Police Raided a Storefront Still and Bootlegging Operation in a Fifth Avenue Store in 1926

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North Pelham, it seems, was excited at the prospect of yet another new business on Fifth Avenue in 1926.  On July 1, 1926, Italian immigrant Joseph Leoni took possession of a storefront with a rear apartment located at 317-319 Fifth Avenue.  He opened what everyone believed was a wholesale business in imported Italian olive oil.  Everyone was wrong.

The business certainly looked convincing.  Empty olive oil cans filled the show windows of the little business.  Any passerby who peered inside through those show windows saw packing cases entirely consistent with a busy little wholesale olive oil import business.  Yes, it looked like Joseph Leoni was building another successful Pelham business during those flapper years of the Roaring Twenties in our little Town.

Leoni had only been in his new digs for two weeks when another tenant on the second floor of the building glanced out of a window at the back of the building and noticed water trickling out of a window on the lower floor.  Worried that a leak might be damaging the stores and living quarters on the first floor, the tenant called landlord Irving J. Wallach, owner of the building at the time.  

Wallach hustled to the site and tried to roust Joseph Leoni.  No one was in the premises, so Wallach used a passkey to open the door and slip inside to inspect the premises.  Nothing seemed amiss in the front rooms of the store -- packing cases and empty olive oil cans were stacked neatly.  When Wallach entered the rear apartment of the building's first floor, however, he was shocked.  A massive still stood on cinder blocks in the center of the room with a gas-fed flame below it, bubbling away as it distilled illegal corn mash whiskey.  Wallach quietly and quickly backed out of the room and exited the building.  He headed straight for the North Pelham Police Department where he alerted Police Captain Michael J. Fitzpatrick.

Storefront at 317-319 Fifth Avenue Where Illegal Still and

Bootlegging Operation Was Raided by North Pelham Police

on July 14, 1926.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

 At 7:30 p.m. that evening -- Wednesday, July 14, 1926 -- Captain Fitzpatrick accompanied Irving J. Wallach to the premises and entered.  Leoni at first refused to allow the pair to enter the rear rooms of the premises protesting that he was "only boiling a little water" in the back.  Captain Fitzpatrick and Irving Wallach forced their way past Leoni.

A mad rush ensued.  Leoni grabbed a five-gallon can filled with alcohol and tried to empty it into a sink.  Captain Fitzpatrick grabbed him, placed him under arrest, and hauled him off to the lockup at police headquarters, together with "three five gallon cans, one two gallon can, and a two gallon bottle, all of which were said to contain alcohol."

Thereafter, closer inspection of the premises revealed an amazing operation.  Inspection of one of the five-gallon cans by Captain Fitzpatrick, North Pelham Village President Thomas J. James, and North Pelham Trustee Harder revealed that it was constructed so that it could be capped within and a small amount of olive oil could be stored within so that the can, filled with alcohol, would appear to be a can of olive oil when inspected. 

There were three rooms at the rear of the premises on the first floor.  In one room was a single bed and a "large wardrobe trunk."  In two adjoining rooms, there were nineteen barrels arranged around the walls filled with corn mash in the process of fermentation.

In the kitchen at the rear of the building was the still.  A two-inch hose had been connected illegally to the building's natural gas supply, circumventing the gas meter, to keep a fire burning beneath the still that was propped up on cement blocks.  Another hose led from the giant cooling vat to the window where water appeared to leak through the window -- prompting the complaint from the tenant above that led to discovery of the still.  Next to the still were two additional fifty-gallon barrels of mash.  All in all it was a very compact and nifty setup.

The following day, Pelham authorities dismantled the still and poured the fermenting corn mash down local sewers.  Joseph Leoni was turned over to Federal Prohibition authorities who indicated that a motion for deportation would be made.

Thereafter the little Town of Pelham would continue its stand against demon rum, battling to enforce the Volstead Act. . . . . . .  

