159: Scofflaws, Moonshiners, Bootleggers, and Crime Lords
Jul 1, 2024
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Delve into the world of prohibition-era crime with bootleggers, moonshiners, and crime lords. Learn about the rise of organized crime, undercover agents like Izzy Einstein, and notorious gangsters like George Remus and Lucky Luciano. Explore the underground world of speakeasies, illegal booze, and law enforcement battles in a thrilling and dangerous time in American history.
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Quick takeaways
Prohibition fueled the rise of organized crime, with notorious gangsters like Al Capone seizing control of bootlegging operations.
Law enforcement faced challenges in stopping liquor smuggling, leading to escalating conflicts and violence during the prohibition era.
The ban on alcohol production and sales under Prohibition sparked a surge in illegal activities, from moonshining to underground speakeasies.
Deep dives
Prohibition Era Bootlegging Bust Near Seattle
Seattle Police Lieutenant Roy Olmsted, a well-built and intelligent family man, turns bootlegger during the prohibition. Along the Washington State Coast, a rum-running operation is interrupted by federal agents, resulting in multiple arrests and the seizure of Canadian whiskey. Despite the notable bust, the fight against liquor smuggling into the United States is just beginning.
Prohibition Enforcement and Exceptions
With the onset of prohibition in 1920, Americans navigate the ban on alcohol consumption, leading to various creative ways to access liquor legally. The Volstead Act, which defines intoxicating liquors above 0.5% alcohol content, allows for specific exceptions such as possessing liquor for personal use in one's dwelling or prescribed medical purposes. The wealthy exploit these loopholes, accumulating significant alcohol stockpiles prior to the ban.
Prohibition Enforcement Challenges
Prohibition triggers a surge in illegal alcohol activities, with moonshiners producing liquor across the country. Federal Prohibition agents face challenges along the borders with tequileros smuggling from Mexico and legal loopholes in Canada. The rise of bootleggers modifying cars for high-speed getaways lays the foundation for future racing legends.
Chicago's Infamous Bootlegging Gangster, Al Capone
Amidst the prohibition era, Chicago's Al Capone rises to notoriety as a formidable bootlegging gangster. Known for his criminal empire's violent control of organized crime in Chicago, Capone faces the relentless pursuit of Prohibition Agent Elliot Ness and his Untouchables. The intricate web of bootlegging, corruption, and power struggles unfolds in the Windy City.
The Formation of National Crime Syndicate
As Prohibition ends with the 21st Amendment in 1933, organized crime groups regroup within the National Crime Syndicate to sustain criminal activities post-Prohibition. The Commission and Murder Incorporated are established to ensure stability and resolve conflicts within the criminal underworld. The era of bootlegging and illicit trade gives way to a new chapter of organized crime in America.
Meeting Chicago's Infamous Gangster Boss, Al Capone
Explore the rise of Al Capone in Chicago as he becomes a dominant figure in bootlegging during Prohibition. The battle between Capone's criminal empire and the relentless pursuit of Prohibition Agent Elliot Ness and his Untouchables sheds light on the power struggles in organized crime during the turbulent era.
“Don’t ask me nothin’! You hear me? Don’t ask! And don’t bring anybody in here for me to identify. I won’t identify them even if I know they did it!”
This is the story of the nation’s up-and-coming criminal underground.
By 1920, with few exceptions, producing, buying, and selling alcohol is outlawed, but that doesn’t stop enterprising Americans. Many feel perfectly comfortable flouting the law and continuing to drink at their leisure, albeit with the added thrill that comes with evading halfhearted lawmen. Some cops are even in on it!
But even as law enforcement steps up their game with undercover agent extraordinaire, Izzy Einstein, criminals get organized and start doing serious business—serious as in murderous. Home-brewers like Maude Vogan can be found in rural America, but in the big cities, Prohibition provides a marketplace for organized crime to flourish. There is money to be had, if one can ignore that the likelihood of getting killed just shot up dramatically. Notorious gangsters George Remus, Legs Diamond, and Lucky Luciano run this underworld, double-crossing each other, planning takeovers, and making millions off of booze-loving Americans. But can law and order triumph over these mafiosos? For now, fuhgeddaboudit.
