The Tax Collector

Enlarge this image American gangster Al Capone with US Marshall Laubenheimar. Keystone/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Keystone/Getty Images American gangster Al Capone with US Marshall Laubenheimar. Keystone/Getty Images Gangsters, banksters, and politicians. Today on the show, how the hunt for Al Capone helped turn the IRS into one of the U.S. government’s most powerful tools — and most effective weapons. Guests: Joe Thorndike, historian for Tax Analysts and author of Their Fair Share: Taxing the Rich in the Age of FDR. Paul Camacho, retired special agent for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and member of the board of directors at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. Jason Scott Smith, historian at The University of New Mexico and author of two books about FDR and the New Deal. Sponsor Message Lawrence Reed, president emeritus of The Foundation for Economic Education. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.