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"Police Capture Bootlegger and Still In Full Blast
-----
Joseph Leoni Was Operating Fifty-Gallon Plant in Fifth Ave. Apartment When Discovered -- Had Occupied Premises Only Two Weeks
-----
Over a Thousand Gallons of Mash Fermenting in Barrels in Back Rooms of a Store
-----

More than two thousand gallons of corn mash in twenty-one barrels, twenty gallons of alleged alcohol, a whiskey still of fifty gallons capacity, and all the accompanying paraphernalia of a distillery were uncovered by the police and the landlord at the store and apartment, Nos. 317-319 Fifth avenue, North Pelham at 7:30 Wednesday evening.

Joseph Leoni, who leased the store from Irving J. Wallach, the owner, was arrested by Police Captain Michael J. Fitzpatrick and after being lodged in jail overnight was turned over to the Federal authorities on Thursday charged with a violation of the Volstead Act.

Leoni had occupied the store just two weeks, taking possession July 1st, ostensibly for the purpose of conducting a wholesale business in imported Italian olive oil.

The discovery of the still came about when Wallach was notified by a resident of one of the apartments over the store that water was running from a window of one of the back rooms on the lower floor.  The landlord entered with the aid of a passkey, and on finding evidence of a still being in operation quietly withdrew and notified the police.  Police Cap-

(Continued on page 8)
------

Police Capture Bootlegger and Liquor Still
-----
(Continued from page 1)

tain Michael Fitzpatrick entered the store with Wallach.  Leoni at first refused them entry to the rear rooms, claiming that he was only boiling a little water.  When the police captain and Wallach forced their way, Leoni attempted to empty a five gallon can of alleged alcohol into the sink.  

He was placed under arrest, and taken to headquarters together with three five gallon cans one two gallon can and a two gallon bottle, all of which were said to contain alcohol.

One of the five-gallon cans had a capped tube in it.  Thus when the can was filled with alcohol and sealed the tube could be filled with olive oil and capped.  Anyone inspecting the can would remove the cap and be misled into thinking that the can contained only olive oil.

Following the arrest, Village President Thomas J. James, and Trustee Harder inspected the premises where the still was in operation.  The store was vacant save for some packing cases.  Empty olive oil cans filled both the show windows.  In a room behind the store was a single bed and a large wardrobe trunk.  In the two rooms adjoining, nineteen barrels, all filled with corn mash in process of fermentation, were ranged around the walls.  In the kitchen at the rear of the building the still was found, propped up on cement blocks.  A two inch hose had been connected to the gas supply, so that the gas being consumed did not register through the meter.  It was the hose leading from the cooling vat which was responsible for the leaking of water through the window and caused the complaint to be made to the landlord.  Beside the still, two more fifty gallon barrels of mash were found in the kitchen.

Police Captain Fitzpatrick would not hazard a guess as to the value of the liquor and still, but it is believed to be worth many thousand dollars.

Investigation by the Federal Prohibition department revealed that Leone under the alias Natale Rosa, was arrested in New Rochelle, on July 7 and charged with transporting and selling alcoholic liquor.  The case is still pending.  Leone was released under bail.  It is believed that he made the liquor in North Pelham and sold it through New Rochelle.

The still was dismantled yesterday and the mash dumped into the sewer.  

Leone left in custody of the Federal officers yesterday.  It is believed that a motion will be made for his deportation."

Source:  Police Capture Bootlegger and Still In Full Blast -- Joseph Leoni Was Operating Fifty-Gallon Plant in Fifth Ave. Apartment When Discovered -- Had Occupied Premises Only Two Weeks -- Over a Thousand Gallons of Mash Fermenting in Barrels in Back Rooms of a Store, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 16, 1926, Vol. 17, No. 20, p. 1, col. 1 & p. 8, col. 5.


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I have written extensively about Pelham's struggles with Prohibition and the enforcement of the unpopular laws that it spawned. See: 

Wed., Feb. 21, 2018:  Massive Prohibition Raid in 1927 Netted Four Bootleggers and 225 Kegs of Beer.

