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Bureau of Prohibition

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Bureau of Prohibition
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Agency overview
FormedJanuary 6, 1920
Preceding agency
  • Agency established
Dissolved1933 (1933)
Superseding agency
Legal personalityGovernmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionUnited States
Legal jurisdictionAs per operations jurisdiction
Operational structure
Overseen by
HeadquartersWashington, 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.[1] The enumerated enforcement powers of this organization 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."[2] In the sparsely populated areas of the American west, agents were sometimes called "Prohibition Cowboys."[3] At its peak, the Bureau employed 2,300 dry agents.[4]

History

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Volstead Act and formation in the Department of the Treasury

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Prohibition Unit
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The Prohibition Unit 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.[5] When it was first established in 1920, it was a unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. [5][6] Initially, there were 960 dry agents in the Prohibition Unit.[4]

Elevation to Bureau status

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On April 1, 1927, the organization was elevated from Unit status to Bureau status, changing its name from the Prohibition Unit to the Bureau of Prohibition.[7]

Transfer to the Department of Justice

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On July 1, 1930, the Prohibition Bureau was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice.[8][9]

Mission

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Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol, c. 1921

The Bureau of Prohibition's main function was to stop the sale and consumption of alcohol.[5] Agents would be tasked with eliminating illegal bootlegging rings, and became notorious in cities like New York and Chicago for raiding popular nightclubs.[10]

Agents were often paid low wages, and the Bureau was notorious for allowing many uncertified people to become agents.[11] Doing so strengthened the bureau, as they were able to hire agents in greater numbers.[11]

In 1929, the Increased Penalties Act (Jones Law) increased penalties for violations previously set in the Volstead Act.[12] 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.[12]

Transfer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation

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Early in 1933, with the repeal of Prohibition imminent, as part of the Omnibus Crime Bill, the Bureau was briefly absorbed into the Bureau of Investigation (BOI).[5] The Prohibition Bureau was demoted from Bureau status to Unit status and became the FBI's Alcohol Beverage Unit (ABU). 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.[13]

Repeal of Prohibition and dissolution

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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.[14]

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 (ATF).[14]

Narcotics Enforcement Division

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With the establishment of the Prohibition Unit in 1919, leadership established a Narcotics Division with the enumerated powers to investigate all violations of the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act.[15] Narcotics Agents in these early days primarily were responsible for investigating medical licenses for the distribution of narcotics, but their duties evolved over the course of the decade.[16] Narcotics Agents overall secured more convictions to federal prison for Harrison Act violations than their Dry Agent counterparts did for Volstead Act violations.[4]

In the single fiscal year of 1920, more than half a million dollars were budgeted for narcotics enforcement.[4]

The Narcotics Division consisted of 170 Narcotic Agents based out of 13 district offices.[4]

Levi Nutt in his office at the Narcotic Field force at Internal Revenue, around 1920.

Levi Nutt developed the Narcotics Division, and was appointed the position of Assistant Commissioner for Narcotics.[17] He was a registered pharmacist, who had worked with Treasury since 1900.[4] He led the Division to arrest of tens of thousands of drug addicts and dealers in the 1920s. Nutt's son Rolland Nutt and son-in-law L. P. Mattingly were attorneys for racketeer Arnold Rothstein in tax matters.[18] After an investigation into the relationship in 1929, a grand jury found no criminal impairment of Narcotics Division activities, but Nutt lost his position as chief of the Narcotics Division.[19]

Harry J. Anslinger assumed his duties as the Assistant Commissioner for Narcotics.[20] In 1930, the Narcotics Division would be merged into the newly established Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) under the leadership of the first United States Commissioner of Narcotics, Anslinger.[19] The FBN is considered a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Famous agents

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The Untouchables

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Eliot Ness in 1931

The most famous dry agent of the bureau was undoubtedly the "Untouchable" Eliot Ness.[21] 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.[21] Their fame resulted from their investigation to capture and arrest the 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.[21] 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.[21]: 317–331, 349–365, 385–421, 493–496 

Georgia Hopley

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The first female prohibition agent was Georgia Hopley.[22] 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.[23] Her hiring encouraged local law enforcement agencies to hire more women to investigate women bootleggers.[24]

Frank Hamer

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Frank Hamer was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. His service in the Bureau of Prohibition was brief but eventful while stationed in El Paso, the scene of countless gunfights during the Prohibition era.[25] He participated in numerous raids and shootouts, and he was involved in a gun battle with smugglers on March 21 which resulted in the death of Prohibition Agent Ernest W. Walker.[25] Hamer transferred to Austin in 1921, where he served as Senior Ranger Captain.

