Alcoholic Beverage Unit, U.S. Department of Justice

In September 1933, Ness transferred from his beloved Chicago to Cincinnati, Ohio as a Senior Investigator and soon after was promoted to Assistant Investigator in Charge of the Alcohol Beverage Unit, Cincinnati Office. The Unit faced grave problems across the nation. The country was ill-prepared to re-establish the legal liquor industry as criminal syndicates continued to illegally produce and distribute distilled spirits. Organized crime escalated as gangs battled viciously for control of underground distilleries and distribution networks, and machine guns continued to be the weapon of choice. Gangsters killed each other on street corners, in social clubs and in restaurants. The massacres often resulted in the injury or death of innocent bystanders.