The Mafia during Prohibition
Encyclopedia
By the 1920s The United States and the provinces within Canada had adopted laws collectively known as prohibition
, forbidding the sale of alcohol. It was during that era that North America gave birth to some of the largest crime syndicates, the most vicious criminals, and the American Mafia
leaders Al Capone
, Bugs Moran
, Johnny Torrio
, The Purple Gang
, and Peter Licavoli
, who became household names. For the Mafia and the gangsters, prohibition meant employment, easy money, good times, shiny new cars, and new suits. The Mafia's tainted profits from bootlegging far exceeded that from prostituting, loan sharking, bookmaking, extorting and other racketeering. Thus, in part, the action of Prohibition
facilitated the atmosphere that the Mafia was exploiting; it financially enriched the Mafia, allowing its activities to fester, and it developed and fed the them a new network of associates, enabling the Mafia's overall influence to grow.
Less than a year after prohibition after the legislation was enacted, more than 900,000 cases of liquor were being shipped to the border cities for what was allowed as private consumption. In the area of Windsor
, Ontario
Canada
alone, the per capita consumption of liquor increased from a pre- 1914 level of 9 gallons to a staggering 102 gallons by 1924 while it was technically illegal to drink. This mass consumption created a high demand for liquor products and the Mafia in Canada and in The United States was able to provide for this through numerous interconnected and highly efficient transport methods.
Liquor was transported from the province of Ontario, Canada mostly by the Licavoli Crime Family
, into the states in America which bordered Canada; including Michigan
, Ohio
, New York
, Pennsylvania
, and Minnesota
along the Detroit River
. Criminal gangs developed methods to speed up the delivery of contraband liquor and to avoid the jeopardy of the organized effort. The Mafia in North America carried out their operations on a national or corporate scale employing a system that worked like clockwork. One group arranged the purchase of liquor at the export docks along the river, another crew transported the liquor across to a designated location; a third team quickly picked up the cases of whiskey and transported them to warehouses and later another arranged the shipments to speakeasies in Detroit, Chicago and other Midwestern cities. A favorite tactic of the Mafia was hijacking other gangs’ booze shipments or forcing rivals to pay them for “protection” to leave their operations alone, thus frequently if not always, armed guards accompanied the caravans that delivered the liquor.
The aerial rum runners were big time and gang organized under contract. Al Capone
and The Purple Gang
were lucratively involved in this method, since they needed swift supplies on a daily basis. It was estimated that as much as $100,000 worth of booze left Windsor and neighboring areas each month for the American landing strips. The Mafia also employed the use of the railway which crossed the Detroit and St Lawrence River for more efficient transportation. Liquor was hidden within legitimate cargo or the Mafia employed the use of bogus seals allowing the cars to pass undetected.
The epitome of power that the Mafia held during prohibition would be felt long after its end in both the United States and Canada in the 1930s. Criminal empires which had expanded on bootleg money would find other avenues within North American life to continue to make large sums of money. Business was good and the bootlegging business even better. In the 1930s, prohibition petered out. This coincided with a declining economy and ultimately the great depression. As a result of these less than prosperous times, some of the smaller Mafia factions which arose because of prohibition disappeared altogether.
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...
, forbidding the sale of alcohol. It was during that era that North America gave birth to some of the largest crime syndicates, the most vicious criminals, and the American Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
leaders 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...
, Bugs Moran
Bugs Moran
George Clarence Moran , better known by the alias "Bugs" Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moran, of Irish and Polish descent, moved to the north side of Chicago when he was 19, where he became affiliated with several gangs...
, Johnny Torrio
Johnny Torrio
John "Papa Johnny" Torrio , also known as "The Fox", was an Italian-American mobster who helped build the criminal empire known as the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s that was later inherited by his protege, Al Capone...
, The Purple Gang
The Purple Gang
The Purple Gang, also known as the Sugar House Gang, were a mob with predominantly Jewish members of bootleggers and hijackers in the 1920s, operating out of Detroit, Michigan, which was a major port for running alcohol products during Prohibition due to proximity to Canada.Many openly violent...
, and Peter Licavoli
Peter Licavoli
Peter Joseph Licavoli , was an organized crime figure in St. Louis, Missouri before moving to Detroit, Michigan...
, who became household names. For the Mafia and the gangsters, prohibition meant employment, easy money, good times, shiny new cars, and new suits. The Mafia's tainted profits from bootlegging far exceeded that from prostituting, loan sharking, bookmaking, extorting and other racketeering. Thus, in part, the action of 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...
facilitated the atmosphere that the Mafia was exploiting; it financially enriched the Mafia, allowing its activities to fester, and it developed and fed the them a new network of associates, enabling the Mafia's overall influence to grow.
Less than a year after prohibition after the legislation was enacted, more than 900,000 cases of liquor were being shipped to the border cities for what was allowed as private consumption. In the area of Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
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...
alone, the per capita consumption of liquor increased from a pre- 1914 level of 9 gallons to a staggering 102 gallons by 1924 while it was technically illegal to drink. This mass consumption created a high demand for liquor products and the Mafia in Canada and in The United States was able to provide for this through numerous interconnected and highly efficient transport methods.
Liquor was transported from the province of Ontario, Canada mostly by the Licavoli Crime Family
Licavoli Crime Family
The Licavoli Mob was an Italian American mob that was based in Detroit and St. Louis. The mob was formed by the brothers Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli and Peter "Pete" Licavoli.- Background :...
, into the states in America which bordered Canada; including Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
along the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
. Criminal gangs developed methods to speed up the delivery of contraband liquor and to avoid the jeopardy of the organized effort. The Mafia in North America carried out their operations on a national or corporate scale employing a system that worked like clockwork. One group arranged the purchase of liquor at the export docks along the river, another crew transported the liquor across to a designated location; a third team quickly picked up the cases of whiskey and transported them to warehouses and later another arranged the shipments to speakeasies in Detroit, Chicago and other Midwestern cities. A favorite tactic of the Mafia was hijacking other gangs’ booze shipments or forcing rivals to pay them for “protection” to leave their operations alone, thus frequently if not always, armed guards accompanied the caravans that delivered the liquor.
The aerial rum runners were big time and gang organized under contract. 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...
and The Purple Gang
The Purple Gang
The Purple Gang, also known as the Sugar House Gang, were a mob with predominantly Jewish members of bootleggers and hijackers in the 1920s, operating out of Detroit, Michigan, which was a major port for running alcohol products during Prohibition due to proximity to Canada.Many openly violent...
were lucratively involved in this method, since they needed swift supplies on a daily basis. It was estimated that as much as $100,000 worth of booze left Windsor and neighboring areas each month for the American landing strips. The Mafia also employed the use of the railway which crossed the Detroit and St Lawrence River for more efficient transportation. Liquor was hidden within legitimate cargo or the Mafia employed the use of bogus seals allowing the cars to pass undetected.
The epitome of power that the Mafia held during prohibition would be felt long after its end in both the United States and Canada in the 1930s. Criminal empires which had expanded on bootleg money would find other avenues within North American life to continue to make large sums of money. Business was good and the bootlegging business even better. In the 1930s, prohibition petered out. This coincided with a declining economy and ultimately the great depression. As a result of these less than prosperous times, some of the smaller Mafia factions which arose because of prohibition disappeared altogether.