Rise Of Organized Crime In The 1920's

During the 1920s multiple criminal activities were taking place and the majority of illegal activity was due to the eighteenth amendment which prohibited the selling and manufacture of alcohol. Illegal activity that took place was bootlegging and the establishment of speakeasies. With criminal activity on the rise, a major criminal behind many illegal activities at the time was Al Capone. In addition, the Mafia rose with gambling, bootlegging, and illegal marketing. After World War II, Congress submitted the eighteenth amendment.

A lot of people did not agree with prohibition and still wanted a way to get alcohol. Prohibition started because alcoholism and domestic violence was at a high and by getting rid of alcohol Congress thought domestic violence, bar fights and things of that nature would go away. Gangsters came to power because people needed a way to get alcohol and gangsters had it. But with the rise of gangsters came the rise of organized crime, which was just as bad if not worse than when people could freely get alcohol. One quote that explains how organized crime became more and more in power, “In Chicago a bare six months of prohibition has raised the total of crime, figured for the entire year, more than 25 per cent.

The city of Las Vegas has changed rapidly from becoming a beautiful city to a violent place to live in. The city has seemed a rise in homicides as well in the last few years. The strong presences of these gangs are taking innocent lives and making the community a harder place to raise a family in. Many of the gangs in Vegas account for most the drug trade, as well as the staggering homicide rate. The gang problem is not only a problem in Las Vegas, but it is all over the world.

It created a large number of bootleggers who were able to supply the public with illegal alcohol. Even most Americans viewed the amendment as a challenge and

Members of his gang were often called "American Boys" : a group of non-Italian, native born criminals."(Lantzer). Before prohibition was enforced, many gangs had their hands tied up in illegal gambling and prostitution. Capone and his gang dominated Chicago and cause lots of fear in people. As Witer explained in his work about Capone's ability with his gang, "By the late 1920's, his gang also dominated gambling, labor racketeering, and other Criminal activities and established contacts with gangs." (Witer).

Gang violence in Chicago was particularly significant during Prohibition. The gang violence in Chicago was led by none other than the notorious mobster, Al Capone. Capone was not alone, however, in bringing gang violence to Chicago. Many other mobsters, hitmen, policeman and politicians joined with Capone in activities that led to the deterioration of the rule of law in Chicago. The conditions of Chicago during Prohibition made gang violence especially severe.

William Tweed was best known as “Boss Tweed”. He was best known for his sneaky ways and his sneaky ways which helped him find his way into jail. He served some time in jail and even died there. He was an American Politician and with his “Tweed Ring” associates started to financially drain New York City by wrongly taking large amounts of money. Tweed was born the Southeastern part of New York City in 1823.

The prohibition of alcohol disrupted the way Americans were used to living. All of a sudden drinking was illegal. This was supported by some, and it irritated many. It opened up opportunities for organized crime to start manufacturing and distributing of liquor, while making millions of dollars along the way. This made police officers jobs more difficult because the people who wanted to drink had to do it illegally, and the cops were cracking down.

There were numerous officers in the unit who participated and were responsible for the corruption, which consisted of stealing and dealing drugs, perjury, covering up evidence, and malicious shootings and beatings. Rafael Perez aka Ray Lopez was part of the corruption during Rampart. He was arrested for stealing and selling pounds of cocaine; thus, he cut a deal with the prosecution to exploit the rampart division. Rampart division was responsible for several scandals; for example, the Officer Kevin Gaines road rage shootout in 1997, the Bank of America armed robbery that LAPD officer David Mack devised and the Rampart Station beatings; consequently the list goes on. Most of the Crash officers were aware of the misconduct that was happening and the superior officers would encourage them to engage.

Before law enforcement became a big part of larger cities in the United states back in 1685 they only had small organized law enforcement in the larger cities, but as time changes law enforcement modifies. One of the most famous times is the prohibition era in the 1920s when alcohol became band in the United States to help reduce crime rates until in 1933 when prohibition was repealed. During prohibition mafias and gangs would sneak in alcohol illegally and try to sell to people breaking the prohibition. One of the most famous people from this time was Al Capone was a famous gangster from the 1920s who would supply alcohol during prohibition. These were all factors in the American experience from the days of the frontier to the famous prohibition