Watch The Untouchables Season 1 Episode 8 The Artichoke King

The Artichoke King

Season 1 Episode 8

Aired date: Dec 3, 1959

Plot: April 19, 1931. New York City. Every 48 hours, more than 25 million pounds of fruits and vegetables stream into the city; this multi-million dollar business is the target of gangsters. Eliot Ness and his Untouchables have recently been brought to New York on special assignment to investigate the produce market racket. After senior Angelo Cestari, a produce retailer, is machine-gunned by one of Terranova's gangsters, Ness talks to his son Tony Cestari; Tony tells Ness that his father didn't deal with Terrano... MORE

Plot: April 19, 1931. New York City. Every 48 hours, more than 25 million pounds of fruits and vegetables stream into the city; this multi-million dollar business is the target of gangsters. Eliot Ness and his Untouchables have recently been brought to New York on special assignment to investigate the produce market racket. After senior Angelo Cestari, a produce retailer, is machine-gunned by one of Terranova's gangsters, Ness talks to his son Tony Cestari; Tony tells Ness that his father didn't deal with Terranova like the other retailers did, and now he's paid the ultimate price. Ciro Terranova is The Artichoke King; his racket is simple: he buys carloads of artichokes at $6 a crate, and sells them for twice the price-- at the point of a gun. Despite his wealth, Terranova is a notorious cheapskate. Right now, Terranova is mad at his henchman Frankie Yale, and Yale's sidekick Marlowe, for rubbing out Cestari. But Yale has a surprise for Terranova: Yale says that Terranova is no longer his boss, from now on they are partners. Yale and Marlowe go to Tony Cestari and demand $1,200 for artichokes he should have bought from them; and they tell Tony he has to buy $600 worth of artichokes a week from them from now on. Ciro Terranova, meanwhile, goes to Chicago and hires a hitman for 20 grand-- to get rid of his new "partner." Hitman Felix Burke is expensive because he's the best, he did the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Terranova gives him 5 grand now, and promises to pay the rest of the money immediately when the job is done; Burke makes him sign a contract, in case Terranova tries to stiff him. Felix Burke rubs out Frankie Yale, and tosses the machine gun. Eliot Ness finds the tommy gun, and traces it back to the Capone mob. Just as Burke figured, miser Terranova is slow to pay him the rest of the 20 grand; so slow, that Ness and his men have time to tail Burke. When Burke gets the rest of the dough, he demands another 20 grand from Terranova, since his procrastination has put Ness on his tail; true to form, cheapskate Terranova decides it's cheaper to hire 5 hitmen from Detroit to rub out the blackmailing Burke. To keep Burke from being suspicious, Terranova tells him he will give him the money at a big banquet at the Roman Gardens; nothing to fear, all the guests are respectable businessmen, even Judge Humboldt will be there (a crooked judge that Terranova has in his pocket). When Ness finds out about the gangster bash, he tells Enrico Rossi to get a tux; Ness quips, "With that Valentino profile of yours, they won't be able to tell you from the mobsters." (Rossi takes this ethnic jab in stride.) To try to throw suspicion off himself, Terranova has the Detroit hitmen put on Halloween masks, and act as if they are robbing the guests at the banquet. But Burke sees through this when one of the hitmen robs him, and takes the time to inspect the contract. Burke kills the hitman and gets the contract back. Enrico Rossi, trying to crash the party, tangles with a mobster. Then there is a shootout between the gangsters and Ness and his men; Ness shoots Burke. With the contract in his hand, Ness now has the evidence to put the Artichoke King behind bars for a long time. LESS