Organized Crime During The Roaring 20’s

Matt FelgateAustin Collazo

Why did Organized Crime start?

Following WWI, America introduced Prohibition.

With the passage of the 18th amendment in 1919, the selling, creating, and moving of alcoholic beverages were banned in the U.S. with the intention on improving the quality of American lives.

Ironically, the Prohibition movement created new problems causing an explosive growth in crime

Contributing Factors Economic depression

Little opportunity for jobs

Many people lived in racially segregated Communities in urban areas

Participation organized crime was dangerous, but was easy money

Public demand for liqour caused bootleggers (producers of illegal liqour) and mobsters to fight over sales of alchohol

Effects of Organized Crime

Arrests for drunkenness and disorderly conduct increased 41%

Arrests of drunken drivers increased 81%Thefts and burglaries increased 9%Homicides, Assault and battery increased 13%Police funding increased 11.4 millionArrests for prohibition violations increased 102+ %Number of federal convicts increased 561%Federal prison population increased 366%

Al Capone

Al Capone As a teen, he was a member of a gang that was

controlled by mobster, Johnny Torrio

After being wounded, Torrio could no longer lead the gang, and put Capone in charge

During the time of Prohibition, Al Capone was one of the most successful bootleggers/mobsters around

Capone and his syndicate were responsible for the deaths of more than 800 people between 1924 and 1928

He and his gang made $60 million by selling illegally manufactured liquor

Capone was caught in 1931, and convicted for income-tax evasion

Saint Valentines Day Massacre The morning of February 14, 1929 several members of the North Side gang Waited for a

shipment of bootleg liquor at a garage in the Lincoln Park neighborhood

five men from the Italian gang led by Al Capone Stormed the building Carrying Thompson submachine guns

Ordered the north side gang against a wall, and opened fire, killing all seven of Moran's men

Moran appears to have been the primary target of the ambush but he was at a meeting

when he arrived and saw people dressed in police uniforms entered the building he turned around

Capone was in Florida at the time of the killings, providing him with an alibi

Demographics

Members of organized crime were primarily young males

Recent Immigrants

Most organized crime gangs were Italian, Irish, Jewish, or African American

In Chicago 31% of leaders were Italian, 29% were Irish, 20% were Jewish, and 12% were African American

Location most of the activity associated with criminal

organizations was located in large urban communities throughout the United States

Chicago, Boston, and New York became centralized areas for the illegal markets Provided large pools for members as well as a

large consumer market

Within these urban communities, organized crime gangs were highly segregated from mainstream society

Impact marked the beginning of many aspects now associated with

organized criminal enterprises

Criminal organizations were influential in corporate and political affairs

The public prominence of organized crime began to fade in 1933 with the passing of the Twenty-First Amendment because it undermined their main source of money

these gangs would turn to the illegal drug market as their primary source of revenue

Primary SourceWickersham, George W." Crime and Punishment in America Reference Library. Ed. Richard C. Hanes, et al. Vol. 4: Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 2005. 66-75. U.S. History In Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.

BibliographyWorks Cited

Ciment, James and Leigh Kimmel. "Capone, Al (1899–1947)." Encyclopedia of the Jazz Age. Sharpe Online Reference (2013): N. Pag. Web. 04 Apr 2013.Gilliam, Jay. "Organized Crime." The Twenties in America. Ed. Carl Rollyson. Salem Press, 2012. Salem History Web. 10 Apr. 2013.Michael A. Rembis. "Crime, Organized." Encyclopedia of the Jazz Age. Sharpe Online Reference (2013): N. Pag. Web. 04 Apr 2013.