3 Izzy and Moe

They had funny names: Izzy and Moe. And these two guys really were funny! People around the country laughed when they read about Izzy and Moe's latest tricks. It seemed that each new stunt was funnier than the last one. But Izzy and Moe were not a circus act or a comedy team.They were cops.

During Prohibition, when making and selling liquor became illegal, bootleggers feared government agents. Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith, the stout gentlemen on either side of this illegal still, were two of the flashiest agents.

In 1919 a new law was passed. The law made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport liquor. This law was canceled in 1933. But for 14 years, people were not allowed to use liquor. That meant beer and wine were out.

So were gin, whiskey, and all other drinks containing alcohol. This time period was called Prohibition. That's because people were prohibited from having alcohol.

Many people ignored the new law. They thought it was wrong. They said the government had no right to deny them a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. Some people smuggled liquor into the country. These people were called bootleggers. Other people made their own booze—liquor—at home. “Bathtub gin” became a favorite. And all over America, people slipped into illegal bars called speakeasies. Customers had to“speak easy”so they would not attract the attention of the police.

The police, meanwhile, were trying to enforce the law. That's where Izzy and Moe came in. Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith were government agents. Their job was to find people serving or drinking liquor and to arrest them. To do this, Izzy and Moe dressed in disguises.Some of their costumes were quite outrageous.They used smiles and laughs in order to trap bar owners. They were friendly with everyone—until it was time to make an arrest!

One night Izzy and Moe dressed up as football players. They knocked on a speakeasy door in New York City. “We won the game! ”they shouted. “Let us in. We want to celebrate with a pint [of beer].”

The bar owner laughed and let them in. He praised them for their victory. Then he got them each a beer. But his smile quickly faded when Izzy and Moe flashed their badges. The two agents arrested the man for serving them liquor.

Then there was the time Izzy and Moe wore dresses. Pretending to be ladies who had just come from the theater, they entered a restaurant. The two “ladies” ordered a small meal. All the time, their eyes scanned the restaurant.Izzy and Moe were looking for signs that the owner was selling liquor. They found plenty of clues. The next day, police raided the place. They found more than $10,000 worth of smuggled liquor.

Once Izzy and Moe dressed up as car mechanics. They found 200 cases of whiskey in a garage. One time they dressed as gravediggers and raided a bar near a graveyard.Once they put on long black coats and carried violin cases. Their target? A bar that served only musicians. At times they also posed as horse traders, farmers, and rabbis.

Izzy and Moe's fame spread rapidly. “Be careful,” bar owners would warn each other.“Izzy and Moe are in the neighborhood.”Most owners came to hate these two agents.

Once Izzy walked into a bar alone. He looked up and saw his own photograph hanging over the bar.The owner had put black cloth around it to show that he wished Izzy were dead. Izzy went ahead and ordered a drink. It must not have been a very good photo of him, because the bartender didn't recognize him. Still, the man wouldn't pour Izzy a drink.

“I don't know you,” the bartender said. (In those days, bartenders often refused to serve people they didn't know. They were worried about being caught by agents like Izzy and Moe.)

“Sure you know me,” Izzy said. “I'm Izzy Epstein, the famous agent.”

“You don't even have the name right,” the bartender said with a laugh. “That guy's name is Einstein.”

Izzy insisted that the name was Epstein. At last, he offered to bet the bartender a drink about it. The bartender agreed. He poured out two drinks.To settle the bet,Izzy pulled out his badge.He arrested the bartender on the spot.

Izzy and Moe came to the end of the line in 1925. They were dismissed from their jobs. The reason isn't clear. At the time, their bosses said Izzy and Moe had become too famous. Too many people recognized them.That meant they were no longer as useful as they had once been.

That might not have been the real reason. Some other agents resented Izzy and Moe's success. Still other agents feared their honesty. After all, some agents were crooks. They were paid by bootleggers to look the other way. Perhaps these crooked agents thought Izzy and Moe would find out about their deals. These agents might have arranged to get Izzy and Moe fired.

In any case, Izzy and Moe had built up quite a record. In four years, they arrested more than 4,000 people. They also destroyed more than five million bottles of liquor!