Rocco Perri
Encyclopedia
Rocco Perri was an organized crime figure in Ontario
, Canada
in the early 20th century. He was one of the most prominent Calabria
n mafiosi bosses in Canadian history, and the spouse of Besha Starkman (also known as Bessie Perri).
, Calabria, in southern Italy
. Through the 1920s, Rocco Perri became the leading figure in organized crime in Southern Ontario
. He was under constant surveillance by police. He specialized in exporting liquor from old Canadian distilleries, such as Seagram
's and Gooderham's to the United States, and helped these companies obtain a large share of the American market — a share they kept after Prohibition
ended. Perri diversified into gambling
, extortion
and prostitution
. Starkman remained the business brains of the operation, and it is believed she specialized in laundering
profits from their enterprises until her murder on 15 August 1930.
Perri and Starkman's Hamilton home was on 166 Bay Street South
.
project, Perri was unemployed. After working in a bakery, he became a salesman for the Superior Macaroni Company. Life in Hamilton during the First World War was not pleasant. Although the economy was strong from wartime demand for steel and textiles, conditions for labourers were abysmal. Non-British immigrants in particular faced hostility and racism. Perri and Starkman found a better life when the Ontario Temperance Act
came into effect on 16 September 1916. It restricted sale and distribution of alcohol. Perri and Starkman began bootlegging
and, using Starkman's business acumen and Perri's connections, established a profitable business.
Three developments ensured Perri's bootleg
operations would continue to profit. Prohibition
was declared in Canada on 23 December 1917; in April 1918, it became illegal to transport alcohol in Canada; in 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment
prohibited sale of alcohol in the United States. Perri expanded to the Niagara frontier and the Buffalo
area. He was first of the great bootleggers in Canada and was called "Canada's King of the Bootleggers".
on 23 April 1944. His body has never been found. Speculation has it he was murdered, possibly by being fitted with cement shoes and thrown into Hamilton harbour. Royal Canadian Mounted Police
concluded in 1954, "We won't find his body until the Bay dries up." Although the most significant mob figure in Canada, he has been overshadowed by his American counterparts. Al Capone
said when asked if he knew Rocco Perri, "I don't even know what street Canada is on."
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the early 20th century. He was one of the most prominent Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
n mafiosi bosses in Canadian history, and the spouse of Besha Starkman (also known as Bessie Perri).
Early life and criminal career
Rocco Perri was born in PlatìPlatì
Platì is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria, southern Italy. It rises 300 metres above the sea level on the slope of the Aspromonte mountains and is located next to the Aspromonte National Park...
, Calabria, in southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Through the 1920s, Rocco Perri became the leading figure in organized crime in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
. He was under constant surveillance by police. He specialized in exporting liquor from old Canadian distilleries, such as Seagram
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
's and Gooderham's to the United States, and helped these companies obtain a large share of the American market — a share they kept after Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
ended. Perri diversified into gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. Starkman remained the business brains of the operation, and it is believed she specialized in laundering
Laundering
Laundering can refer to:*Money laundering, disguising the origin of illegally gained wealth*Policy laundering, disguising the origin of legislation*Clothes laundering, washing clothes...
profits from their enterprises until her murder on 15 August 1930.
Perri and Starkman's Hamilton home was on 166 Bay Street South
Bay Street (Hamilton)
Bay Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts at Inglewood Drive, just South of Aberdeen Avenue, as a collector road with only two lanes, then eventually becomes a six lane thoroughfare at its peak. Bay Street also passes through Downtown Hamilton, where many...
.
