Deception, Corruption and a Collapsing Government in the 1920's

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The decade of the 1920’s was full of deception, corruption, and a collapsing government. The United States Congress signed the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the sale of alcohol. The illegal production and distribution of liquor, or bootlegging, became rampant, and the national government did not have the means or determination to enforce this law in every state. This led up to the rise of the Chicago Outfit and how they brought a new type business into America, organized crime. Due to the lawless environment in Chicago, small time gangs were able to build an empire or crime during the Prohibition era and shape law enforcement in America.

During the late 1800’s through early 1900’s, many European immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe migrated to the United States hoping for a better life. In 1870, of those immigrants approximately 5.3 million Italian immigrants migrated into the United States and those populations would continue to grow. An estimated eighty percent of these immigrants were from Italy’s South and twenty-five percent of those were from Sicily alone. These areas consisted of heavy Mafia activity. Mass immigration was fueled by poverty, rampant inflation, social and economic immobility and an anti-Mafia campaign led by the Italian Government. Benito Mussolini became the 40th Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. Mussolini viewed the Mafia as a threat to his fascist regime and launched a bullet proof campaign to eradicate the Mafia. This led to the arrest of over a thousand suspected Sicilian Mafia gangsters.

During the 1920’s and early 1930’s, Chicago experienced a sudden boom of Italian immigration This resulted in an excessive exponential growth of the city’s population and weakened the ability of the gov...

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...uch as gambling, casino rackets and prostitution. Although the largest profit-making activity was the sale of liquor and illegal bootlegging. Capone quickly earned the nickname, “The King of Chicago” due to the fact that he “owned” Chicago and was invulnerable to prosecution due to witness intimidation and the bribing of politicians and city officials. Through this organized corruption, which included the bribing of Mayor of Chicago William “Big Bill” Hale Thompson, Capone's gang operated largely free from legal intrusion, operating casinos and speakeasies throughout Chicago. Wealth also allowed Capone to invest in a luxurious lifestyle of custom suits, cigars, gourmet food, jewelry, and female companionship. Capone loved the media attention and it transformed Capone to celebrity status.

During Al Capone competed with George “Bugs” Moran for control of Chicago.

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