Wicked Albany: Lawlessness & Liquor in the Prohibition Era

Albany, New York, experienced massive upheaval when the Volstead Act of 1919 established Prohibition. Crime already proliferated in the capital of the Empire State, with rival political machines stooping to corruption and the mob with their heavy-handed powers of persuasion. As it did nationwide, Prohibition in Albany served merely to force alcohol-related commerce underground and lawlessness and violence to the forefront of city activity.

Frankie Bailey, criminal justice professor and crime historian, and noted sociologist and criminal justice activist Alice Green chronicle this evolution of iniquity in Albany, relying on archival records and examining the greater social impact of the city s moral dissolution. Whether you’re looking for sociological analysis or pure guilty pleasure, you ll find it in