Chicago Reopens Capones Vault--40 Years Later

CHICAGO, IL, March 12, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On April 21, 1986, more than 30 million Americans tuned in to watch Geraldo Rivera open the sealed vault beneath the former headquarters of Al Capone during the live television special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults. Chicago author William Elliott Hazelgrove, whose new book Capone's Vault reconstructs the behind-the-scenes story of the broadcast, will mark the anniversary with a series of media appearances and events across Chicago. Media coverage tied to the anniversary and the book release already includes: An interview with Chicago Magazine A television appearance on WGN-TV on April 16, the book's release date A special live on-location anniversary broadcast on WGN-TV April 21, marking the exact date of the original vault opening A national radio interview on Moody Radio with Janet Parshall A guest appearance on the history podcast History Unplugged A public talk hosted by the Chicago Public Library A Capones Vault Booksigning Party at a Capone Era Location Promoted for weeks with the tantalizing possibility that Capone's missing fortune might finally be discovered, the broadcast became the highest-rated syndicated television special in history. When the vault was finally opened, however, it was empty—creating one of television's most famous anticlimaxes. Hazelgrove's new book, Capone's Vault, explores how the broadcast came together and why the bizarre event captivated the country. For the book, Hazelgrove interviewed Rivera and several of the producers involved in the program and reconstruced the night that changed television. "Millions of Americans watched Capone's vault open live on television," Hazelgrove said. "The vault was empty—but television was never the same. Reality television had begun." The anniversary events in Chicago will revisit the moment when a Chicago mob legend, a mysterious vault, and a young television reporter briefly captured the imagination of the entire country.