| Badge: | File:Bureau of Prohibition Agent Badge.jpg |
| Flag: | File:Bureau of Prohibition Special Agent Badge.jpg |
| Formed: | January 6, 1920 |
| Preceding1: | Agency established |
| Legalpersonality: | Government agency |
| Country: | United States |
| Legaljuris: | opsjuris |
| Headquarters: | Washington, D.C. |
| Sworntype: | Federal agent |
The Bureau of Prohibition (or Prohibition Unit) was the United States federal law enforcement agency with the responsibility of investigating the possession, distribution, consumption, and trafficking of alcohol and alcoholic beverages in the United States of America during the Prohibition era.[1] The enumerated enforcement powers of this organization were vested in the Volstead Act. Federal Prohibition Agents of the Bureau were commonly referred to by members of the public and the press of the day as "Prohis," or "Dry Agents."[2] In the sparsely populated areas of the American west, agents were sometimes called "Prohibition Cowboys." At its peak, the Bureau employed 2,300 dry agents.[3]
The Prohibition Unit was formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919 (Volstead Act) which enforced the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. When it was first established in 1920, it was a unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. [4] The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Daniel C. Roper, strenuously objected to absorbing the responsibilities of managing a prohibition organization, as he believed they were beyond the scope and mandate of his Bureau.
Initially, there were 960 dry agents in the Prohibition Unit.
In the summer of 1925, the 48 state enforcement districts were abolished and replaced with 22 federal prohibition districts, closely aligned with the Federal Judicial districts.[5]
On April 1, 1927, the organization was elevated from Unit status to Bureau status, changing its name from the Prohibition Unit to the Bureau of Prohibition.[6]
On July 1, 1930, the Prohibition Bureau was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice (DOJ).[7] [8]
The Bureau of Prohibition's main function was to stop the sale and consumption of alcohol. Agents would be tasked with eliminating illegal bootlegging rings, and became notorious in cities like New York and Chicago for raiding popular nightclubs.[9]
Agents were often paid low wages, and the Bureau was notorious for allowing many uncertified people to become agents.[10] Doing so strengthened the bureau, as they were able to hire agents in greater numbers.
In 1929, the Increased Penalties Act (Jones Law) increased penalties for violations previously set in the Volstead Act.[11] First time offenders were now expected to serve a maximum of five years and a $10,000 fine as opposed to the previous six months and $1,000 fine. This strengthened animosity toward Prohibition agents, as many of them (such as Major Maurice Campbell, Prohibition administrator of New York City), were already hated for their raids on popular clubs frequented by New York City's elite.
Early in 1933, with the repeal of Prohibition imminent, as part of the Omnibus Crime Bill, the Bureau was briefly absorbed into the Bureau of Investigation (BOI). The Prohibition Bureau was demoted from Bureau status to Unit status and became the FBI's Alcohol Beverage Unit (ABU). Though part of the FBI on paper, J. Edgar Hoover, who wanted to avoid liquor enforcement and the taint of corruption that was attached to it, continued to operate it as a separate, autonomous agency in practice.[12]
In December 1933, once repeal became a reality and the only federal laws regarding alcoholic beverages were limited their taxation, the ABU was removed from the FBI and the DOJ and returned to Treasury, where it became the Alcohol Tax Unit, ultimately evolving into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).[13]
Offices not seen above:
With the establishment of the Prohibition Unit in 1919, leadership established a Narcotics Division with the enumerated powers to investigate all violations of the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act.[18] Narcotics Agents in these early days primarily were responsible for investigating medical licenses for the distribution of narcotics, but their duties evolved over the course of the decade. Narcotics Agents overall secured more convictions to federal prison for Harrison Act violations than their Dry Agent counterparts did for Volstead Act violations.
In the single fiscal year of 1920, more than half a million dollars were budgeted for narcotics enforcement.
Levi Nutt developed the Narcotics Division, and was appointed the position of Assistant Commissioner for Narcotics.[19] His position would absorb the dual capacity as Secretary of the Federal Narcotics Control Board with its establishment in 1922.[20] He was a registered pharmacist, who had worked with Treasury since 1900. He led the Division to arrest of tens of thousands of drug addicts and dealers in the 1920s.
