Jul 05 2011 03:22 am
Posted by under July 5 Assignment
NYC and Chicago Organize Crime
Prohibition took organized crime to astonishing levels during the 20th century when it was passed in 1918. NYC and Chicago saw the development of powerful mobsters in the 20th century. In NYC Many residents hoped that Prohibition (1920-1933) would reduce crime, improve health and safety, promote economic prosperity, and increase public morality. However it failed Mob-controlled liquor quickly replaced legitimate tax-paying alcohol producers and retailers. Gangster-owned speakeasies replaced neighborhood drinking establishments and within five years after Prohibition was imposed, there were over 100,000 speakeasies in New York City. Mobsters opened large nightclubs with elaborate floor shows and popular bands. Speakeasies and nightclubs flourished because law enforcement officers were usually bribed.
In Chicago, There was a great profit to be made in providing a forbidden product so people built their own stills and created networks of transportation and distribution through speakeasies. Chicago’s most notorious gangster, Al “Scarface” Capone, built an empire from the sale of prohibited liquor despite the efforts of the Chicago police in raiding warehouses and speakeasies and destroying contraband liquor. speakeasies often kept their illicit businesses going through bribery. Everyone from prominent politicians to cops on the street took cuts in the profits made from trafficking alcohol during prohibition. In Chicago, thousands of police and other officials were on the take, some of them getting over $1,000 a week.
6 Responses to “NYC and Chicago Organize Crime”
Xue Ying Chen on 05 Jul 2011 at 7:06 pm #
I like how you compared prohibition in the two great cities, and I agree with you that prohibition had unexpectedly brought bad consequences to the society. I wrote about prohibition for my previous assignment. You are right that Al Capone was a giant in organized crime, and the prohibition made the society even worse.
John Fernandes on 10 Jul 2011 at 9:57 am #
Coming from a country where Alcohol is banned even today, I can completely relate to prohibition to your post – although we do not have anyone even close to Al Capone back home. What was fascinating about this topic is when someone in class mentioned how this period actually resulted in faster cars as these gangs would try to better their cars to run faster than the cars of the cops.