The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, known as the Prohibition Amendment from 1920-1933, prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. The mandated shutdown of breweries and distilleries ended the lawful production of alcoholic beverages and created a market that was filled by the unlawful production, sale, and control of bootlegged products and lawless activities which included smuggling, gambling, prostitution, extortion, robbery, and murder. Many of Minnesota's large cities became a center haven for crime much similar to those of Chicago's Al Capone and other mob lord activity seen across the country. Lawlessness and the corruption of officials and police along with the unintended consequences of the legislation infected many American cities, including St. Paul. The city became a center of operation and a haven for such notorious gangsters as John Dillinger, Babyface Nelson, Roger "the Terrible" Touhy, Machine Gun Kelly, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, and the Barker gang, whose activities extended to robbing banks, holding up mail trucks and trains, and kidnapping and holding their hostages for ransom.
Retrieved on (September 29, 2009)
Moley, R. (May, 2007).
Gangsters in St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Library. Retrieved from
http://www.mnhs.org/library/history_topics/14gangsters.html
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