Rum-runners and Mobsters: Prohibition's 100th Anniversary in Newfoundland

by Jack Fitzgerald

Prohibition in the United States created new opportunities for organized crime to make profits even they couldn't imagine. It did not take long for the mobsters to push out the independent bootleggers and take control of the whole operation inside the United States. Their tentacles then reached into St. Pierre and Newfoundland, both of which had become legalized transshipment ports for liquor ? a real rum-runner's heaven! Once it became clear that St. John's was legally an open port for the movement of liquor the mob welcomed it as another St. Pierre. During the era of Prohibition in the United States, Al Capone emerged as the top mobster in the country. His capers made international headlines. Capone controlled the politicians, police, bootleggers, prostitution, and smuggling. He ruled a 1,000-man mob and his gross income was near $100 million annually. The tentacles of organized crime reached into Newfoundland in a big way. In Rum-runners and Prohibition's 100th Anniversary Jack Fitzgerald leaves no stone unturned as he chronicles the start and end of the Prohibition era in Newfoundland, while exposing mobster involvement.

250 pages, Paperback

Published January 8, 2017

About the author

Jack Fitzgerald was born and educated in St. John's, Newfoundland. During his career he has been a journalist, a feature writer and political columnist with the St. John's Daily News; a reporter and public affairs writer with CJON and VOCM News Services; editor of the Newfoundland Herald and the Newfoundland Chronicle. During the last years of the Smallwood administration he was assistant director of Public Relations with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. He has also worked as Assistance Officer with the Department of Social Services. Jack Fitzgerald also hosted a regular radio program featuring off-beat Newfoundland stories on radio station VOFM.

As well as writing about unusual happenings relating to Newfoundland and Newfoundlanders, Fitzgerald has also authored a series of Newfoundland crime and punishment stories as well as Newfoundland historical publications.