Organized Crime during the Roaring 20's

     On the dawn of the era forever known by history as the Roaring 20's, the United States Congress passed the 18th Amendment, also known as Prohibition. This historic piece of legislation, passed on November 18, 1918, banned the sale, production, importation and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Passed with the good intention of strengthening America's moral fiber, and lowering crime, the Eighteenth Amendment did the contrary, spawning a new wave of gangsters who would dominate the American crime world. One of those said gangsters was the infamous Al Capone, whose headquarters and home were found in the fifth floor suite of the Lexington hotel. He is forever known as America's most infamous gangster, and was nicknamed "Scarface". Fellow gangster Charlie "Lucky" Luciano used this new form of legislation to his advantage as well, and with his associate, Meyer Lansky, rose the ranks of the Italian mafia and eventually formed the National Crime Syndicate. Countless other names and stories all culminated to form the vast mosaic filled with the rich history of Organized Crime in the United States. All these gangsters, albeit rivals, were alike in many ways. From bribing local to federal politicians, to forming international alliances to transport a wider variety of alcohol throughout America, these gangsters used a law hated by the masses to turn a profit and fund their luxurious tastes.
 The Roaring 20's was a time of luxury, opulence, excess, and sin. Fueled by greed, American gangsters took a law that was meant to better America and its people, and turned it into their driving force to make a profit. Crime rose rapidly, and America's streets were a war-zone between rival bootlegging gangs. Prohibition was repealed by Congress on December 5, 1933. By that time, organized crime had become involved in the illegal narcotics trade as well.

Sources:

http://www.albany.edu/~wm731882/organized_crime1_final.html

http://www.chicagohs.org/history/capone.html