Bureau of Prohibition
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
| Bureau of Prohibition | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1920 |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Dissolved | 1933 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | United States |
| Legal jurisdiction | As per operations jurisdiction |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by |
|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
The Bureau of Prohibition (or Prohibition Unit) was the United States federal law enforcement agency with the responsibility of investigating the possession, distribution, consumption, and trafficking of alcohol and alcoholic beverages in the United States of America during the Prohibition era. The enumerated enforcement powers of this agency were vested in the Volstead Act. Federal Prohibition Agents of the Bureau were commonly referred to by members of the public and the press of the day as "Prohis," or "Dry Agents."[1] In the sparsely populated areas of the American west, agents were often called "Prohibition Cowboys."[2]
History
[edit]Volstead Act and formation
[edit]The BOI was formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919(Volstead Act) which enforced the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.
Department of the Treasury
[edit]IRS Prohibition Unit
[edit]When it was first established in 1920, it was a unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which was a Bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury.
Elevation to Bureau status
[edit]On April 1, 1927, the organization was elevated from Unit status to Bureau status, changing its name from the IRS Prohibition Unit to the Bureau of Prohibition.[3]
Department of Justice
[edit]On July 1, 1930, the Prohibition Bureau was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice.[4][5]
Mission
[edit].jpg)
The Bureau of Prohibition's main function was to stop the sale and consumption of alcohol. Agents would be tasked with eliminating illegal bootlegging rings, and became notorious in cities like New York and Chicago for raiding popular nightclubs.
Agents were often paid low wages, and the Bureau was notorious for allowing many uncertified people to become agents. Doing so strengthened the bureau, as they were able to hire agents in greater numbers.
In 1929, the Increased Penalties Act (Jones Law) increased penalties for violations previously set in the Volstead Act. First time offenders were now expected to serve a maximum of five years and a $10,000 fine as opposed to the previous six months and $1,000 fine. This strengthened animosity toward Prohibition agents, as many of them (such as Major Maurice Campbell, Prohibition administrator of New York City), were already hated for their raids on popular clubs frequented by New York City's elite.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
[edit]Early in 1933, with the repeal of Prohibition imminent, as part of the Omnibus Crime Bill, the Bureau was briefly absorbed into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Bureau became the FBI's Alcohol Beverage Unit (ABU), though, for practical purposes it continued to operate as a separate agency. Though part of the FBI on paper, J. Edgar Hoover, who wanted to avoid liquor enforcement and the taint of corruption that was attached to it, continued to operate it as a separate, autonomous agency in practice.
Repeal of Prohibition and dissolution
[edit]Once repeal became a reality and the only federal laws regarding alcoholic beverages were limited their taxation, administration of the ABU was switched back to Treasury, where it was renamed the Alcohol Tax Unit.
Following the repeal of Prohibition in December 1933, the Alcohol Beverage Unit was removed from the FBI and the Justice Department, and returned to Treasury, where, coming full circle, it became the Alcohol Tax Unit of the IRS, ultimately evolving into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, or ATF. The present-day ATF deals mostly against illegal firearms, explosives and conducts arson investigations.
Famous agents
[edit]Some of the famous lawmen who, at some point, carried a Prohi badge include former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, full-blooded Cherokee Tom Threepersons, James L. "Lone Wolf" Asher, and Chicagoan Pat Roche.
Georgia Hopley
[edit]The first female prohibition agent was Georgia Hopley.[6] In early 1922, Hopley was sworn in as a general agent, serving under Federal Prohibition Commissioner Roy A. Haynes. Her appointment made news around the country.[7] Her hiring encouraged local law enforcement agencies to hire more women to investigate women bootleggers.[8]
Two-Gun Hart
[edit]
Ironically, while Chicago gangster Al Capone was one of the biggest targets of investigation for the dry agents of the Chicago prohibition office and their Untouchables, Capone's eldest biological brother was himself a dry agent, or "prohibition cowboy."[2] Richard James "Two-Gun" Hart, born James Vincenzo Capone, had lost communication with his family at age 16 after fleeing New York City following a gang brawl.[2] Hart kept his familial relationship a secret from most of his coworkers.[2]
Izzy and Moe
[edit]The two-agent team of Isidor "Izzy" Einstein and Moe Smith, working out of the New York City office, compiled the best arrest record in the history of the agency.[9] Izzy and Moe, as they would later be called, had 4,932 arrests while confiscating over five million bottles of alcohol. The duo would disguise themselves as street vendors, fishermen and many other undercover roles.[10] Both investigators were also able to speak multiple languages, and this skill was also helpful when they were working undercover.[10] In late 1925, Izzy and Moe were laid off in a reorganization of the bureau of enforcement.[11] A report in Time magazine suggested they had attracted more publicity than wanted by the new political appointee heading the bureau, although the press and public loved the team.[11]
The Untouchables
[edit]