Background
When Canada cut off funding to the Welland CanalWelland Canal
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada that extends from Port Weller, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, to Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie. As a part of the St...
project, Perri was unemployed. After working in a bakery, he became a salesman for the Superior Macaroni Company. Life in Hamilton during the First World War was not pleasant. Although the economy was strong from wartime demand for steel and textiles, conditions for labourers were abysmal. Non-British immigrants in particular faced hostility and racism. Perri and Starkman found a better life when the Ontario Temperance Act
Ontario Temperance Act
Ontario Temperance Act was a law passed in Ontario in 1916 to prohibit the sale of alcohol, a period known as Prohibition. This meant the province remained dry in legal terms, but smugglers continued to import alcohol into the province. The cause was the demand of religious elements led by women...
came into effect on 16 September 1916. It restricted sale and distribution of alcohol. Perri and Starkman began bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
and, using Starkman's business acumen and Perri's connections, established a profitable business.
Three developments ensured Perri's bootleg
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
operations would continue to profit. Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
was declared in Canada on 23 December 1917; in April 1918, it became illegal to transport alcohol in Canada; in 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...
prohibited sale of alcohol in the United States. Perri expanded to the Niagara frontier and the Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
area. He was first of the great bootleggers in Canada and was called "Canada's King of the Bootleggers".
Disappearance
Perri was last seen alive in Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
on 23 April 1944. His body has never been found. Speculation has it he was murdered, possibly by being fitted with cement shoes and thrown into Hamilton harbour. Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
concluded in 1954, "We won't find his body until the Bay dries up." Although the most significant mob figure in Canada, he has been overshadowed by his American counterparts. Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
said when asked if he knew Rocco Perri, "I don't even know what street Canada is on."
See also
- American Whiskey TrailAmerican Whiskey TrailThe American Whiskey Trail is an initiative of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States that promotes the history and cultural heritage of distilled beverages in the United States.-History of whiskey in the United States:...
- Bricks of wine
- Bureau of ProhibitionBureau of ProhibitionThe Bureau of Prohibition was the federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which backed up the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation...
- Govenlock, SaskatchewanGovenlock, SaskatchewanGovenlock was once a small village of 151 in Reno Rural Municipality No. 51, Saskatchewan, Canada. The former townsite of Govenlock is located on Highway 13 also known as the historic Red Coat Trail, about 15 km east of the Alberta-Saskatchewan border...
Further reading
- Allen, Everett S. The black ships: Rumrunners of Prohibition. Little, Brown. 1979. ISBN 0-316-03258-1.
- Carse, Robert. Rum row.
- Cohen, Daniel. Prohibition: America Makes Alcohol Illegal. Millbrook Press. 1995.
- Frew, David. Prohibition and Rum Running on Lake Erie (The Lake Erie Quadrangle Shipwreck Series, Book 4) Erie County Historical Society; 1ST edition (2006) ISBN 1883658489.
- Gervais, Marty. The Rumrunners: A Prohibition Scrapbook. Biblioasis. 1980, Revised & Expanded 2009. ISBN 978-1-897231-62-3.
- Hunt, C. W. Whisky and Ice: The Saga of Ben Kerr, Canada's Most Daring Rumrunner. Dundurn Press. 1995. ISBN 1-55002-249-0.
- Mason, Philip P. Rumrunning and the Roaring Twenties: Prohibition on the Michigan-Ontario Waterway. Wayne State University Press, 1995.
- Miller, Don. I was a rum runner. Lescarbot Printing Ltd. 1979.
- Montague, Art. Canada's Rumrunners: Incredible Adventures And Exploits During Canada's Illicit Liquor Trade. Altitude Publishing Canada. 2004. ISBN 1-55153-947-0.
- Moray, Alastair. The diary of a rum-runner. P. Allan & Co. Ltd. 1929, Reprint in 2006. ISBN 0977372561
- Steinke, Gord. Mobsters & Rumrunners Of Canada: Crossing The Line. Folklore Publishing. 2003. ISBN 978-1-894864-11-4. ISBN 1-894864-11-5.
- Willoughby, Malcolm F. Rum War at Sea. Fredonia Books. 2001. ISBN 1-58963-105-6.
- Yandle, Bruce. Bootleggers and Baptists: The Education of a Regulatory Economist. Regulation 7, no. 3. 1983: 12.
