Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Bar None-Part 2

The FBI sting and invasion of Wallace in June of 1991 was huge, and it just may have the been the nail in the coffin that permanently shuttered the "illegal" gambling and houses of well, "ill repute", although the latter's closure probably had more to do with the growing HIV scare and the dwindling economy of the Coeur d' Alene Mining District. 

As dramatic as this invasion of Wallace in 1991 was, it was not the first time an invasion of federal law enforcement did an impersonation of Sherman's march through Georgia in little old innocent Wallace, Idaho. The first invasion happened during the days of the Honorable Herman J Rossi. 

Prohibition had arrived in Idaho in January 1916, and while Idaho had ratified it, not all of the State was in full accord with the new dry laws. You guessed it, our dear little old Wallace and Shoshone County took to the new law like most of us would do if someday the powers that be decided to make sex illegal. It just was not going to fly.

The local law enforcement for Shoshone County would no doubt risk life and limb were they to try to enforce the new law banning the miner's favorite past time, well one of their favorite past times! ;-) . Well, much like in later years when the "Houses" were licensed as food and beverage establishments, the powers that be decided to license all of the bars in Wallace as as soft drink establishments with a license fee of only $25.00 a month. The Honorable Mayor Rossi was the brain behind this deception. 


The so-called long arm of the law, however, could not be held at bay forever, and the Feds were not deceived for one second by the soft drink veil.On August 14,1929, the feds swept into little old innocent Wallace and arrested over 200 locals including the Shoshone County Sheriff and yes, the Honorable Mayor Rossi who had just been elected to his third term as mayor.If any of this sounds familiar, refer to June 1991.The wrap of was that the sheriff received two years in a federal penitentiary and the mayor received 1 and 1/2 years, but he never served any actual time, but he did resign as mayor. In1935, the Honorable Herman J Rossi was elected to another term, his fourth, as mayor of Wallace. I am sure he was now considered a local treasure and a hero for standing up for the beliefs and culture of Wallace.


Ah, the good old days.(:)

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