Nutt's biological son Rolland Nutt and son-in-law L. P. Mattingly were attorneys for racketeer and gangster Arnold Rothstein in tax matters.[21] After an investigation into the relationship in 1929, a grand jury found no criminal impairment of Narcotics Division activities, but Nutt lost his position as chief of the Narcotics Division.
Harry J. Anslinger assumed his duties as the Assistant Commissioner for Narcotics.[22] In 1930, the Narcotics Division would be merged into the newly established Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) under the leadership of Anslinger, the first United States Commissioner of Narcotics. Anslinger remained the Commissioner of Narcotics until his retirement in 1965. The FBN is considered a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Narcotics Division consisted of 170 Narcotic Agents based out of 15 Field Divisions;
In 1925, the Industrial Alcohol and Chemical Division was headed by James M. Doran.[24]
In 1925, the Audit Division was headed by J.M. Young.
The most famous dry agent of the bureau was undoubtedly the "Untouchable" Eliot Ness. The group of agents that Ness oversaw, "The Untouchables," were by far the most famous group of prohibition agents. Ness was overseen by the northwest district administrator, Malachi Harney, based out of the Chicago Prohibition Office.[25] Their fame resulted from their investigation to capture and arrest the infamous Chicago gangster Al Capone. They earned their nickname after members of the Chicago Outfit repeatedly failed to bribe or intimidate them, proving they were not as easily corrupted as other prohibition agents. Through their efforts, Capone was indicted on 5000 separate counts of conspiracy to violate the National Prohibition Act, though it was ultimately decided not to bring these charges to trial, but rather to concentrate on income tax violations. Nevertheless, the Untouchables gained national acclaim, in particular, Eliot Ness, who ran the group.[26]
The first female prohibition agent was Georgia Hopley.[27] In early 1922, Hopley was sworn in as a general agent, serving under Federal Prohibition Commissioner Roy A. Haynes. Her appointment made news around the country.[28] Her hiring encouraged local law enforcement agencies to hire more women to investigate women bootleggers.[29]
Frank Hamer was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. His service in the Bureau of Prohibition was brief but eventful while stationed in El Paso, the scene of countless gunfights during the Prohibition era. He participated in numerous raids and shootouts, and he was involved in a gun battle with smugglers on March 21 which resulted in the death of Prohibition Agent Ernest W. Walker.[30] Hamer transferred to Austin in 1921, where he served as Senior Ranger Captain.
Tom Threepersons was an American lawman, who claimed to be the son of a Cherokee chief. He is considered to have been one of the last of gunfighters of the Old West. He invented the "Tom Threepersons holster."[31] In 1916, he joined the U.S. Army, and served under General Jack Pershing in pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico. He was later assigned to Fort Bliss on the Texas–New Mexico state line. On June 10, 1922, Threepersons was appointed as a Prohibition Agent for El Paso, where he worked for 90 days.[32]
Ironically, while Chicago gangster Al Capone was one of the biggest targets of investigation for the dry agents of the Chicago prohibition office and their Untouchables, Capone's eldest biological brother was himself a dry agent, or "prohibition cowboy." Richard James "Two-Gun" Hart, born James Vincenzo Capone, had lost communication with his family at age 16 after fleeing New York City following a gang brawl.[33] Hart kept his familial relationship a secret from most of his coworkers.
The two-agent team of Isidor "Izzy" Einstein and Moe Smith, working out of the New York City office, compiled the best arrest record in the history of the agency.[34] Izzy and Moe, as they would later be called, had 4,932 arrests while confiscating over five million bottles of alcohol. The duo would disguise themselves as street vendors, fishermen and many other undercover roles.[35] Both investigators were also able to speak multiple languages, and this skill was also helpful when they were working undercover. In late 1925, Izzy and Moe were laid off in a reorganization of the bureau of enforcement.[36] A report in Time magazine suggested they had attracted more publicity than wanted by the new political appointee heading the bureau, although the press and public loved the team.
