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Presented by author Richard Gazarik
Prohibition in Pittsburgh brought
crime and corruption and introduced organized crime to the region. Crusading
journalist Walter Ligget said Pittsburgh was so corrupt that he dubbed the city
the "Metropolis of Corruption." There was so much illicit liquor made
it in Pittsburgh that it was "wet enough for rubber boots" and the
Downtown was known as the "great wet way." Prohibition existed only
on paper because an unholy alliance existed between bootleggers, police and
politicians.
Perhaps the era can best be summed
up this way:
Prohibition is an awful flop,
We like it
It can't stop what its meant to stop
We like it
It's left a trail of graft and slime,
It's filled our land with vice and crime,
It don't prohibit worth a dime,
Nevertheless, we're for it.
The book
Prohibition Pittsburgh is available at Barnes and Noble and Giant Eagle in
addition to Amazon