New Book Reveals Untold Story Behind Geraldo Rivera’s Infamous ‘Capone’s Vault’ Broadcast

Forty years after Geraldo Rivera’s televised opening of ‘Capone’s vault’ became what many consider the biggest disaster in television history, a new book claims to reveal the true story behind the spectacle and argues for its broader importance. William Elliott Hazelgrove’s ‘Capone’s Vault,’ releasing April 16, 2026, from Bloomsbury, draws on new documents, interviews with Rivera and the original producers, unpublished photos, and eyewitness reporting to re-examine the 1986 event.

The broadcast on April 21, 1986, promised to reveal the great secrets of Al Capone live to an audience of thirty million viewers. A medical examiner and IRS agents were present, anticipating bodies and millions in cash. Instead, after dynamite blasted open the subterranean vault in the Lexington Hotel’s basement, Rivera found only ‘a single lone pathetic bottle of bootleg gin.’ The anticlimax branded the show a national punchline and a catastrophic failure.

Hazelgrove’s investigation aims to move beyond this narrative of failure. The book seeks to ‘unpick the media circus, the myths about Al Capone, and the Chicago forces that made the stunt possible.’ It promises to answer the lingering question of what was truly in the hotel basement and to contextualize the broadcast within a larger framework of media, history, and local influence.

The author, William Hazelgrove, is a national bestselling author of numerous fiction and nonfiction titles. His work has received recognition from publications like Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus, and he has been featured on media outlets including NPR’s All Things Considered. More information about his work is available at www.williamhazelgrove.com.

The significance of Hazelgrove’s project lies in its attempt to reclaim the 1986 broadcast from its status as a mere pop-culture joke. By examining the planning, the expectations, and the Chicago context, the book suggests the event was a consequential moment in television history that reflected public fascination with crime legends and the power of live, unscripted spectacle. The forthcoming release coincides with the fortieth anniversary of the original broadcast, offering a reappraisal of an event that captivated and then disappointed a nation.

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