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Italian Botleggers In The 1920's

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Bootlegging The illegal alcohol business brought along high profits. The importation of liquor such as whiskey and rum to the East Coast market came primarily from Canada and West Indies (Critchley 139). The Italian gangs were an emerging force in bootlegging during Prohibition. Some Sicilian Mafioso escaped to the US, got involved in bootlegging and became part of the American Mafia. A study showed that in the 1920s 50 percent of New York’s bootleggers were Jewish, 25 percent Irish and 25% Italians (Hortis 49). Many independent Italian bootleggers started doing business with other bootleggers and therefore joined in a network of economic cooperation and gradually evolved into larger gangs. By the late 1920s, there were 5 Italian …show more content…

Each of the five New York families received a vote on the Commission (Hortis 96). They engaged in activities such as racketeering, conspiracy, loan sharking, money laundering, murder narcotics, gambling, waste management and blackmailing (The 5 Families of New York). The American crime family had a specific hierarchy. At the top was the boss who had unquestioned authority following the underboss, the capos or captains who each controlled a crew of 10 soldiers. There was also a consigliere who acted as an advisor and ombudsman. At the bottom there were associates and people who did business with the family (Mafia in the United States). Becoming a member meant loyalty, obeying the rules and a lifetime of …show more content…

His social Security Program in 1935 gave private pension funds (Wolf) The higher taxes on the wealthy, the controls over banks and public utilities and the work relief program for unemployed appeared effective in the __ceasing of the decline of the economy. The reliefs programs prevented the need of committing crimes. African-Americans suffered more in comparison to others during the Great Depression. In Harlem more than 50 percent had no jobs. It was the first time black needs came into consideration and antidiscrimination provisions were included in the New Deal Programs, but still individual agency employees denied aid to African Americans. Under these conditions, the first riot exploded in 1935. The reason was the rumor that Lino Rivera, a sixteen year-old black Puerto Rican had been beaten by an employee at the Kress Five and Ten store after Rivera tried to shoplift a 10-cent penknife ( Cristina

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