(Courtesy of IRS- Criminal Investigation Division)
The T-Men's Story Personifies The American Ethos
This is the iconic picture of the Special Agents of the Intelligence Unit from the Capone investigation. (as you view the picture)- from the right, Madden is the 4th man- Malone is the 6th- and Wilson is the 7th (leaning toward Malone). Irey (just left of center) is wearing a light tan overcoat, hat in his left hand. The setting was the White House lawn.
(Courtesy of Paul Camacho)
The T-Men stories are about courage, a virtue that not only defines; but also, when necessary, defends one’s good character. As Maya Angelou writes, "Without courage, we can't practice any of the other virtues with consistency." As President Kennedy said, “Stories of past courage: can teach, can offer help, can provide inspiration; but they cannot supply courage itself. For that, each man must look into his own soul.”
As our 16th President so aptly said, “If you want to know a man’s character; give him power.” These men personified Lincoln’s 'axiom': humble and courageous. They were not an example of power; they were the power of example. President Roosevelt memorialized their character in his March 9, 1942 letter to the first Chief of the Intelligence Unit ("IU"), Elmer Lincoln Irey.
(Courtesy of the Irey Family)
Take WW I and the pandemic flu of 1918, then add Prohibition, Gangsters, the Great Depression, Hitler, WW II, the Atom Bomb… These were 'heady' years and times in America's history and the T-Men were part of it all.
We have pieced together many additional details of the lives of these men; and especially the life of an undercover agent who remains unsung (my great Uncle Mike Malone). These documents are rare glimpses into the truth behind American history of its most infamous bootleggers, gangsters, racketeers, corrupt politicians and the rise of the Mob; and the intrigue that is interwoven as perplexing mysteries. These never before published manuscripts and intra-bureau documents give unequivocal credit for solving that era's most celebrated cases of criminal investigation, undercover 'ops' and forensic accounting to this core group of special agents. Finally, credit where credit is due...
America's T-Men
1) For many decades, several boxes collected dust in my mother’s attic. These boxes had been passed on to my mother from her mother. When I opened them, I discovered my family’s link to some of the most sensational crime stories of the 20th Century. They contained the original United States Treasury Department, Bureau of Internal Revenue (now “IRS”), Intelligence Unit’s (“IU”)- (since 1978 Criminal Investigation ("CI") ) documents detailing some of its most notorious and infamous cases: the 'Criminal Elite'- (Al Capone, Waxey Gordon, Dutch Schultz, Moe and Walter Annenberg (though Walter was never convicted), Huey Long, Leon Gleckman, Tom Pendergast, 'Nucky' Johnson...) and the 'Hollywood Elite'- (Charlie Chaplin, Marion Davies, Tom Mix, Ringling Brothers, William Fox, Irving Thalberg etc.); as well as my largest cache of documents, the Crime of the Century', The Kidnapping and Murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. We can now tell the accurate stories and laud the men who accomplished such. There are too many 'fictionalized' stories (Capone) and conspirators theories (Lindbergh); and so many more stories have yet to be told. Journalists and authors of that era marveled at the successes of these men, the greatest detectives of the 20th Century.
2) We Want to give much deserved recognition to the Intelligence Unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and to the current IRS Criminal Investigation Division by linking the Intelligence Unit’s Modus Operandi, ‘Follow the Money’, as it did with Capone; and nowadays, as it did with Osama Bin Laden...
Treasury Department Press Release:
Some 85 years before 9/11, the Intelligence Unit’s tenet of ‘Follow the Money’ got Capone. This was referenced in a Treasury Department press release shortly after 9/11, just a few weeks after President George W. Bush instituted "Operation Green Quest. 10/25/2001---
DEPUTY SECRETARY DAM REMARKS at THE LAUNCH OF OPERATION GREEN QUEST- Multi- Agency Initiative to Target Sources of Funding for Terrorist Organizations:
10/25/2001--- "Thank you for that kind introduction. I am pleased to announce that the same talent pool and expertise that brought down Al Capone will now be dedicated to investigating Osama Bin Ladin and his terrorist network." (https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/po727.aspx)
3) One of our major projects is preparing a portfolio to submit to our President for his consideration to bestow the recognition and honor of the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon: Michael Francis Malone. The moniker, 'Follow the Money', was central in convicting Capone and solving the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. That legacy lives on today, daily, as the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS, serving and protecting America from money laundering, racketeering, the dark web and terrorism.
4) There are a number of other projects in development.
Hopefully, as you explore and enjoy the website, you'll sense a re-kindling of our forefather's American Ethos:
Diligence- Fortitude- Principled- and understand the nature of their unsung CHARACTER- their Humility
Samples of some of the most sensational crime stories of the 20th Century
Alphonse Capone-- Lindbergh Kidnapping-- Moses (and Walter) Annenberg-- First U.S. Criminal Tax Prosecution
