Although the dark legacy of organized crime has been attributed to Prohibition, gangs were well established far before the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. The enormous profit that could be gained from bootlegging just prompted crime lords to partake of the wealth. In the major cities, competition between rival gangs provoked bloody turf wars that made headlines and gave the impression that Prohibition had caused the growth of crime. In Chicago, one of the most violently contested cities in the country, authorities reported 350 to 400 gangland murders per year. Many of these murders took place in public. It gave Chicago the reputation for being the most gang-ridden city in the country.

Italian-born Al "Scarface" Capone was the bestknown gangster of the era. He was thought of more as a celebrity than a criminal partly due to the unpopularity of the Prohibition laws. Capone also...