“Five Things People Don’t Know About the Night Geraldo Opened Capone’s Vault.”

I interviewed Geraldo Rivera extensively for my book Capones Vault that is out in one month April 16. Here are five things that surprised me 1. When Geraldo was about to go on he asked where the teleprompter was and was told there wasnt one. It was then a producer grabbed him by the shirt and said, "you fucking got this...go out and kill it!" Geraldo said that stopped all his nervousness and from then the whole show was spontaneous. 2 They were going to blow up the wall leading to the vault with dynamite but Chicago didnt give the producers a permit until 4 PM the afternoon before the broadcast. When Geraldo pushed down the plunger some people feared the whole building would come down. 3 The first moment of doubt came when the 5000 pound slab came down the first chamber was too clean. There was no debris or left over artifacts except for two blue bottles. Everyone proclaimed thhey were from the twenties but privately they were identified as being from the forties. 4 Geraldo began to sit on a milkcrate in the darkness between takes when he began to realize along with the producers that there really might be nothing in the vault. 5 After the broadcast Geraldo got tequilla drunk and hung a DO NOT DISTURB sign on his door thinking his career was over. Doug Llellyn the producer slid the ratings under his door and it was then he realzied 30 million people had watched The Mystery of Capones Vault. A pile of messages by his phone turned out to be tweleve job offers. Geraldo had proven that people just wanted the ride.

Author of Capones Vault Says Capone's Missing Millions May Still Be Hidden--40 Years After the Mystery of Capones Vaults

CHICAGO — As the 40th anniversary of the famous live television event The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults approaches, National Bestselling author William ElliottHazelgrove says the legendary Chicago gangster's missing fortune may still be out there. On April 21, 1986, more than 30 million viewers tuned in to watch journalist Geraldo Rivera open a sealed vault beneath Chicago's Lexington Hotel in what became one of the most anticipated broadcasts in television history. The nationally syndicated special, The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults, remains the highest-rated syndicated television event ever aired. When the vault was finally opened live on television, however, the results stunned viewers. Instead of the rumored treasure, the vault appeared largely empty. But according to Hazelgrove, author of the new book Capone's Vault, the empty vault did not necessarily solve the mystery of Al Capone's missing fortune. "The vault was only one lead in a much larger mystery," Hazelgrove says. "Capone generated enormous amounts of cash during Prohibition, and much of that money was never accounted for. The empty vault actually deepened the legend rather than ending it." Hazelgrove's book examines the dramatic events behind the famous television special, including the planning of the broadcast, the intense public anticipation, and the aftermath of one of the most talked-about moments in television history. Based on extensive research and interviews with the producers of the program as well as Geraldo Rivera, the book explores how the broadcast helped usher in the era of modern reality television. Four decades later, the legend of Capone's hidden fortune still fascinates Chicagoans and historians alike. Stories of buried cash, secret hiding places, and lost mob money have circulated for decades, keeping the mystery alive long after the famous vault was opened.