Tom Threepersons

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Tom Threepersons was an American lawman, who claimed to be the son of a Cherokee chief. He is considered to have been one of the last of gunfighters of the Old West. He invented the "Tom Threepersons holster."[26] In 1916, he joined the U.S. Army, and served under General Jack Pershing in pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico. He was later assigned to Fort Bliss on the Texas–New Mexico state line. On June 10, 1922, Threepersons was appointed as a Prohibition Agent for El Paso, where he worked for 90 days.[27]

Two-Gun Hart

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Richard James “Two Gun” Hart (born James Vincenzo Capone) with his collection of confiscated stills, 1926.

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."[3] 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.[3] Hart kept his familial relationship a secret from most of his coworkers.[3]

Izzy and Moe

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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.[28] 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.[29] Both investigators were also able to speak multiple languages, and this skill was also helpful when they were working undercover.[29] In late 1925, Izzy and Moe were laid off in a reorganization of the bureau of enforcement.[30] 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.[30]

Other famous lawmen who, at some point, carried a Prohi badge include James L. "Lone Wolf" Asher,[31] Chicagoan Pat Roche,[32] and Hannah Brigham.[33]

Corruption and public opinion

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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.[34] 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.[21]: 69, 96–98 

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Fallen Officers

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Department of the Treasury[35]

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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

Department of Justice[36]

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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 Fall

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "How was Prohibition enforced? | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  2. ^ "18th Amendment 1919 (National Prohibition Act) | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  3. ^ a b c d Lauterborn, David (2011-12-01). "'Two-Gun' Hart: The Prohibition Cowboy". HistoryNet. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "The Early Years" (PDF). Drug Enforcement Administration. January 1, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Alcoholism, National Research Council (US) Panel on Alternative Policies Affecting the Prevention of Alcohol Abuse and; Moore, Mark H.; Gerstein, Dean R. (1981), "Temperance and Prohibition in America: A Historical Overview", Alcohol and Public Policy: Beyond the Shadow of Prohibition, National Academies Press (US), retrieved 2024-08-18
  6. ^ TIME (1924-12-08). "PROHIBITION: The Unit". TIME. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "The Masters of Disguise: Prohibition agents "Izzy" Einstein and Moe Smith". Prohibition: An Interactive History. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  11. ^ a b Lerner, Michael A (2008). Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 1–351. ISBN 978-0674030572.
  12. ^ a b "Jones Act". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  13. ^ "The Bureau and the Great Experiment".
  14. ^ a b "Prohibition Reorganization | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  15. ^ "Opium Order Form". DEA Museum. February 10, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  16. ^ Study, Institute of Medicine (US) Committee for the Substance Abuse Coverage; Gerstein, Dean R.; Harwood, Henrick J. (1992), "A Century of American Narcotic Policy", Treating Drug Problems: Volume 2: Commissioned Papers on Historical, Institutional, and Economic Contexts of Drug Treatment, National Academies Press (US), retrieved 2024-08-19
  17. ^ Pietrusza, David (2003). Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series. New York: Carroll & Graf.
  18. ^ Mabry, Donald J. (1989). The Latin American Narcotics Trade and U.S. National Security. Greenwood Press.
  19. ^ a b Gerstein, Dean R.; Harwood, Henrick J. (1992), "A Century of American Narcotic Policy", Treating Drug Problems: Volume 2: Commissioned Papers on Historical, Institutional, and Economic Contexts of Drug Treatment, National Academies Press (US), retrieved 2024-08-16
  20. ^ "The Roaring Twenties". DEA Museum. January 1, 2020.
  21. ^ a b c d e 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.
  22. ^ "Prohibition Agent Georgia Hopley | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov.
  23. ^ 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
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ a b Dolan, Samuel K. Cowboys and Gangsters: Stories of an Untamed Southwest (TwoDot Books, 2016) ISBN 978-1-4422-4669-0
  26. ^ Arganbright, Bob. "Handgun Leather" (PDF). americanhandgunner.com. American Handgunner. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  27. ^ "Tom Threepersons | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ a b ""PROHIBITION: Izzy and Moe"". Time. November 23, 1925. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2011-04-11.(subscription required)
  31. ^ "Lone Wolf [Agent James L. Asher] Praised Enforcement Hero". The Buffalo News. 1925-10-27. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  32. ^ "Roche Predicts New Clashes in Beer Gang War :reference 27". Chicago Tribune. 1929-08-27. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  33. ^ "Prohibition Agent Hannah Brigham | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  34. ^ "Unintended Consequences". Prohibition | Ken Burns | PBS. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  35. ^ "United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Prohibition, US". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  36. ^ "United States Department of Justice - Bureau of Prohibition, US". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2024-08-17.
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