Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-02
BY REX COLLIER.

Unless Congress should enact legis-
lation making racketeering . Federal
crime, the Governments law enforce
ment agencies must be content to sit
on the sideIines of gangdom and snipe
ct Al Capone and his nk through
indirect channels.
envy No. /, being brought to the bar Of
Justice on an income tax charge or q
perjury count Is the source Of wonder
ment to the man on the street. He
cannot understand why the Department
of Justice hasn't long ago put Capone
behind the bars and kept him there.
Nor L. 1t easy for the average person
to understand why Uncle Sans leading
detective agency. the Bureau Of Inves-
tigation, has failed to take the lead in
cleaning up" the gangster situation.
Capone Faces Perjury Term.
The reason is simple. The Bureau
of Investigation Is limited by law to the
Investigation of crimes with Q Federal
angle, and racketeering, in the accept
ed underworld sense. Is not O Federal
offense.
Racketeers are clever. They know
the limitations Of Federal agencies and
take care to restrict operations SO that
lO al lhW ID N1OldICd OCCdoIOIlhLy
they slip up. as, for instance, when Ca
pone ran afoul Of the income tax laws,
and. before that, of the perjury statutes.
That perjury case, by the way, has
been in the courts so long that few per-
sons realize. that Cepone has a six
months Federal sentence hanging over
his head for contempt of court. He
was convicted Of malingering as q wit
ness in a criminal case In Chicago and
his appeal is now pending.
Faxed Illness, Says U. 8.
The malingering perjury contempt
case was the first successful bit of
shipping" by the Government, and gave
the Bureau Of Investigation its first,
and so far, its only chance to shadow
the notorious "Scarface." The bureau
played no active part in the recent
income tax case, which came under
the Jurisdiction of another Federal
agency, the special intelligence unit OF
the income tax division.
Back in 1929 Capone, then enjoy
ing life at his palatial home In Miami,
received summons to appear as q
witness in q case before Judge wiki
erson in Chicago. Capone filed with
the court an sfidavit by his physician
stating that he was suffering from
picious, and requested the Department
Of Justice to make an investigation.
Director Hoover of the Bureau Of
Investigation assigned several of his
best men to the case. They went to
Miami and returned @ few days later
with q sheaf of afidavits picturing
Capone as healthy and happy. During
the period in which he was supposed
to be near death from pneumonia 1t
was found he had attended the races
frequently. had made Q boat trip to
Nassau with party Of friends and
had down with another group Of friends
to Bimini.
Wilkerson Gave Sentence.
The court convicted Capone Of con-
tempt on February ~ last, after long
delay occasioned by Capone'S incarcera-
ton in jail for one year at Philadelphia
on a "gun-toting" charge. Judge wiki
erson sentenced him to six months in
prison on March 2. Capone appealed
the case to the Circuit Court Of Appeals.
Matching wits with a racketeer is
game Of skill, according to Director
respect for State or local laws than
he has for Federal statutes. Conse-
quently he strives to keep from violat-
ing any law that will have Govern
ment agents down on him. His bust
ness, as a rule. Is that of shaking
down" proprietors Of gambling houses,
vice resorts, beer adjustments or
other businesses" outside the pale Of
the law. in return for promised pro
lection" Or he may dominate legiti-
mate businesses by threats Of reprisal,
including unfair competition and not
excluding harm to person or property.
Generally he guards his operations
50 discreetly that they seldom infringe
on Federal laws. If he is prof1ting
from prohibition violations, he sees to
it that the violations are committed by
others. If white slavery is his racket"
he does not transport girls himself
but merely collects for special serv-
ices rendered" in protecting the traf-
flc.
McGurn, Gunner, Convicted.
Once In a while, Of course, he VEN
lures beyond this policy-and some
times, like Jack McGurn Of machine
gun note, gets caught Hoover's agents
got Machine Gun" Jack, reputed
trigger man" in the st. Valentines
day massacre in Chicago for violation
Of the Mann act. McGurn, alias De-
More, was sentenced a few days ago
to two years.
There was q movement In the last
Congress to give Hoover's bureau au-