Tue., Jan. 30, 2018:  Visit to the Wrong House Uncovered Massive Pelham Manor Bootlegging During Prohibition.

Wed., Jan. 03, 2018:  The Massive Illegal Still Discovered at 137 Corlies Avenue During Prohibition in 1932.

Wed., Jun. 21, 2017:  The Infamous Ash Tree Inn of Pelham Manor and its Prohibition Violations During the 1920s.

Thu., Feb. 02, 2017:  Bootleggers Began to Feel the Heat in Pelham in 1922.

Mon., Dec. 26, 2016:  Pelham Stood Alone in Westchester When It Voted to Go Dry in 1896. 

Mon., Aug. 22, 2016:  Pelham, It Seems, Became a Hotbed of Bootlegging and Illegal Stills During Prohibition.

Mon., Jul. 06, 2015:  Police Raided a Massive 300-Gallon Illegal Liquor Still on Corlies Avenue in 1932.  

Fri., Jun. 19, 2015:  More Liquor Raids in Pelham During Prohibition in the 1920s.

Wed., Jun. 17, 2015:   Prohibition Rum-Runners Delivering A Boatload of Booze Were Foiled in Pelham in 1925.

Fri., Apr. 24, 2015:  The North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" Created Quite a Stir During Prohibition.

Tue., Nov. 18, 2014:  More Bootleggers and Speakeasies Raided in Pelham in 1929 During Prohibition.
Fri., May 23, 2014:  How Dry I Am -- Early Prohibition Efforts Succeed in Pelham in 1896.

Thu., Apr. 03, 2014:  The Prohibition Era in Pelham:  Another Speakeasy Raided.

Tue., Feb. 18, 2014:  Pelham Speakeasies and Moonshiners - Prohibition in Pelham: The Feds Raid the Moreau.

Thu., Feb. 07, 2008:  Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006:  The Beer Battle of 1933.

Thu., Aug. 11, 2005:  How Dry I Am: Pelham Goes Dry in the 1890s and Travers Island Is At the Center of a Storm. 

Bell, Blake A., The Prohibition Era in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 25, June 18, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Massive Prohibition Raid in 1927 Netted Four Bootleggers and 225 Kegs of Beer

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

The work was back-breaking, almost certainly.  Early in the day on an early spring morning in May, 1927, four men in Troy, New York loaded a railroad freight car with thousands of pounds of freight consigned for delivery to "Reilly" at Pelham Station in Pelham, New York nearly 150 miles away.  As they worked, a sneaky fellow lurked nearby watching the men go about their work.  Once their work was done, the train departed.  So did the sneaky fellow.

Early on Thursday, May 26, the freight train sounded its whistled and pulled into Pelham Station where it uncoupled the freight car onto a freight line side track.  There the freight car sat for much of the day as another sneaky fellow lurked nearby, watching.

Late in the day, four young men appeared at Pelham Station with the necessary papers and accepted the freight consignment from the freight agent in the tiny little freight office that once was accessible via the western end of the station.  The men pulled two trucks near the freight car and began their own back-breaking work.  As Federal Prohibition Officer Curtin lurked nearby, the men unloaded from the freight car 225 kegs of beer and loaded it all onto the two trucks.

Quite cannily, Officer Curtin allowed the four men to finish off-loading all 225 kegs.  Once all the work had been completed, Officer Curtin sprang on the four men.  He arrested Clay Griffen (of 22 Goling St., Yonkers, NY), William McCann and John Murphy (both of 40 Palisade Avenue, Yonkers, NY), and Maurice Davis (of 558 Lafayette St., Brooklyn, NY).

Officer Curtin seems to have been as befuddled as many regarding the multiplicity of villages within the Town of Pelham.  He hauled the four bootleggers off to the Pelham Heights Police Department to have them jailed.  There he was told that he had made the arrests on the Village of North Pelham side of the railroad tracks and would have to take the prisoners to the Village of North Pelham lockup.  He took them to the Town Hall lockup where the four men were jailed.