Other famous lawmen who, at some point, carried a Prohi badge include James L. "Lone Wolf" Asher,[37] Chicagoan Pat Roche,[38] and Hannah Brigham.[39]
Despite their mandate to stop consumption of alcohol, many prohibition agents reportedly accepted bribes in exchange for ignoring illegal trade in liquor, which has been ascribed, in part, to their relatively low wages. It was rumored that many agents imbibed the alcohol which they were responsible for confiscating.[40] The public perception of Bureau agents was not favorable. Some prohibition agents became notorious for killing innocent civilians and harassing minor bootleggers, while ignoring gangsters and their rich customers.
The first Prohibition Agent to lose his life in the line of duty was Charles Wood, fatally shot in the back in El Paso, Texas.
| Positition | Name | Date | Cause of Death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition Agent | William Daniel Dorsey | June 13, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Frank Matuskowitz | June 30, 1920 | Train accident | |
| Prohibition Agent | Stanton E. Weiss | August 28, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | James Holland Rose | October 25, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Kirby Frans | November 20, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Warehouse Agent | Wiliam B. Anderson | December 2, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Richard D. Griffin | December 6, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Richard W. Jackson | December 16, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | James Francis McGuiness | December 24, 1920 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Ernest Walter Walker | March 5, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Stafford E. Beckett | March 21, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Jacob F. Green | April 1, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Irby U. Scruggs | April 30, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | John Watson | May 2, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles Edward Howell | July 17, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | John Harvey Reynolds | August 26, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | John T. Foley | October 26, 1921 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) | |
| Prohibition Agent | Jesse R. Johnson | November 21, 1921 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | John O'Toole | February 17, 1922 | Assault | |
| Prohibition Agent | Joseph William "Joe" | May 17, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles O. Sterner | June 25, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Howell J. Lynch | July 6, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Howard Henry Fisher | July 22, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Cary Dorsey Freeman | July 22, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Ernest George Wiggins | August 6, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Grover C. Todd | September 3, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Glenn Henry Price | September 3, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Joseph Owen | September 6, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | John Van Waters | October 4, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Robert E. Duff, Sr. | December 9, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Elmer Guy Cole | December 15, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Atha "Nick" Carter | December 24, 1922 | Gunfire | |
| Storekeeper-Gauger | Burdette M. Huffaker | January 12, 1923 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Jesse Leroy Youmans | April 3, 1923 | Gunfire | |
| Warehouse Agent | Robert G. Anderson | April 16, 1923 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | George H. Stewart | November 11, 1923 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | William B. Saylor | February 24, 1924 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Bert R. McMichael | May 23, 1924 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Horatio J. Stetson | June 29, 1924 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Daniel S. Cleveland | July 10, 1924 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Theodore Harrison Chunn | November 19, 1924 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | William Paul Spigener | December 9, 1924 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Malcolm Malachi Day | February 14, 1925 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | James Edmund Bowdoin | February 16, 1925 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | William Edwin Collins | March 6, 1925 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Harold Vincent Mooring | April 1, 1925 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Clyde L. Taylor | May 11, 1925 | Heart attack | |
| Prohibition Agent | William Frank Porter | June 20, 1925 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) | |
| Prohibition Agent | John M. Mulcahy | September 3, 1925 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Murdock E. Murray | October 20, 1925 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Dallas Adelbert Roberts | January 20, 1926 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Remus W. Buckner | May 12, 1926 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Thomas Bright Lankford | May 26, 1926 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Vaughn Eccles Grant | June 1, 1926 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | George Hamilton Wentworth | November 24, 1926 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Jacob P. Brandt | December 9, 1926 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Walter Chapman Mobray | December 9, 1926 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Horace Thorwaldson | December 19, 1926 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | George W. Dykeman | January 14, 1927 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) |
