South City largely ignored Prohibition

From the implementation of Prohibition by the 18th Amendment in 1920 to its negation by the 21st Amendment in 1933, South San Francisco was a small town of working-class individuals and minimal policing. Local law enforcement, led by Police Chief Louis Belloni, hardly enforced Prohibition and did little to aid federal agents in their raids and arrests, even warning locals of planned raids by the federal “prohi” agents.

This purposeful leniency by the local law resulted in Belloni’s removal from office by the South San Francisco Board of Trustees. Belloni, at the behest of local supporters, was reinstated the next year and would go on to serve the department until his retirement in 1960.

Many residents, Chief Belloni included, saw Prohibition as unfair discrimination against working-class people as they could not afford to avoid the law and were often targeted by local politicians to appease the feds.

The Association Against the Prohibition Amendment, a nationwide organization devoted to the repeal of the 18th Amendment, summed up this discrimination: “Prohibition created class distinction in America; for the rich there is no prohibition.”

This anti-Prohibition sentiment led to Capt. Charles Goff, chief of Federal Prohibition Enforcement in San Francisco, calling South San Francisco, “the wettest spot in the United States.”

His claim was not too far off, as Chief Belloni’s brother, William, claimed, “Just about everybody had a still in his basement.”

Alcohol production and sale was rampant.

For example, in 1921, just two years after the ratification of Prohibition, there were 38 “soft drink licenses” granted in the town; a “soft drink” store being a clear front for the sale of illegal booze in the back.

But bootlegging wasn’t just for established businesses. In 1924, Alvin Washton, a local barber, and his wife were accused of selling booze to “one 16-year-old lad” and his friend; the couple was charged with contributing to the delinquency of youth who were high school age.

One year later, Goff and three of his prohibition enforcement officers raided a cigar and candy store operated by a mother-daughter duo. Despite Goff’s pugilistic background, the raid resulted in an hourlong struggle to arrest the two women and resulted in two broken bottles, one of wine and the other of “jackass” brandy; both women were charged with obstructing, or “mussing up” as one paper put it, prohibition officers, and the mother was accused of selling liquor.

In 1928, a 6,000-gallon still, for the making of “homemade mash” was found in “the willows,” near present-day Orange Memorial Park. Operated by San Francisco resident and fireman Gene Stefani, Belloni called the still, “the largest and most complete booze manufacturing outfit that has been found in the north Peninsula.” The still would land Stefani in San Quentin State Prison.

There were also legal workarounds like the “Medicinal Liquor Prescription.” Authorized by the U.S. Treasury Department, physicians could write prescriptions for medicinal alcohol. Claiming to stave off ailments like cancer, indigestion and depression with regular doses, many of these prescriptions were a legal way for doctors to make a few extra dollars.

Preserving such rich history has made Chimenti see the city differently.

“[Pre-1940 South San Francisco] was a really integral part of everything,” she said. This knowledge, that the South San Francisco Historical Society hopes to document, shows that a rich history can be merely right under your feet as you walk down the street.

The “Vice & Crime in South San Francisco During Prohibition” exhibit is open for viewing for a limited time. The exhibit displays real period attire (with Chief Belloni’s police uniform), a grappa still owned by residents, various 1920s memorabilia, and more fascinating stories of real locals and their run-ins with the law. The South San Francisco Historical Society Museum is open Saturday from 1-4 p.m. and by request.