Canadian History Question (For Martin, I guess)

[IggytheBorg]

I was thinking about Boardwalk Empire on the ride into work today, and that got me wondering about the following: A great deal of the illegal liquor imported by bootleggers during Prohibition was made in Canada. The importation thereof made many gangsters rich. But was it illegal in Canada for the liquor merchants to sell it to US buyers? Were Canadian gangsters on the other side of those deals? Did Prohibition make the Canadian mafia rich as well? Or were legitimate merchants free to legally sell to whomever they wanted? If it's the former, who were some of these North-of-the-Border desperadoes? Are they romanticized the same way American gangsters are?

[Ed Hocken]

I'm not canadian, but I would recomment checking out Daniel Okrent's recent book on the history of Prohibition called "LAST CALL". In it, he goes into great detail as to how Edgar Brofman got his fortune and the workings of the Canadian liqour trade.

A trade so robust that people would drive across the Detroit river during the winter to smuggle booze.

[Ed Hocken]

You also have to remember that the elites didn't give a fuck about this law from the get go. Maryland never enacted the law and New York repealed laws against local enforcement. The Prohbition bureau was piss poorly managed from the get go.

And there also existed toxic industrial alcohol called, and I kid you not, "Jake". "Jake" would either kill people or make them go blind.

[IggytheBorg]

I'm laughing way too fucking hard at that last post. You all know why.

[Ed Hocken]

I'm completely serious, it's all in Okrent's book.

You also learn that Joseph Kennedy had nothing to do with bootlegging.

[Nathan]

You also learn that Joseph Kennedy had nothing to do with bootlegging.

Really? I have got to start reading more.

[Matt]

And there also existed toxic industrial alcohol called, and I kid you not, "Jake". "Jake" would either kill people or make them go blind.

Fate? Karma? All I know is that the universe is quietly smiling.

[Ed Hocken]

And yes, this was mainly sold in poor rural areas in the south.

[BillyG]

You also learn that Joseph Kennedy had nothing to do with bootlegging.

Made his fortune building hardtops for Cadillac.

[IggytheBorg]

I'm completely serious, it's all in Okrent's book.

You also learn that Joseph Kennedy had nothing to do with bootlegging.

You do know I'm laughing because of the coincidence of nomenclature here, right?

[Ed Hocken]

Oh yeah, I just wanted to hammer the point home.

[Martin]

Ed said it best: Okrent books tells it all, but yeah, it wasn't illegal to sell them if I remember, but even if it would have been the sale was so widespread that there's no way it could have been repressed effectively.