The most famous dry agent of the bureau was undoubtedly the "Untouchable" Eliot Ness. The group of agents that Ness oversaw, "The Untouchables," overseen by northwest district and Chicago Prohibition Office administrator Malachi Harney, were by far the most famous group of prohibition agents. Their fame resulted from their investigation to capture and arrest of infamous Chicago gangster Al Capone. They earned their nickname after members of the Chicago Outfit repeatedly failed to bribe or intimidate them, proving they were not as easily corrupted as other prohibition agents. Through their efforts, Capone was indicted on 5000 separate counts of conspiracy to violate the National Prohibition Act, though it was ultimately decided not to bring these charges to trial, but rather to concentrate on income tax violations. Nevertheless, the Untouchables gained national acclaim, in particular, Eliot Ness, who ran the group.[12]: 317–331, 349–365, 385–421, 493–496
Corruption and public opinion
[edit]Despite their mandate to stop consumption of alcohol, many prohibition agents reportedly accepted bribes in exchange for ignoring illegal trade in liquor, which has been ascribed, in part, to their relatively low wages. It was rumored that many agents imbibed the alcohol which they were responsible for confiscating. The public perception of Bureau agents was not favorable. Some prohibition agents became notorious for killing innocent civilians and harassing minor bootleggers, while ignoring gangsters and their rich customers.[12]: 69, 96–98
In popular culture
[edit]- Eliot Ness’s memoir, The Untouchables, went on to become a bestseller and was later adapted into two television series (in 1959 and 1993) and a feature film.
- Izzy and Moe, a TV-movie starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, was loosely based on the real life Isador Einstein and Moe Smith.
- The Bureau of Prohibition is featured prominently in the HBO period crime series Boardwalk Empire, particularly through the character of Agent Nelson Van Alden.
Fallen Officers
[edit]| Positition | Name | Date | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition Agent | Charles Bintliff | May 13, 1927 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles C. Rouse | June 12, 1927 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | William Thomas Lewis | July 15, 1927 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Major A. Hart | July 16, 1927 | Automobile crash |
| Prohibition Agent | George Nantz, Jr | July 20, 1927 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Hunter Rizer Stotler | July 26, 1927 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Thomas J. Corridan | November 14, 1927 | Automobile crash |
| Prohibition Agent | Wesley Allen Fraser | January 2, 1928 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Walter Red Tolbert | February 22, 1928 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Oscar C. Hanson | March 28, 1928 | Struck by train |
| Prohibition Agent | Joseph Allen Purvis | March 30, 1928 | Automobile crash |
| Prohibition Agent | James C. Capen | May 10, 1928 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Warren C. Frahm | June 18, 1928 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Prohibition Agent | Irving Washburn | July 13, 1928 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Ludwig P. Johnsen | July 28, 1928 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) |
| Prohibition Agent | John Nicola | October 4, 1928 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Storekeeper-Gauger | Francis Joseph Sears | October 28, 1928 | Explosion |
| Prohibition Agent | Patrick Cleburne Sharp | December 5, 1928 | Exposure to toxins |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles F. Alexander | January 2, 1929 | Heart attack |
| Prohibition Agent | Dano M. Jackley | May 14, 1929 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Prohibition Agent | Lawrence A. Mommer | June 27, 1929 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Prohibition Agent | George A. Droz | July 12, 1929 | Accidental |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles Foster Cooley, Jr | July 30, 1929 | Automobile crash |
| Prohibition Agent | Richard J. Sandlands | August 2, 1929 | Assault |
| Prohibition Agent | Arthur Alvin Zimmerman | August 11, 1929 | Struck by vehicle |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles F. Stevens | September 25, 1929 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Carl Louis Rehm | October 16, 1929 | Automobile crash |
| Prohibition Agent | Otto P. Butler | December 10, 1929 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Louis McClymonds Davies, Jr | January 14, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Robert Knox Moncure | January 18, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Franklin R. Patterson | January 18, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Robert D. Freeman | February 8, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Lamar Watson York | April 12, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Albert Lewis Brown | June 9, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Posie Lester Flinchum | June 17, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Roy Walter Shafer | June 30, 1930 | Automobile crash |
| Positition | Name | Date | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Agent | Dale F. Kearney | July 6, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Zaccheus Raymond Sutton | August 28, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | John G. Finiello | September 19, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Mack Carroll Parsons | September 20, 1930 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Special Agent | Asa Hawkins | December 20, 1930 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Holmer L. Everett | May 2, 1931 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Curtis C. Burks | July 22, 1931 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | John Irwin Wilson | July 22, 1931 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Walter M. Gilbert | July 22, 1931 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Raymond L. Ezzell | July 27, 1931 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Walter T. Creviston | July 30, 1931 | Heatstroke |
