Wilmont Kreis

Book Eight: Repeal: As is generally the case with unpopular laws, prohibition was eventually overturned, and in 1933, “happy days were here again,” or at least it seemed. Due to poor records, it is difficult to quantify the effects of prohibition. How consumption and addiction were affected remains a debate today. Certainly crime and poisoning from bad alcohol diminished. Its effect is further blurred by the social phenomenon that began before prohibition left, and I will deal with this next. However, I will be gone doing research on new works next week so we will have to wait a week for: THE GREAT DEPRESSION. Read More 

Book Eight: The Getaway-Part Three: Escaping to a different jurisdiction. Once bootleggers had loaded their stash in their car or truck, they would head to their delivery point. Different jurisdictions had different standards for whom to stop, pursue, or ignore. Once the smugglers were being chased, they could sometimes cross a municipal line into a more friendly community. This would not necessarily stop the Feds from pursuing, but generally cause the municipal agencies to turn back. Some of the more famous chase scenes were through Detroit escaping to the suburbs. As I have previously said, the municipalities often had different standards for different smugglers, but they almost all tried to stop the Purple Gang, sometimes with grave consequences. One such scene in Book Eight is the murder of Officer Claude Lanstra of the Grosse Pointe Police. It is based on the actual account, flavored by family legend. (Claude was my Grandfather’s cousin).(continued next week) Read More 

Book Eight: The Getaway-Part Two: Authorities were generally on the alert for the late night transport of bootleg liquor. Once a suspected smuggler was sighted it generally resulted in a chase. How serious the chase was depended on the nature of the smuggler as well as the nature of the legal entity. If the smuggler was a local citizen who was once a legitimate bar owner, and the authorities were local, the chase would be relatively sedate. If apprehended, it would usually end in confiscation of the goods or some of the goods (wink-wink). If the smuggler was rougher element such as the Purple Gang and the authorities were federal, it would result in a high speed chase, sometimes with unfortunate consequences.(continued next week) Read More 

Book Eight: The Getaway. Once contraband liquor was on land, it had to be delivered, hopefully quickly and discretely. This, however, depended on the delivery staff. Small loads could often be discretely put in a trunk and taken to the destination, usually at night, and often to a former restaurant which had served liquor legally in the old days, but was now posing as dry. The liquid treasure would be kept under wraps and served to locals when the coast was clear which was usual. The larger loads were sometimes trucked indiscreetly and drew the attention of the authorities. More creative moves usually solved this problem.(continued next week) Read More