The Untouchables

"The Untouchables" is one of the few television shows I really missed on DVD. I loved watching it when I was younger and would eat up every single episode of Eliot Ness fighting the Chicago Mob. Accordingly my excitement was high when Paramount Home Entertainment finally announced a DVD version of the series and dropped this little package in my lap.

"The Untouchables" tells the relentless fight of Eliot Ness and his special squad of policemen against the Chicago mob during the Prohibition era in the 1930s. In the one corner was Ness and in the other corner was mobster legend Al Capone and their countless battles have been well documented by history. Ness and his squad of incorruptible agents managed to infiltrate Capone's corporations and damage its illegal operations of alcohol distribution on countless occasions making him the number one enemy of the mob. But despite all efforts, Capone was never able to buy off any of the "Untouchables" or to kill Eliot Ness. But the focus of Ness' work was not only Capone - in fact his antics are covered in the pilot episodes - but also many other infamous mobsters, all of which make appearances in this television series, adding to the breadth of the show.

"The Untouchables" was running from 1959 until 1963 and made for some great entertainment that was pretty gritty given its subject matter. Borrowing heavily from the film noir genre that was popular in the days the series has an ominous and dark look to it and doesn't go easy on the violence or bullet-count. The acting is also in line with some of the best noir classics where men were portrayed as super-tough guys without too many words and always ready to pull an automatic gun out of their overcoats. Robert Stack plays Eliot Ness and he plays the character to the hilt and he is supported by a great cast, including guest stars such as Peter Falk, Telly Savalas, Lee Van Cleef, Lee Marvin and many others over the years.

As a cool extra the release actually contains the seamless theatrical version of the show's two pilot episodes. While initially broadcast separately these episodes were later spliced together without their TV introductions and shown in theaters. That is the version you will find here. The original TV introductions are also included, both now running in front of the pilot.

Here now we have the first 14 episodes of the show on DVD as Paramount release "The Untouchables: Season 1 Volume 1." I am not quite sure why Paramount decided to split the season in half – my guess would be to keep the retail price per DVD set down and more attractive as opposed to trying and sell a DVD set at twice the price. Be that as it may the quality of the presentation on this DVD set is "untouchable" – excuse the pun. I was truly amazed at the quality of this show that is almost 60 years old. Paramount cleaned up the transfer and you will be hard pressed to find any blemishes, scratches or other defects in the presentation. What's more, there's not even a hint of grain. I found myself staring at the screen unable to believe that what I was watching was really created in 1959! The black and white presentation is rich and runs the entire gamut of contrast with bright highlights and solid, deep blacks. Grays are balanced and fall off nicely creating a balanced picture that never looks harsh or dated. Without compression artifacts or edge-enhancement, this is truly a classic TV presentation to behold.

The audio presentation has also been cleaned up and is free of hiss or defects. However, given the age, the frequency response is limited giving the presentation a harsh-sounding edge. On top of that the dialogue elements are in varying states of quality and thus the audio presentation can change quite a bit from scene to scene. Still, to me it adds to the vintage feel of the show and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Paramount Home Entertainment blew me away with the quality of this release. It is simply amazing what modern technology and a little TLC can do to something like a 60-year old television show. I know that for the next couple of nights I will be glued to the screen watching episode for episode of this great TV series and then eagerly expecting the second volume and other season box sets. Let's just hope Paramount's won't be taking too long to bring them on.

Thanks to DVD Review

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Bones Likely from a Mob Hit

Friends of ours: Gerald Scarpelli
Friends of mine: Robert Hatridge, Michael Oliver

Visible injuries to bones found this week in west suburban Downers Grove Township have led investigators to believe the victim could have been the target of a gangland slaying, law-enforcement sources said Thursday.

The bones, which construction workers discovered Tuesday morning buried more than 5 feet underground, have not yet been positively identified, but are those of an adult male, the DuPage County coroner's office said. Investigators think the bones may have been in the ground for 20 years or more.

Law-enforcement sources said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is now involved in the inquiry, and that a possible connection to organized crime has arisen because of the manner of death and obvious injuries to the body.

Three of the deceased male's fingers were sheared off, possibly with a bolt-cutting type tool. The man also had suffered a broken shoulder and two gunshot wounds in he back of the head, law-enforcement sources said.

The coroner's office said only that authorities are working to identify the male, whose approximate age couldn't be determined. The man was not an "old person," however, said DuPage Coroner Pete Siekmann. Authorities are trying to identify the remains based on fingerprints and a tattoo visible on the body, he said.

DuPage County State's Atty. Joseph Birkett said the case is being investigated as a possible homicide.

Construction workers laying sewer pipes for a new townhouse development found the bones near Bluff Road and Illinois Highway 83. The bones were wrapped in a blue tarpaulin.

The location of the bones had neighbors speculating this week that they could be linked to organized crime. The bones were found less than a half-mile from a purported mob victim burial ground, where two bodies were found in 1988 and later identified as low-level organized-crime figures. A task force formed in the 1980s to solve cold mob cases got the tip for the location from an informant, and at the time sources believed searchers might find as many as seven bodies. But after five months of digging, they found only two bodies—those of Robert Anthony Hatridge, a minor associate of Gerald Scarpelli, 51, a crime syndicate killer-turned-informant who later committed suicide; and Mark (Michael?) Oliver, another minor organized-crime figure.

Investigators said part of the process of identifying the body would include working off a list of missing persons with connections to the Chicago Outfit.

After the bones were found, Darien authorities considered that they might belong to Xu "Sue" Wang, a Darien doctor who disappeared in 1999.

