| We all know Eliot Ness as the famous prohibition | | | | There are scattered reports all over the internet |
| agent who got Al Capone, but some biographical | | | | and whether it is true or not depends upon which |
| accounts of his life indicate that he ended up an | | | | biographical account you read about the man |
| alcoholic. There have been various fictionalized | | | | behind the Untouchables. |
| versions of Ness throughout the years, although | | | | Books like Torso, Nemesis and Chasing Eliot Ness |
| none touched on a drinking problem. | | | | fictionalize Ness, but none as much as The |
| According to his biographer, Paul Heimel, who | | | | Untouchables by Oscar Fraley. Supposedly a |
| wrote Eliot Ness The True Story, the prohibition | | | | biography of the prohibition agent, Fraley admitted |
| agent was not an alcoholic, according to his | | | | to making the entire story up, according to the |
| friends. He did like going out for a drink now and | | | | biography by Heimel. |
| then and frequented famous nightspots. The | | | | Was Eliot Ness an alcoholic or not? He is listed on |
| biography dismisses the rumors of his alcoholism | | | | certain sites as an alcoholic, but there is no one |
| as just that, rumors. | | | | alive today to say for sure. In the 1940s, when |
| In 1942, Eliot Ness was involved in an accident in | | | | the stories came out, it was common for men to |
| the early hours of the morning. It was said that | | | | drink a few scotches, even during the day. It also |
| alcohol was a factor in the incident, although never | | | | makes for a good story to say that someone |
| proven. No one was seriously injured in the | | | | who fought so hard to keep liquor from Chicago |
| accident, but the incident cost Ness his career in | | | | would turn into a drunk. The only one who knows |
| Cleveland. | | | | for sure is long gone. We have only fictionalized |
| In books like Chasing Eliot Ness, the prohibition | | | | accounts of his life. |
| agent is seen drinking scotch after scotch and | | | | He was, however, a ladies man, according to the |
| appears to have a drinking problem, although | | | | biography. This is most likely where the author of |
| alcoholism is the least of his troubles in this book. | | | | Chasing Eliot Ness got her inspiration. |