The Lean Years? The Mafia Business Ventures during the Great Depression

The Great Depression was one of the most critical time periods in American history. It had clear implications for changes in the federal government, American culture, and, of course, the economy. The Depression also had implications for the Mafia. In Episode 16, Pettengill examines organized crime's attempt to profit from the disaster that was the Great Depression. The Mafia emerged from the 1920s flush with cash and they looked for new rackets to create new revenue streams. The stars aligned perfectly for gangsters as down-on-their-luck Americans could no longer turn to traditional institutions to make ends meet. Gangsters like Lucky Luciano and Al Capone used the economic emergency to polish their image and streamline new rackets. Meanwhile in Harlem, Bumpy Johnson wrested control of the rackets back from Dutch Schultz and, in the process, became a force for building the Black community even if he was doing that beyond the bounds of the law.