CHICAGO IN THE TIME OF THE INCORRUPTIBLES by the F.B.I. by Kenneth ALLSOP

CHICAGO IN THE TIME OF THE INCORRUPTIBLES of the F.B.I. by Kenneth ALLSOP - (The Bootleggers and the Battle of Prohibition) - Translated from English by François Audouard - Éditions J’ai Lu (35 rue Mazarine, Paris) - 1968 - 566 pages - Paperback. The prohibition of alcohol in the United States, established in 1920, and the immense clandestine traffic it caused, allowed the Mafia to establish its empire over major American cities. Millions of Americans, determined to buy adulterated beverages at high prices, enriched the gangs that eventually controlled both the forbidden distilleries and thousands of clandestine bars, then extended their tentacles to gambling, usury, drugs, and prostitution. To carve out the largest slice of this formidable cake, the gangs soon began to confront each other and turned Chicago into a bloody arena where submachine gun settlements took place in broad daylight. Al Capone, successively triumphing over rival gangs, reigned as the undisputed master of Chicago, from 1915 to 1932, thanks to murder, corruption, and political rigging. The famous St. Valentine's Day massacre definitively secured his power. When justice finally prevailed, he controlled an army of 700 men, 20,000 clandestine drinking establishments, and his fortune amounted to 20 million dollars.