| Special Agent | George V. Trabing | August 19, 1931 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) |
| Special Agent | Lindsly P. Bulnes | January 23, 1932 | Automobile crash |
| Special Agent | Robert Mansfield Buck | February 1, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Eugene Joseph Pearce | February 9, 1932 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) |
| Prohibition Agent | Henry Harrison Jackson | April 17, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Jack Elmer Kenford | June 14, 1932 | Explosion |
| Special Agent | Eugene Jackson | July 31, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | James G. Harney | September 23, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Ballard White Turner | September 29, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Prohibition Agent | Brooke Oursler | October 12, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Ernest B. Vlasich | October 14, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Frank Allen Mather | October 15, 1932 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) |
| Special Agent | Chester Arthur Mason | November 12, 1932 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | William Theodore "Teddie" Balding | November 16, 1932 | Automobile crash |
| Special Agent | Arthur James Sanderson | December 29, 1932 | Automobile crash |
| Special Agent | Levi Gladstone Trexler | March 31, 1933 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Special Agent | William Smith Grubb | March 31, 1933 | Vehicular assault |
| Special Agent | Leonard Agnew Welty | April 13, 1933 | Fall |
| Special Agent | Leroy Richard Wood | April 16, 1933 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Harry Hampton Elliott | June 22, 1933 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Paul Albro Read | July 21, 1933 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Herman Sutton Barbrey | January 5, 1934 | Gunfire |
| Special Agent | Parker Hittinger Hall | February 3, 1934 | Automobile crash |
| Special Agent | Herbert R. Johnson | May 21, 1934 |
See also
[edit]
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Jouett Shouse
- Mabel Walker Willebrandt
- United States House Committee on Alcoholic Liquor Traffic
- William Harvey Thompson
References
[edit]- ^ "18th Amendment 1919 (National Prohibition Act) | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
- ^ a b c d Lauterborn, David (2011-12-01). "'Two-Gun' Hart: The Prohibition Cowboy". HistoryNet. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
- ^ "Treasury Department Reorganization Plan of 1927 - P.L. 69-751" (PDF). 44 Stat. 1381 ~ House Bill 10729. Legis★Works. March 3, 1927. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Prohibition Reorganization Act of 1930 - P.L. 71-273" (PDF). 46 Stat. 427 ~ House Bill 85741. Legis★Works. May 27, 1930. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Herbert Hoover: "The President's News Conference," May 27, 1930". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Prohibition Agent Georgia Hopley | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov.
- ^ e.g. Albuquerque Morning Journal (Albuquerque, New Mexico), February 16, 1922; The Lake County Times (Hammond, Indiana), February 27, 1922, The Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon), February 2, 1922
- ^ Minnick, Fred (2013). Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of how Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey. Potomac Books. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-1-61234-565-9.
- ^ Jenis, Albert. "Izzy and Moe", Reprinted from Empire State Mason, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. Quote: "Bro. Moe W. Smith was raised a Master Mason in Emanuel Lodge No. 654 on November 8, 1922. His friend, Bro. Isadore "Izzy" Einstein, was affiliated with Emanuel Lodge on December 13, 1922." Retrieved April 11, 2011.
- ^ a b Asbury, Herbert (2002). "The Merry Antics of Izzy and Moe". In Hyde, Stephen; Zanetti, Geno (eds.). Players. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 9781560253808.
- ^ a b ""PROHIBITION: Izzy and Moe"". Time. November 23, 1925. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2011-04-11.(subscription required)
- ^ a b Collins, Max Allan; Schwartz, A. Brad (2018). Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago (1st ed.). New York: William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-06-244194-2.
- ^ "United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Prohibition, US". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2024-08-17.
- ^ "United States Department of Justice - Bureau of Prohibition, US". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2024-08-17.
External links
[edit]- "ATF Badges - History of the Badges". Our History - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. U.S. Department of Justice.
- "Fallen Prohibition Agents". ATF's Legacy of Diversity - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. U.S. Department of Justice.
- "Prohibition Agents End of Watch". United States Department of Justice - Bureau of Prohibition. Officer Down Memorial Page.
- Ken Burns; Lynn Novick. "Prohibition - Unintended Consequences". PBS - Ken Burns Prohibition. The Prohibition Film Project. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
- "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives." ATF. N.p., 29 Dec. 2008. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <[1][permanent dead link]
- Hanson, Ph.D., David J. (30 November 2015). "Prohibition Bureau (Bureau of Prohibition) was a Troubled Agency Riddled with Corruption". AlcoholProblemsandSolutions.org. State University of New York.
- Lerner, Michael A. (2008). Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 1–351. ISBN 978-0674030572. OCLC 225874285.
- "Prohibition." Prohibition. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://mailer.fsu.edu/~jmrichar/amh1000/fa02/prohibition.htm[permanent dead link].
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
