Organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

refers to the illegal activity of the early 20th century in Minneapolis. This issue was first brought to public attention by

Lincoln Steffens Lincoln Austin Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in ''McClure's'', called "Twe ...

in the book ''

The Shame of the Cities ''The Shame of the Cities'' is a book written by American author Lincoln Steffens. Published in 1904, it is a collection of articles which Steffens had written for ''McClure’s Magazine''. It reports on the workings of corrupt political machines ...

'' which chronicles the widespread corruption in major political parties in the 19th century and the continued efforts to fix this ongoing issue.

A. A. Ames Albert Alonzo "Doc" Ames (January 18, 1842 – November 16, 1911) was an American physician and politician who held four non-consecutive terms as mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His fourth term was marked by multiple prosecutions for political ...

was a notable figure who was exposed due to this book, as he and the Minneapolis police force were caught dealing with illegal businesses syndicates. In 1902, Ames fled to Indiana and resigned as mayor on the 6th September. In his memoir ''Augie's Secrets'', Twin Cities journalist

Neal Karlen Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish language, Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", ...

concedes that the power temporarily wielded in Minneapolis by

Jewish-American organized crime Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mob, K ...

figures like

Kid Cann Isadore Blumenfeld (September 8, 1900 – June 21, 1981), commonly known as Kid Cann, was a Romanian Jewish-American organized crime enforcer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for over four decades. He remains the most notorious mobster in the ...

and David Berman beginning in the

Prohibition-era In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...

gave a major boost to local

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, for which Minneapolis became infamous nationwide. Karlen further argues, however, that the pervasive criminality during Mayor Ames' last term demonstrates that the city of Minneapolis was even more corrupt when Scandinavians and

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant In the United States, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or WASPs are an ethnoreligious group who are the white, upper-class, American Protestant historical elite, typically of British descent. WASPs dominated American society, culture, and politics ...

s were still running it.Neal Karlen (2013), ''Augie's Secrets'', Borealis Books, pages 46-53.

See also

References

Further reading