a lighthearted dive into the history of the IRS, from when the agency was founded and called the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to that one time it had to enforce a national ban on alcohol.

Watch what happens if you commit tax evasion, from phone calls to property seizure

Tax Day is one of the most dreaded days for working Americans. The IRS responds differently to late filings and late payments. If you don't file at all, the IRS might freeze your assets.

See how DOJ prosecutors took down a pharmaceutical company's executives over the opioid crisis

This FRONTLINE documentary follows federal prosecutors as they used anti-racketeering laws to convict executives at Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company that bribed doctors to overprescribe a fentanyl painkiller.

A group of daring bootleggers created NASCAR

When Prohibition made alcohol illegal in 1920, it didn’t stop Americans from making and consuming it. The law drove the practice underground. Runners risked their lives to deliver moonshine and began racing among themselves.

JP Morgan Jr. once angered the nation with his zero-dollar tax bill

In the aftermath of the Great Depression, Congress learned that Morgan and his banking partners had avoided paying any federal income tax in 1931 and 1932. By claiming their losses in the stock market, they seemingly erased what they owed.

How the government caught Billie Holiday

Louis McKay—who was Holiday's manager and abusive husband—worked with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to ensure Holiday was caught with drugs. She was eventually put on trial and sentenced to a year in prison, where she briefly got sober.

The FBI's most famous cases

From the D.B. Cooper plane hijacking to the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. to the details about the first FBI agent killed in the line of duty, this FBI archive overviews the agency's most famous cases. Cases are organized by investigative priorities, according to the agency. Clicking any of the linked investigations takes readers to detailed articles about the cases, some of which remain unsolved.

America's ice cream obsession began under Prohibition

The emotional attachment to the sweet treat began during Prohibition, when many brewers started churning out ice cream instead of alcohol. Eventually, it symbolized joy during wartime and the Great Depression.

The St. Valentine's Day massacre is still unsolved

On Feb. 14, 1929, several men believed to be working for Chicago gangster George "Bugs" Moran, an enemy of notorious mobster Al Capone, were killed by several gunmen dressed as police. No one was ever brought to trial for the murders.

Half of the richest people in the US are finding ways around death taxes

One of the main purposes of the federal estate tax is to crack down on generational wealth, so wealth isn't concentrated among a select few. However, the ultra-rich have found ways around paying these taxes. This ProPublica article investigates the practices used by half of the 100 richest people in the US to avoid death taxes.

Get to know the five families that ran the NYC mafia

In the 1900s, there were five families in New York City who dominated the crime scene. These five families organized expansive criminal operations—ranging from prostitution and price extortion to money laundering—and have inspired stories like "The Godfather."

Learn how the US tax code works and why it's important

First published in 1926, the US Code is the official codification of federal statutes in the US. Title 26 of the US Code, for instance, lists all of the federal tax laws of the United States. A new edition is published every six years.

The 2025 budget bill significantly increased ICE's budget and role in federal law enforcement

The 2025 'Big Beautiful Bill' allocated $170B to immigration and border enforcement for use through 2029. ICE's nearly $100B share includes substantial increases in detention capacity and operational scope. The increased funding will make ICE the most heavily funded federal law enforcement agency.

US marshals were the first federal law enforcement officers

Established in 1789, US marshals carried out court orders, served subpoenas, made arrests, and collected fines—serving as the federal government's main law enforcement agency across the states for nearly a century before the creation of the DOJ.

Robber barons, the monopolistic business people of the 19th century, explained

“Robber baron” was a term used to describe 19th-century businesspeople who engaged in monopolistic business practices and didn’t face much business regulation, resulting in significant wealth.

As graffiti grew more popular, New York worked to stop it

In 1972, the NYPD made over 1,500 graffiti-related arrests. By 1973, the city was annually spending $10M to remove and limit graffiti. That same year, a poll conducted by an anti-graffiti task force found that the "vast majority" of residents did not consider graffiti to be art.

A 1948 Supreme Court ruling realigned the film industry

1948's landmark United States v. Paramount Pictures found that the "Big Five" studios violated antitrust laws, effectively ending the reign of the vertically integrated system and the golden age of Hollywood.

Humor during Mussolini’s fascist regime

Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime in Italy strictly censored humor, closing down popular satirical publications and even punishing certain jokes with prison sentences. However, humor was also used by the regime as a tool for propaganda and social control. Learn about the jokes Mussolini did permit, which typically came from regime-approved comedians and apolitical sources.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Moss provided the evidence to convict Chicago cemetery grave robbers

In 2009, employees at Burr Oak Cemetery were accused of exhuming graves to resell burial plots, but they argued the events took place before their employment. An analysis of moss, whose metabolic activity deteriorates at a known rate, with the transported human remains helped establish a timeline that placed the accused at the crime scene.

Georgia inmate pulls off $11M heist—from inside his cell

Prisoner Arthur Lee Cofield Jr., 31, allegedly impersonated Sidney Kimmel, the uber-wealthy chairman and CEO of a Los Angeles entertainment company, with the help of contraband cell phones from inside his prison cell.

The 13th Amendment's criminal exception enabled new forms of forced labor

Southern states exploited the amendment's clause allowing slavery "as punishment for crime" to arrest thousands of Black Americans on minor charges, leasing them to private employers through convict labor systems that persisted for decades.

Anti-money laundering laws forcing banks to report data have become important foreign policy tools

Since the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which required banks to report transactions exceeding $10K and keep records on customers, anti-money laundering laws have become an important proxy for American foreign policy initiatives. Increased regulation via financial institutions helps curb drug and human trafficking, as well as destabilize the financial infrastructure for terrorist organizations.

Racketeering is broad term for running an illegal scheme

Racketeering itself isn't a single crime and prosecutors tend to think about racketeering as a pattern of criminal activities, including kidnapping and money laundering. The term comes from the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.