ion Italians came of age, the glamour of material possessions and success glorified by American culture became a draw for all people, including criminals. Former Black Handers began to diverge from the path of extortion. Instead of simply victimizing Italians, they spread their influence towards all of the American public. The name Mafia became more prevalent as Italian-American criminal business ventures spread into prostitution, gambling, labor racketeering and the newly established narcotics market. The largest ground was gained for Italian organized crime with the introduction of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, Prohibition of alcohol. Many of the men that excelled in the distribution of illegal alcohol, mainly a younger generation of Italians were quick witted, each possessing a keen street sense gained from growing up in America. Men like Charles Lucky Luciano, Al Capone and Hyman Abrams took up a life of crime at a very young age. Lucky Luciano left school at the age of fourteen and took a job as a shipping boy in a hat factory, but one week of work and a $7 paycheck convinced him that he wanted something more from life [he wanted] money to spend, beautiful women to enjoy, silk underclothes and places to go in style. Young Italians began to join street gangs and wanted nothing to do with the common working class. It appears that all the Prohibition-era racketeers, whether born in the United States or brought here as infants or children, started their careers in one or another gang. By involving themselves in illegal gambling and labor racketeering, many prominent gangsters made key connections with powerful politicians, police and legal professionals that would prove very helpful during Prohibition. In order for entrepreneurial gangsters to get alcohol to the public they often struck deals with pre-Prohibition alcohol warehouse owners. Mafioso lived lavishly, and the public admired them. Much of the public ...
