Did anyone ever go to jail for bootlegging alcohol during Prohibition? They say the Jews got out of organized crime within a generation. How much money did some people make during Prohibition only to turn around and leave that life altogether?
The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution outlawed the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages, but didn't outlaw possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages. Plenty of gangsters were arrested for trafficking in booze, but they usually got light sentences, if any, since most Americans ignored Prohibition. (Johnny Torrio was one of the few who went to prison on a booze rap.) But: gangsters who had high law enforcement profiles because of their activities often became targets for other offenses--i.e., Capone went away for 11 years for tax evasion.
Jewish gangs dominated the booze business in most cities during Prohibition. Most went legit after Repeal, and some (like the Bronfmans in Canada and Louis Rosensteihl in the US) founded legal whiskey empires. A lot of Jewish Prohibition-era gangsters, like Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Moe Dalitz, dominated gambling in Nevada after it became legal in 1931. Lepke Bucholter amassed a fortune by completely controlling the Garment District in NYC in the Thirties.