That night local Justice Anthony M. Menkel imposed bail of $1,000.00 each pending their appearance before the United States Prohibition Commissioner in New York City.  The two trucks of beer kegs were taken to New York City the same night.

Officials believed that Pelham Station was the offload point for a large delivery of beer that was scheduled for distribution and sale in the City of Yonkers.  Prohibition violators, it seems, had been stopped -- once again -- in the little Town of Pelham.

*          *          *          *          *

"Prohibition Raid Nets 225 Kegs Of Beer; Four Men Held
-----
Federal Officers Trail Freight Car of Liquor From Troy to Pelham, Quartet Held In $1000 Bail Each
-----

Trailing a freight carload of alleged alcoholic beer from Troy, N.Y., to Pelham station a U.S. Prohibition officer seized 225 kegs of the beverage and two motor trucks at the New Haven main station here yesterday and four men into custody on charges of possessing and transporting liquor.  They were arrested after they had unloaded the freight car of its burden and had loaded the beer on the motor trucks.  Judge Anthony M. Menkel held the quartet in $1,000 bail each last night pending their appearance before the U.S. Prohibition Commissioner in New York City, Tuesday morning.  The seized trucks and liquor were taken to New York last night.

The defendants are Clay Griffen, of No. 22 Goling St., Yonkers; William McCann, of No. 40 Palisade avenue, Yonkers; John Murphy, of No. 40 Palisade avenue, Yonkers, and Maurice Davis, of No. 558 Lafayette street, Brooklyn.

After watching all day, Officer Curtin waited until both trucks were loaded and ready to move before he showed himself.  He then placed the quartet under arrest and took them to Pelham Heights police headquarters.  There it was explained that the arrest was made in North Pelham and the action shifted to the other village.  The four were locked up at the Town Hall.

Judge Anthony M. Menkel fixed bail at $1,000 each.  Morris Friedman, of No. 15 Overlook Terrace, Yonkers, was bondsmen for the four.

According to a statement made by the prohibition officer the beer was consigned to Pelham in the name of Reilly.  The first name was not given.  The name however is believed to have been fictitious.  He expressed an opinion that it was intended for distribution in Yonkers."

Source:  Prohibition Raid Nets 225 Kegs Of Beer; Four Men Held -- Federal Officers Trail Freight Car of Liquor From Troy to Pelham, Quartet Held In $1000 Bail Each, The Pelham Sun, May 27, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 13, p. 1, col. 2.

*          *          *          *          *

I have written extensively about Pelham's struggles with Prohibition and the enforcement of the unpopular laws that it spawned. See: 

Tue., Jan. 30, 2018:  Visit to the Wrong House Uncovered Massive Pelham Manor Bootlegging During Prohibition.

Wed., Jan. 03, 2018:  The Massive Illegal Still Discovered at 137 Corlies Avenue During Prohibition in 1932.

Wed., Jun. 21, 2017:  The Infamous Ash Tree Inn of Pelham Manor and its Prohibition Violations During the 1920s.

Thu., Feb. 02, 2017:  Bootleggers Began to Feel the Heat in Pelham in 1922.

Mon., Dec. 26, 2016:  Pelham Stood Alone in Westchester When It Voted to Go Dry in 1896. 

Mon., Aug. 22, 2016:  Pelham, It Seems, Became a Hotbed of Bootlegging and Illegal Stills During Prohibition.

Mon., Jul. 06, 2015:  Police Raided a Massive 300-Gallon Illegal Liquor Still on Corlies Avenue in 1932.  

Fri., Jun. 19, 2015:  More Liquor Raids in Pelham During Prohibition in the 1920s.

Wed., Jun. 17, 2015:   Prohibition Rum-Runners Delivering A Boatload of Booze Were Foiled in Pelham in 1925.

