History Blog: Prohibition in Decoto

From 1919 to 1935, the sale and possession of alcohol was made illegal in the United States. Everyone hears the stories of the liquor raids in big cities like New York and Chicago, but raids were also common in smaller towns like Decoto.

In April 1925, agents raided a pool room and cigar stand run by Felix Penza and George L. Smith, where a quantity of brandy was found and both men were arrested.

In May 1925, Tony Costa was found to be running a saloon "in the old fashioned way" in Decoto. A raid by agents George Helms and George Hardy found some "jackass brandy and wine." Just three years later, Tony Costa was again found with a "little brown jug" of liquor. He was fined $100 by Judge Silva.

In 1927, a pool hall owned by Ralph Lopez was raided. The newspaper reported that the pool hall was "the gathering place of the Mexicans in that section. A crowd of a hundred Mexican and Spanish laborers were found there, and were questioned by the immigration authorities." Only Ralph was arrested.

Also in 1927, a raid on a ranch in Decoto found 525 gallons of Sake and a complete factory for producing the drink. The property was run by T. Minamini, who was not on the property at the time of the raid. His son, H. Minamini, was arrested in the raid and informed the authorities that his father could be found in San Francisco.

In 1929, Angelo Morales was found with "three pints of moonshine and a sack and two boxes of marijuana." When arrested, Morales was asked what he wanted to do. He headed to his room, packed up his razor and said that he wanted to "take a rest at the county jail."