Gangs During the Prohibition
During the Prohibition, alcohol was made illegal as the 18th Amendment. People had reasons for being in gangs during this time period because they were addicted to alcohol and they wanted the excitement of doing something illegal. They smuggled alcohol and some people brewed their own.The gangs sold some alcohol to people and to speakeasies, or illegal bars where people could get alcohol. Gangsters during that time period got very rich out of alcohol sales. They were also very violent, killing people that were innocent and also people from rival gangs. One of the most infamous gangsters, Al Capone, was in Chicago. He worked for Johnny Torrio, one of the leading people in the "underworld" in Chicago. He raked in $60 million a year within two years and from other things he did, an extra $45 million. He was not caught for several years until the year 1931. He was charged with tax evasion and he was sent to jail for 11 years and he lost his fame.
During the Prohibition, there have been many arrests related to illegal alcohol and gangs. The amount of people in federal prisons increased by 366% and the amount the government spent on institutions to correct the criminals increased by 1000%.