Although Mr. Sullivan was successful in the farm equipment business, he was more notorious as an actual bootlegger who, at least indirectly, brought down Al Capone. In 1921, Mr. Sullivan earned more than $10,000 from bootlegging, and he failed to file a tax return for the gains. The government sued him, but he appealed. Originally the Tax Code had specifically been limited to gains from “lawful business,” but Congress later removed the “lawful” modifier. That change opened the door to prosecuting criminals for tax evasion, even when proving the actual unlawful behavior would have been nearly impossible. (The Feds could prove fraudulent tax returns with evidence of lavish lifestyles well beyond one’s reported income, but proving the underlying crime paying for those expenses was very hard.)

In a clever defense, Mr. Sullivan contended that the Fifth Amendment prevented the Government from making people like himself incriminate themselves, but he would face prison if the failed to report the illegal gains from his bootlegging. The appellate court agreed with Mr. Sullivan and held that the Fifth Amendment prevented the conviction for not self-reporting criminal gains. The case was heard by the United States Supreme Court, and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes delivered the opinion, that the Fifth Amendment was no barrier.

The case against Mr. Sullivan was the first to test the tax evasion approach to catching organized criminals, but it was hardly the last. Most famously, Mr. Sullivan’s case led to the conviction of the most famous gangster in American history. With the win against Mr. Sullivan in mind, in 1931, President Herbert Hoover told his Treasury Secretary, “I want that man Capone in jail.” And he was. Al Capone was successfully tried, not for his underlying crimes, but for failing to report the income for his crimes—just as Mr. Sullivan had been!

Perhaps the lose of the case led to a reversal of Mr. Sullivan’s business fortunes because, by 1930, Mr. Sullivan was listed as the City Athletic Director and boxing promoter. In addition, the house was listed with a rental unit.

Following a lawsuit, this time against Mrs. Sullivan, brought by Mr. P.M. Clement, the house was again put up for public sale. On June 30, 1932, the house was sold for $7,000 to Mr. Clement.

On December 27, 1935, the house was conveyed to Mr. Clement’s daughter, Catherine Clement Zeigler. Mrs. Zeigler occupied the house with her husband, Thomas W. Zeigler, a television and radio retailer until his death in 1962.

Mrs. Zeigler held the house until May 18, 1966, when she sold it to Arthur and Helen Singleton for $16,350. Helen died in January 2020, and Arthur died in July 2020. They had been married 77 years.

The house with Craftsman influences is a two-story dwelling with stuccoed pillars and slat balustrade on the front; a semicircular window with brown, stained glass on the east façade; and an octagonal projection on the rear. A two-car garage with similar details to the house is in the rear.