3 – The Growth of Organized Crime
It is completely false to suggest that prohibition caused the birth of organized crime because it was already a problem in the United States before the 1920s. What it did was to give mobsters a golden opportunity to generate vast sums of money, establish a list of criminal contacts and expand their operations beyond the confines of their local area. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, a large wave of Italian immigrants came to America. By 1910, 10% of New York’s population was first-generation Italian.
Before prohibition, criminal gangs mainly focused on their ‘turf’ and engaged in racketeering and other illegal activity. The ban on alcohol gave them a golden opportunity to expand, and they wasted no time. Within an hour of the passing of the Volstead Act, six armed men tried to steal $100,000 worth of medicinal whiskey from a train in Chicago. The Windy City became one of the hotbeds of organized crime in America as the likes of Al Capone and Dean O’Banion trafficked illegal booze and killed countless people in the process.
The lack of employment available ensured that an increasing number of men were willing to risk it all and become part of a criminal gang. The rate of violence in Chicago increased significantly from 1925 onwards when Al Capone took over the Chicago Outfit from Johnny Torrio. The ex-leader had a close shave as he avoided an assassination attempt, so he decided to leave the world of crime and returned to Italy.
Al Capone looked to wipe out his enemies and blood soon spilled into the streets of Chicago. This resulted in the infamous Saint Valentine’s Day massacre in 1929, details of which are on the next page. New York City wasn’t spared from power struggles amongst rival factions of organized crime. The infamous Castellammarese War pitted Joe Masseria against Salvatore Maranzano, and it lasted from 1929 to 1931. It finally ended when Lucky Luciano killed Masseria and Maranzano was assassinated in Manhattan. The 1920s allowed these criminal gangs to grow and flourish and elements of them still exist today.