Fri., Apr. 24, 2015:  The North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" Created Quite a Stir During Prohibition.

Tue., Nov. 18, 2014:  More Bootleggers and Speakeasies Raided in Pelham in 1929 During Prohibition.
Fri., May 23, 2014:  How Dry I Am -- Early Prohibition Efforts Succeed in Pelham in 1896.

Thu., Apr. 03, 2014:  The Prohibition Era in Pelham:  Another Speakeasy Raided.

Tue., Feb. 18, 2014:  Pelham Speakeasies and Moonshiners - Prohibition in Pelham: The Feds Raid the Moreau.

Thu., Feb. 07, 2008:  Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006:  The Beer Battle of 1933.

Thu., Aug. 11, 2005:  How Dry I Am: Pelham Goes Dry in the 1890s and Travers Island Is At the Center of a Storm. 

Bell, Blake A., The Prohibition Era in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 25, June 18, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Visit to the Wrong House Uncovered Massive Pelham Manor Bootlegging During Prohibition

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Everything was set.  It was nearly 2:00 a.m. in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, August 6, 1927.  Philip Oldwell of the Bronx and his two compatriots, Frank Reilly and Arthur Schiller of New York City were slowly cruising the streets of Pelham Manor in a Chrysler roadster.  They were searching in the dark for 1318 Roosevelt Avenue.  

The new tenant who had rented 1318 Roosevelt Avenue only two months before, 31-year-old Harold L. Peterson was ready for the three men.  He had placed a signal light in a front window of the house for the three men to see.

In the darkness, the three men in their Chrysler roadster weren't certain if they were on Roosevelt Avenue or connecting Bolton Road.  They had a good description of the home, however, and soon found what they were looking for.  The three pulled up to the house and banged on the door.

A sleepy and annoyed Pelhamite opened his front door and was a bit startled to see three visitors on his doorstep.  One stepped forward and, "in a guarded whisper," asked "Got the stuff?"  According to one account:

"Dumbfounded, the householder asked, 'What stuff'?

'Quit your kiddin',' the leader of the trio responded.  'We're here for it.  Let's have it.'"

It took quite a while before the homeowner convinced the bumbling visitors that they had the wrong house.  Indeed, it was only "after much argument" that the three men departed.  Surprisingly, having awakened the Pelhamite and having aroused his suspicions, the three inept thugs simply continued their search for 1318 Roosevelt Avenue which they shortly found.

Of course, the homeowner they had awakened called the Pelham Manor police and reported the encounter.  According to The Pelham Sun:

"Sergeant McCaffrey and Patrolman Karp were detailed to investigate.  They searched the neighborhood in question, and found the Chrysler machine parked in the driveway at Peterson's house.  They watched and saw the men bringing cases out of the house and storing them in the car.  Waiting until the machine was loaded and the trio had prepared to drive away the officers stopped the car.  A search revealed a bottle half filled with whisky in a pocket of the machine.  Oldwell was ordered to drive to police headquarters as McCaffrey placed the trio under arrest. At police headquarters the machine was searched and 24 bottles of Creme de Menthe and 12 bottles of Benedictine were found.  The trio were locked up in the cells."

The three men were put into a holding cell at police headquarters that night.  Later in the night, as the police opened the cell to release another prisoner on bail, the three men tried to overpower the cops and escape.  A ten-minute melee ensued.  It was not until the police pulled out their clubs that they were able to take control of the situation.  In addition to bootlegging charges, charges for assault were added.

With plenty of evidence of wrongdoing, later that afternoon Chief of Police Philip Gargan accompanied Federal Prohibition officers to 1318 Roosevelt Avenue where they found Harold L. Peterson still on the premises.  The officers searched the home.  According to the same newspaper account:

"The place was a veritable bottling works.  Champagne, Benedictine, Creme de Menthe, and a large assortment of wines and cordials were found in the hosue, as well as an extensive stock of labels, bottles, corks, and bottling apparatus.  Peterson was affable to the officers.  He showed them about the place, explained the operation of the apparatus and submitted to arrest without protest.  The Federal authorities agreed to his release on his own recognizance.  He appeared before Commissioner O'Neill Tuesday and was released under $500 bail."
Pelham, once again, had prevailed in its efforts to help enforce Prohibition.  

