As Al Capone found, the government is would rather you pay tax on illegally earned money.

That was more an end run around accidentally indicting all the state and federal officials who’d gotten wrapped up in his corruption.

Capone should have gone down for murder years earlier, but too much of the early Hoover Era FBI was willing to turn a blind eye to Capone’s mafia exploits or rat out informants before they could go to trial.