Thanks to Jeff Coen and Angela Rozas

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Mob Burial Ground Reveals Another Body

Friends of mine: Robert Hatridge, Michael Oliver

A new body was discovered at an old mob burial ground. CBS 2's Mike Parker explains: the FBI believed they'd closed the case two decades ago until a construction crew was surprised by human remains.

There are growing signs that this plot of land, just off Route 83 on Bluff Road, has been used again as a burial site for victims of the mob. “It's an interesting puzzle that's been opened up here," said Jim Wagner of the Chicago Crime Commission.

DuPage County officers are still guarding the scene where crews digging a sewer for a townhouse project found a body enclosed in a plastic tarp Tuesday. It was buried beneath the freshly turned earth.

The FBI tells CBS 2 there are signs the body could have been placed there as recently as five years ago.

Acting on a tip almost two decades ago in 1988, the FBI dug up the very same location for five days. They found two bodies buried there. Both were men, and both were described as low-level soldiers in the Chicago outfit. The bodies were identified as Robert Hatridge and Michael Oliver. Both men had been shot to death are their murders remain unsolved.

The latest discovery seems to suggest the possibility that the mob has moved back to its old, unofficial cemetery in more recent years. "If this has anything to do with organized crime then you suspect that somebody had a favorite spot they were going to continue to use, because they felt comfortable and safe," Wagner said.

When the body was found Tuesday, authorities believed it was within a half mile of the old discovery scene. Today, they realized it is the same spot.

The FBI says it is monitoring the case, waiting to see if the DuPage County coroner can identify the latest body and pinpoint the cause of death.

Thanks to Mike Parker

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Anthony Pellicano Worked for Mobster Lombardo?

Friends of ours: Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Cullotta
Friends of mine: Anthony Pellicano

Private investigator Anthony Pellicano shot to fame working for Hollywood stars. But when he worked in Chicago 30 years ago, Pellicano hustled for an alleged rising star of a different kind: Infamous Chicago mobster Joseph "Joey The Clown" Lombardo.

Pellicano's investigative work from 1974 on Lombardo's behalf could provide Lombardo an alibi for the brutal murder of Daniel Seifert, who was to be a key witness against Lombardo in a Teamster fund embezzlement case. Lombardo is charged in Seifert's death in the upcoming Family Secrets mob trial in Chicago.

These days, Pellicano has his own problems as he sits in jail awaiting trial on charges he illegally wiretapped the conversations of the enemies of his rich and famous clients. Those allegations have rocked the Hollywood elite. But in 1974, Pellicano was working for Lombardo, compiling information to show Lombardo was far away when Seifert was gunned down the morning of Sept. 27 outside his Bensenville factory.

Prosecutors are expected to tie Lombardo to the Seifert murder by pointing to his fingerprint on a title application for a car used in the slaying.

Pellicano's investigation, though, contends Lombardo was at the International House of Pancakes in the 2800 block of West Diversey the morning of the murder. After Lombardo left the restaurant, he noticed someone had stolen his wallet from his car's glove compartment. Lombardo went back inside the IHOP and reported the theft to two cops having breakfast. They wrote a report, which is included in Pellicano's work. There's a signed statement from one of the cops and another from a driver's license facility supervisor who says Lombardo came in the morning of the murder for a duplicate license.

Lombardo's attorney, Rick Halprin, called his client's alibi "rock solid." He said Pellicano's current difficulties have no impact on his work for Lombardo.

In another court document obtained by the Sun-Times, a government informant, former mobster Alva Johnson Rodgers, a Lombardo associate, alleges in late 1973 or early 1974 that Pellicano asked him to burn down a Mount Prospect building. Rodgers alleges he did just that, but Pellicano was never charged.

Pellicano is being held in custody because he allegedly asked unnamed Chicago mobsters to put a hit on a witness against him, according to a government court filing.

Pellicano's attorney, Steven F. Gruel, disputed the allegations and said he's seen nothing to buttress claims his client is tied to the mob.

Also, on Monday, Lombardo's attorney filed a motion asking the feds for a pre-publication copy of a book by a government informant, mobster Frank Cullotta. Cullotta may be a witness at the Family Secrets trial, and his book could provide fodder for the defense.

Prosecutors should have access to Cullotta, who is hiding under a new identity, Halprin noted. "For all I know, he's Ann Coulter," Halprin quipped.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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Joey the Clown Denies He was a Fugitive to Avoid Mob Arrest

Friends of ours: Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, Frank "The German" Schweihs, Frank Calabrese, James Marcello, Paul Schiro, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro

Reputed mob boss Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo pleaded not guilty today to a charge that he went on the lam to avoid arrest.

In a brief hearing in federal court, Lombardo pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice. The charge was tacked onto a sweeping indictment of several defendants in a federal investigation of long-unsolved mob murders and other crimes.

Lombardo and Frank "The German" Schweihs allegedly went on the run to avoid FBI agents after prosecutors unveiled the first version of the Operation Family Secrets racketeering indictment in April 2005.

Schweihs was captured in Kentucky in December 2005, and Lombardo was caught in Elmwood Park in January 2006. Schweihs was not in court Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Lombardo attorney Rick Halprin said the government could not charge Lombardo with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution because it could not prove that he had crossed state lines -- a key provision of the law. He said the second choice was charging Lombardo with attempting to "impede and obstruct" efforts to arrest him. But Halprin said that at no time did Lombardo's absence from court impede and obstruct the case.

Reputed mobsters Lombardo, Schweihs, Frank Calabrese, James Marcello, and Paul Schiro and nine others are charged with conspiring to commit 18 murders going back three decades. The murders include the 1986 hit on Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, the mob's man in Las Vegas.

The charges grow out of a decades-old federal investigation known as "Family Secrets." Jury selection is expected to start in May, and the trial is expected to last four or five months.

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