In a series of dawn raids, Washington D.C. police netted five men on suspicion of violating Prohibition laws and operating an illicit gambling den. The crackdown, which began yesterday, has yielded a haul of bootlegged liquor and a glimpse into the city’s thriving underworld.
At the heart of the operation was a traffic stop made by a keen-eyed policeman in Phoebus, Virginia. Corson Stant and Harry Rheems, two men with a dubious reputation, were pulled over for a seemingly innocuous reason: their car’s springs were sagging suspiciously. A search of their vehicle uncovered a staggering 300 quarts of alleged whisky, a veritable treasure trove of contraband.
In another part of town, police from the Eleventh precinct made a similar discovery. An ice truck parked at 46th and Dean Streets NE was found to be carrying 34 quarts of illicit liquor. The drivers, James Johnston and James Roland, were subsequently arrested and charged with violating Prohibition laws.
A raid on an alleged gambling den in the 1800 block of Seventh Street NW netted James Madison, 26, a suspect with ties to the notorious R Street gang. Madison, believed to be the proprietor of the illicit establishment, was taken into custody alongside several other suspects. Marchand, the alleged kingpin behind the operation, remains at large.
The bust is the latest in a long line of Prohibition-era crackdowns, but it serves as a stark reminder of the city’s entrenched organized crime problem. As the nation struggles to enforce the 18th Amendment, it’s clear that Washington D.C. remains a hotbed of illicit activity.
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Key Facts
- State: National
- Category: Organized Crime
- Era: Historical
- Source: Library of Congress — Chronicling America ↗
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