Aquino Invokes Eliot Ness in War on Graft to Lure Investors

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has ordered his guards to protect officials hunting tax evaders in an anti-corruption drive aimed at drawing investors to his country, which he says offers a “far greater” return than its Southeast Asian neighbors.

“We’re going after very entrenched and very vested interests,” he said in an interview in the presidential palace in Manila. Al Capone “got caught on tax evasion, not murder, not corruption, by not paying his taxes, that amazed me,” said Aquino, who recalled being inspired by Capone’s nemesis Eliot Ness as portrayed in the 1959 series The Untouchables.