 

1318 Roosevelt Avenue Where the Illegal Liquor Bottling Plant

Was Discovered on Saturday, August 6, 1927.  Source:  Google

Maps.  NOTE:  Click on Link to Enlarge.

 

*          *          *          *          *

"BOOTLEGGERS' MISTAKE LEADS TO DISCOVERY OF $5,000 LIQUOR STOCK AND BOTTLING PLANT IN MANOR
-----
Four Prisoners Taken After Pelham Manor Resident Warns Police of Visit of Bootleggers.  Trio Makes Bold Attempt to Break Jail.  House of Mystery Proves Liquor Storehouse
-----

A midnight visit to the wrong house, a few whispered words and a warning to the police  led four bootleggers into cells at Pelham Manor police headquarters Saturday, and disclosed a $5,000 stock of illicit liquor and a complete bottling plant in the heart of the residential  district of Pelham Manor.  Harold L. Peterson, 31, a salesman, mysterious tenant of No. 1318 Roosevelt avenue; Philip M. Oldwell, 33, of No. 2337 Andrew avenue, Bronx; Frank Reilly, 32, of No. 150 Sherman avenue, New York City, and Arthur Schiller, 23, of the same address, are held in $500 bail each on charges of violation of the Volstead Act.  The Pelham Manor police are responsible for the arrest of the latter three.  Chief Gargan and operatives of the office of Prohibition Enforcement Director Maurice Campbell took Peterson and discovered the bootlegging plant.

Including the three men taken in the raid on Newman's Drug Store, two days previous, a total of seven bootleggers were arrested in the same neighborhood within three days.  

After being incarcerated in the Pelham Manor lockup, Reilly, Schiller and Oldwell made a bold attempt to escape.  Sgt. James McCaffrey and Patrolman Stanley Karp battled with the prisoners in the cell room for ten minutes before they were finally returned behind bars.  The prisoners faced additional charges of assault and were fined $50 each, when taken before Judge Rice on Saturday afternoon.

Although the residence rented by Peterson at No. 1318 Roosevelt avenue had been under police surveillance for the last two months the quartet can blame their downfall on the mistake made by Oldwell, Reilly and Schiller, who came to Pelham Manor shortly after two o'clock in order to get liquor from Peterson.  Having a description of the house and the locality and being instructed to watch for a signal light in a window, the trio mistook a residence on Bolton road for the home where they were to get the liquor.  Believing they were on the right street they stopped their machine, a Chrysler roadster, outside of a house that tallied with their description and went to the door.

Awakened from his sleep, the householder was surprised to find three visitors, one of whom in a guarded whisper, asked 'Got the stuff'?

Dumbfounded, the householder asked, 'What stuff'?

'Quit your kiddin',' the leader of the trio responded.  'We're here for it.  Let's have it.'

It was some time before the householder could satisfy the visitors that they had the wrong house.  Convinced, after much argument, they departed.

Being suspicious of his callers the householder immediately notified Pelham Manor police headquarters.  Sergeant McCaffrey and Patrolman Karp were detailed to investigate.  They searched the neighborhood in question, and found the Chrysler machine parked in the driveway at Peterson's house.  They watched and saw the men bringing cases out of the house and storing them in the car.  Waiting until the machine was loaded and the trio had prepared to drive away the officers stopped the car.  A search revealed a bottle half filled with whisky in a pocket of the machine.  Oldwell was ordered to drive to police headquarters as McCaffrey placed the trio under arrest.

At police headquarters the machine was searched and 24 bottles of Creme de Menthe and 12 bottles of Benedictine were found.  The trio were locked up in the cells.

