Meredith Michetti Ava Schneeberger BEFORE PROHIBITION Sicilian Immigration

Meredith Michetti, Ava Schneeberger

BEFORE PROHIBITION § Sicilian Immigration to NYC- 1875 § Big City Bosses § Prostitution § Bribing Police § Local Gangs § Drugs § Robbery § Contract Violence (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob 1).

PROHIBITION ERA “This great demand for and simultaneous illegalization of alcohol opened up a new illegal market for the gangster to develop and monopolize” (Hales and Kazmers 1). § Arises from the American Temperance Society and the Women’s Christian Temperance League in 1917 (Parkinson 1). § Prohibition created an opportunity for the Mob to make money through bootlegging.

BOOTLEGGING & BATHTUB GIN § Bathtub Gin§ “They used a small still to ferment a ‘mash’ from corn sugar or fruit, beets, even potato peels to produce 200 -proof alcohol, then mix it with glycerin and a key ingredient, a touch of juniper oil as flavoring” (Bootleggers and Bathtub Gin 1). § Bootlegging- the illegal making and selling of alcohol § Sold in speakeasies § Loopholes- Alcohol was legally sold for medical and religious purposes

THE MAFIA OR “MOB” § Five New York City Mob Families § Polish, Irish, Sicilians, Jewish (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob 1). § Turf Wars § Police & Politician Bribery § Offered six million dollars a month for their silence (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob 3). § The Mafia bought out breweries and distilleries across the country.

AL CAPONE § Capone was a Mafia leader based in Chicago. § He brought in $100 million each year through illegal alcohol sale. § “The Outfit” § Ordered the killing of Chicago’s North Side leader, Hymie Weiss of the Polish and Irish gang. (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob 2 -3).

CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO § New York’s Top Mob Leader § Started as an illegal gambler, introduced to the Mob § How he rose to the top§ Killed his Mob Boss- Salvatore Maranzano takes over § Maranzano gives him control of a Mafia Family § Maranzano plots to kill Luciano, and Luciano has him killed (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob 2). § The Commission

THE WINE INDUSTRY § Prohibition allowed the making of juice in homes without a permit from the government (Bootleggers and Bathtub Gin 3). § Bootleggers fermented the juice for longer than they should’ve, allowing a loophole in Prohibition for making wine. § “The price for a ton of grapes, only $9. 50 in 1919, rose to an astonishing $375 by 1924” (Bootleggers and Bathtub Gin 3).

LASTING EFFECTS OF PROHIBITION AND THE MOB § After prohibition, the mob was forced to find a different career, some illegal, some not. § Businesses that the Mob went into: § Garbage Disposal § Concrete & Construction § Prostitution and Illegal Drugs § Legal Alcohol Production (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob 3). “The idea that money can buy power was lucidly verified by gangsters such as Capone: bootlegging funds led to both political and violent physical power” (Hales and Kazmers 2).

“Bootleggers and Bathtub Gin - Prohibition: An Interactive History. ” Prohibition, 0 AD, prohibition. themobmuseum. org/the-history/the-prohibition-underworld/bootleggers-and-bathtub-gin/. Hales, Taylor, and Nikolas Kazmers. “Organized Crime- How It Was Changed by Prohibition. ” Organized Crime - How It Was Changed by Prohibition, 2004, www. umich. edu/~eng 217/student_projects/nkazmers/organizedcrime 2. html. Parkinson, Hilary. “Prohibition and the Rise of the American Gangster. ” National Archives and Records Administration, 17 Jan. 2012, prologue. blogs. archives. gov/2012/01/17/prohibition-and-the-rise-of-the-american-gangster/. “Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob - Prohibition: An Interactive History. ” Prohibition, 0 AD, prohibition. themobmuseum. org/the-history/the-rise-of-organized-crime/the-mob-during-prohibition/.