April 21st, 1986. Geraldo Rivera with some of the most watched moments in television walks us through the uncovering of a gangster’s hidden vault.
“You know, when we began opening this vault…we had no real idea what we’d find inside. As it turns out, we haven’t found very much…”
After an introduction to the old Lexington Hotel, complete with hidden staircases and secret doors, we learn how scientific efforts have uncovered a vault in the basement. An IRS special agent is on hand to lay claim to any valuables that may be recovered considering the mob man Al Capone owed $800,000 in taxes. We walk through the efforts and the many walls this chamber has, to the final discovery at the end…
Al Capone’s vault was famously empty, containing only 1920s debris inside, including many old bottles. Forty years before 2026, 30 million Americans tuned in, though the gangster’s back taxes were never recovered.
This day, Geraldo’s television history.