A short while later McCaffrey and Karp opened the cell door to release a prisoner on bail.  The trio made a break for liberty and a free for all ensued.  The officers were forced to use their clubs in subduing their prisoners.

Saturday morning the trio appeared before Judge Charles E. Rice and were held for the Prohibition Commissioner.  They paid fines of $50 each on disorderly conduct charges as a result of their attack on the officers in their attempted jail break.

Chief of Police Philip Gargan in questioning the trio obtained enough evidence on Peterson to warrant an investigation; in company with Federal Prohibition officers he searched the residence Saturday afternoon.  

The place was a veritable bottling works.  Champagne, Benedictine, Creme de Menthe, and a large assortment of wines and cordials were found in the hosue, as well as an extensive stock of labels, bottles, corks, and bottling apparatus.  Peterson was affable to the officers.  He showed them about the place, explained the operation of the apparatus and submitted to arrest without protest.  The Federal authorities agreed to his release on his own recognizance.  He appeared before Commissioner O'Neill Tuesday and was released under $500 bail.

Little activity has been noticed about the house since it was rented by Peterson two months ago.  Chief of Police Gargan aroused by the veil of mystery woven around the apparently deserted house had instructed the officers of the department to keep a close vigil.  Peterson apparently kept his activities well covered.  The illicit liquor stock was reported to be of the best imported brands, running mostly to wines and liqueurs.

The Federal authorities removed the liquor early this week."

Source:   BOOTLEGGERS' MISTAKE LEADS TO DISCOVERY OF $5,000 LIQUOR STOCK AND BOTTLING PLANT IN MANOR -- Four Prisoners Taken After Pelham Manor Resident Warns Police of Visit of Bootleggers.  Trio Makes Bold Attempt to Break Jail.  House of Mystery Proves Liquor Storehouse, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 12, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 25, p. 3, cols. 1-3.

*          *          *          *          *

I have written extensively about Pelham's struggles with Prohibition and the enforcement of the unpopular laws that it spawned. See: 

Wed., Jan. 03, 2018:  The Massive Illegal Still Discovered at 137 Corlies Avenue During Prohibition in 1932.

Wed., Jun. 21, 2017:  The Infamous Ash Tree Inn of Pelham Manor and its Prohibition Violations During the 1920s.

Thu., Feb. 02, 2017:  Bootleggers Began to Feel the Heat in Pelham in 1922.

Mon., Dec. 26, 2016:  Pelham Stood Alone in Westchester When It Voted to Go Dry in 1896. 

Mon., Aug. 22, 2016:  Pelham, It Seems, Became a Hotbed of Bootlegging and Illegal Stills During Prohibition.

Mon., Jul. 06, 2015:  Police Raided a Massive 300-Gallon Illegal Liquor Still on Corlies Avenue in 1932.  

Fri., Jun. 19, 2015:  More Liquor Raids in Pelham During Prohibition in the 1920s.

Wed., Jun. 17, 2015:   Prohibition Rum-Runners Delivering A Boatload of Booze Were Foiled in Pelham in 1925.

Fri., Apr. 24, 2015:  The North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" Created Quite a Stir During Prohibition.

Tue., Nov. 18, 2014:  More Bootleggers and Speakeasies Raided in Pelham in 1929 During Prohibition.
Fri., May 23, 2014:  How Dry I Am -- Early Prohibition Efforts Succeed in Pelham in 1896.

Thu., Apr. 03, 2014:  The Prohibition Era in Pelham:  Another Speakeasy Raided.

Tue., Feb. 18, 2014:  Pelham Speakeasies and Moonshiners - Prohibition in Pelham: The Feds Raid the Moreau.

Thu., Feb. 07, 2008:  Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006:  The Beer Battle of 1933.

Thu., Aug. 11, 2005:  How Dry I Am: Pelham Goes Dry in the 1890s and Travers Island Is At the Center of a Storm. 

Bell, Blake A., The Prohibition Era in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 25, June 18, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."