By the summer of 1928, Prohibition had created a vast illegal market for alcohol, and in Los Angeles, competition over the liquor trade could turn deadly. One particularly violent killing that July was described by newspapers as the latest casualty in Southern California’s ongoing “rum war.”
The victim was 28-year-old August Palombo, a man police identified as a suspected bootlegger. His body was discovered inside his automobile early on July 19, 1928, and the condition of the scene suggested a brutal and deliberate attack.
According to contemporary reports, Palombo had first been struck with a hammer. The weapon believed to have been used in the assault was found in the rear of his car. He had also been shot in the head at extremely close range or with such force that newspapers described his injuries in graphic terms.
Authorities connected Palombo’s death to violence surrounding the illegal liquor business. Even more troubling, his killing was reportedly the third death that week attributed to the same conflict.
During Prohibition, bootlegging could be enormously profitable. Illegal alcohol passed through networks of suppliers, transporters, distributors, speakeasies, and organized criminal groups, with rival operations competing for customers and territory. Disputes that could not be settled through legal business channels were sometimes handled through intimidation and violence.
Another Rum War Death in L.A.
LOS ANGELES. — Southern California’s rum war was credited with another victim today. August Palombo, 28, said by police to be a bootlegger.
His body, beaten with a hammer and with the head almost shot off, was found in his automobile early today.
A hammer with which he evidently had been struck before he was shot, was found in the rear of his machine.
His death was the third this week credited to the rum war.
Source: Imperial Valley Press. El Centro, Calif. July 19, 1928
