Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island

Nicknamed “Liquor Island,” Long Island was a center of bootlegging and rumrunning for the New York metropolitan area during Prohibition. With its proximity to major markets and coastal communities for easy transit, Suffolk County was awash in illegal hooch. Smugglers bringing cases of booze from offshore often secretly hid product temporarily in local garages and sheds, leaving a bottle as a thank-you. Coded communication crisscrossed the county on shortwave radios arranging sales and logistics. Violence from criminal outfits disrupted previously quiet towns, as locals too often were swept up in dangerous unintentional engagements with bootleggers. Join author Amy Kasuga Folk as she recounts stories from her book. No registration required.  For additional information, please call the library at 631-567-5079 or visit our website.