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The Deacon and the Prohibition Era Vice Squad
A Los Angeles police lieutenant known as The Deacon ran the vice and gambling squads during prohibition. Ambitious and prone to taking cash over credit, he mingled with reformers and thieves alike, using alcohol incentives to keep reporters loyal while maintaining a wide open city for gambling and liquor. He quoted scriptures to justify dual roles and kept whiskey flowing to press men, positioning himself to ride both sides of the law as tension between reformers and criminals peaked.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Los Angeles
Vice Squad
Hill & Hill
Sunnybrook
Old Crow
Crab Orchard
Old Granddad
White Horse