| Positition | Name | Date | Cause of Death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition Agent | Charles Bintliff | May 13, 1927 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles C. Rouse | June 12, 1927 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | William Thomas Lewis | July 15, 1927 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Major A. Hart | July 16, 1927 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | George Nantz, Jr | July 20, 1927 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Hunter Rizer Stotler | July 26, 1927 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Thomas J. Corridan | November 14, 1927 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Wesley Allen Fraser | January 2, 1928 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Walter Red Tolbert | February 22, 1928 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Oscar C. Hanson | March 28, 1928 | Struck by train | |
| Prohibition Agent | Joseph Allen Purvis | March 30, 1928 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | James C. Capen | May 10, 1928 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Warren C. Frahm | June 18, 1928 | Vehicle pursuit | |
| Prohibition Agent | Irving Washburn | July 13, 1928 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Ludwig P. Johnsen | July 28, 1928 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) | |
| Prohibition Agent | John Nicola | October 4, 1928 | Vehicle pursuit | |
| Storekeeper-Gauger | Francis Joseph Sears | October 28, 1928 | Explosion | |
| Prohibition Agent | Patrick Cleburne Sharp | December 5, 1928 | Exposure to toxins | |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles F. Alexander | January 2, 1929 | Heart attack | |
| Prohibition Agent | Dano M. Jackley | May 14, 1929 | Vehicle pursuit | |
| Prohibition Agent | Lawrence A. Mommer | June 27, 1929 | Vehicle pursuit | |
| Prohibition Agent | George A. Droz | July 12, 1929 | Accidental | |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles Foster Cooley, Jr | July 30, 1929 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Richard J. Sandlands | August 2, 1929 | Assault | |
| Prohibition Agent | Arthur Alvin Zimmerman | August 11, 1929 | Struck by vehicle | |
| Prohibition Agent | Charles F. Stevens | September 25, 1929 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Carl Louis Rehm | October 16, 1929 | Automobile crash | |
| Prohibition Agent | Otto P. Butler | December 10, 1929 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Louis McClymonds Davies, Jr | January 14, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Robert Knox Moncure | January 18, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Franklin R. Patterson | January 18, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Robert D. Freeman | February 8, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Lamar Watson York | April 12, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Albert Lewis Brown | June 9, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Posie Lester Flinchum | June 17, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Roy Walter Shafer | June 30, 1930 | Automobile crash |
| Positition | Name | Date | Cause of Death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Agent | Dale F. Kearney | July 6, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Zaccheus Raymond Sutton | August 28, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | John G. Finiello | September 19, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Mack Carroll Parsons | September 20, 1930 | Vehicle pursuit | |
| Special Agent | Asa Hawkins | December 20, 1930 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Holmer L. Everett | May 2, 1931 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Curtis C. Burks | July 22, 1931 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | John Irwin Wilson | July 22, 1931 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Walter M. Gilbert | July 22, 1931 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Raymond L. Ezzell | July 27, 1931 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Walter T. Creviston | July 30, 1931 | Heatstroke | |
| Special Agent | George V. Trabing | August 19, 1931 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) | |
| Special Agent | Lindsly P. Bulnes | January 23, 1932 | Automobile crash | |
| Special Agent | Robert Mansfield Buck | February 1, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Eugene Joseph Pearce | February 9, 1932 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) | |
| Prohibition Agent | Henry Harrison Jackson | April 17, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Jack Elmer Kenford | June 14, 1932 | Explosion | |
| Special Agent | Eugene Jackson | July 31, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | James G. Harney | September 23, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Ballard White Turner | September 29, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Prohibition Agent | Brooke Oursler | October 12, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Ernest B. Vlasich | October 14, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Frank Allen Mather | October 15, 1932 | Gunfire (Inadvertent) | |
| Special Agent | Chester Arthur Mason | November 12, 1932 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | William Theodore "Teddie" Balding | November 16, 1932 | Automobile crash | |
| Special Agent | Arthur James Sanderson | December 29, 1932 | Automobile crash | |
| Special Agent | Levi Gladstone Trexler | March 31, 1933 | Vehicle pursuit | |
| Special Agent | William Smith Grubb | March 31, 1933 | Vehicular assault | |
| Special Agent | Leonard Agnew Welty | April 13, 1933 | Fall | |
| Special Agent | Leroy Richard Wood | April 16, 1933 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Harry Hampton Elliott | June 22, 1933 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Paul Albro Read | July 21, 1933 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Herman Sutton Barbrey | January 5, 1934 | Gunfire | |
| Special Agent | Parker Hittinger Hall | February 3, 1934 | Automobile crash | |
| Special Agent | Herbert R. Johnson | May 21, 1934 | Fall |