Downtown Gang
| Founded by | Johnny Jack Nounes |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Galveston, Texas |
| Years active | 1910–1935 |
| Territory | Downtown Galveston, Texas |
| Ethnicity | Men of various ethnicities |
| Membership | 30-50 members |
| Criminal activities | bootlegging, illegal gambling, prostitution, hijacking, fraud, conspiracy, assault, battery, extortion, robbery, theft, bribery, contract killing, and murder |
| Allies | Chicago Outfit and New York Jewish Mob |
| Rivals | Beach Gang and Maceo Crime Syndicate |
The Downtown Gang was one of the two gangs that dominated the organized crime world in Galveston, Texas, United States, mainly during prohibition. The gang was founded by Johnny Jack Nounes in 1910. The gang would become a large profiteer and leader in the Galveston Crime Syndicate while fighting for control of the island. The gang operated many clubs along the island while even having some barges that floated on the gulf to keep the law away from the illegal gambling, alcohol, and prostitution.
Johnny Jack formed the Downtown Gang in 1910. This is about the same time Ollie Quinn and Dutch Voight's Beach Gang was formed. At the start the two gangs usually controlled gambling on the island. They decided to use Broadway to set the boundaries of their territories. As prohibition was approaching Johnny Jack looked for a partner to get in with him, and so he found a Houston boy by the name of George Musey. Musey was a Syrian who was not even old enough to take drink and he was from a family of immigrants, just like Nounes. As the country went dry in 1920, the gang began to make it rain with booze.
Therefore, among the gang's suppliers were schooners from Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. They had money overflowing the cash registers from speakeasys owned up and down Downtown Galveston. The gang was making more money than ever encouraging them to buy fancy clothing, cars, houses, and food. Some of the gang's popular business partners were the Chicago Outfit's Frank Nitti and allegedly New York Jewish mob boss Arnold Rothstein. Therefore, Nitti became a good business partner of Johnny Jack which created a good connection with the Downtown Gang and the Chicago Outfit. Gangland shootouts was something that would come around every once and a while since the gain of the island led to more business. The Downtown Gang sold bootleg hooch and had connections from New Orleans, Louisiana all the way up to Montreal, Canada.
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