In addition to speakeasies another form of illegal alcohol smuggling raised, it was known as bootlegging. The term of bootlegging came from early American traders who illegally transported alcohol in their boots (Crime 1920-1940). Bootleggers made very big profit from their business as people viewed them as saviors and champions who came to ease their pain and the unjust 18th Amendment. Consequently, their illegal liquor was heavily consumed and the profit was estimated to be more than 100 million gallons annually (Crime 1920-1940). Bootleggers’ influence expanded and so did their wealth. With their increasingly growing business they had to be well run and that is how organized crime was born. Bootleggers and gangsters mastered and understood
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Alphonse “Al” Capone was the most prominent Chicago gangster even with his brief years of dominance. He became the leader of the Colosimo gang in 1925 and was known for being a ruthless gangster who didn’t hesitate to murder his enemies if necessary (Crime 1920-1940). Capone had gained so much wealth and power that he became an icon to Americans and a threat to police forces and the mayor of Chicago who constantly turned a blind eye on his bootlegging and other illegal businesses (Crime 1920-1940). He was suspected by many for the St Valentine’s massacre where seven of Moran’s associates, who was Al Capone’s target, where shot and killed in a garage in Chicago (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob). As indicated in the same article he was never charged and still managed more than 6000 speakeasies with a profit of more than $6 million a week while he made approximately $100 million a year before the incident. All throughout his career as a gangster Al Capone has never been arrested as he was so affluent politically and even spent more than $500,000 per month bribing law enforcement and politicians (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob). However and as mentioned in the same article, Al Capone was finally arrested in 1931 when he was convicted by a federal jury for tax invasion and sentenced to eleven years of prison. This put an end to the biggest gangster and
Alphonse “Al” Capone was the most prominent Chicago gangster even with his brief years of dominance. He became the leader of the Colosimo gang in 1925 and was known for being a ruthless gangster who didn’t hesitate to murder his enemies if necessary (Crime 1920-1940). Capone had gained so much wealth and power that he became an icon to Americans and a threat to police forces and the mayor of Chicago who constantly turned a blind eye on his bootlegging and other illegal businesses (Crime 1920-1940). He was suspected by many for the St Valentine’s massacre where seven of Moran’s associates, who was Al Capone’s target, where shot and killed in a garage in Chicago (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob). As indicated in the same article he was never charged and still managed more than 6000 speakeasies with a profit of more than $6 million a week while he made approximately $100 million a year before the incident. All throughout his career as a gangster Al Capone has never been arrested as he was so affluent politically and even spent more than $500,000 per month bribing law enforcement and politicians (Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob). However and as mentioned in the same article, Al Capone was finally arrested in 1931 when he was convicted by a federal jury for tax invasion and sentenced to eleven years of prison. This put an end to the biggest gangster and