Explanation: In the 1920s the American government banned alcohol, a period known as Prohibition in American history.
US crime families had a hell of a time getting obscenely rich by making, smuggling, and selling alcohol in this period, and enjoyed their greatest period of power and influence, which would take another two decades after the end of Prohibition to finally reverse.
G... good job making that nasty crime-inducing juice illegal, US government...?