Kenneth Sonderleiter was an American bootlegger in Des Moines, Iowa.
Life and career
editBootlegging career
editIn 1921, shortly after entering the bootlegging trade, Sonderleiter was arrested for violating the Volstead Act.[1]: 110 Upon his release, he began purchasing large quantities of illegal liquor and publicized himself, going so far as to distribute business cards and brochures with information on where people could purchase alcohol from him.[1]: 111 He quickly entered into a business arrangement with Joe Irlbeck, a fellow bootlegger who operated out of the Hotel Fort Des Moines. Under their arrangement, Irlbeck supplied Templeton Rye to Sonderleiter at wholesale prices for distribution.[1]: 111–112
Sonderleiter was assaulted by competing bootleggers in 1925 and spent six weeks in the hospital as a result.[1]: 175 Shortly thereafter, a battery shop that he ran as a front business was raided.[2][1]: 176 He was arrested and tried before a grand jury but said that he had been framed, claiming that the alcohol found had been planted there.[2] His defense was successful and the grand jury did not pursue charges.[1]: 176
In 1930, Sonderleiter and two associates disguised themselves as prohibition agents and kidnapped a local bootlegger who Sonderleiter suspected of hijacking a shipment of alchol from Chicago. After a lengthy interrogation session that involved beating the bootlegger and shooting him in the side of his head, they abandoned him in an empty lot. The bootlegger contacted the police, who arrested Sonderleiter and one of his associates after a lengthy shootout.[1]: 177–181 Sonderleiter was held on a $50,500 bail (equivalent to $921,072 in 2023) and stayed in jail during the trial. While Sonderleiter's associate was sentenced to eight years in prison, Sonderleiter himself was found not guilty and eventually released.[1]: 182–183
In 1931, Sonderleiter and his wife Faye were indicted by the federal government for "conspiracy to violate the Volstead Act after a months-long infiltration operation by the Bureau of Prohibition.[1]: 184 Unlike his previous indictments, the evidence was overwhelming and Sonderleiter pled guilty. He was sentenced to two years in Leavenworth Penitentiary and required to pay a $2,000 fine (equivalent to $36,478 in 2023). His wife received half the sentence and was sent to the Federal Prison Camp, Alderson.[1]: 184–185 After his arrest, other bootleggers in the city proposed consolidating the industry and creating a legal defense fund, but the proposal never got off the ground.[1]: 186
Post-prohibition career
editBy the time Sonderleiter was released from prison, the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution had passed, marking the end of the Prohibition era. Sonderleiter continued his alcohol distribution activities in the new landscape but was not as successful due to the increased competition that came with the re-legalization of alcohol.[1]: 226–227 In addition to his alcohol distribution, Sonderleiter operated a variety of businesses in Des Moines, including a penny arcade, lunch stand, and zoo.[3][4] He became known for his unique publicity tactics, which included selling monkey meat.[3] In 1943, after failing to construct suitable housing for his zoo's lions, he claimed that he would sell "lionburgers" at his lunch stand.[4][1]: 228
In 1944, Sonderleiter ran for city safety commissioner of Des Moines.[3] He fell ill with a case of the mumps and, unable to campaign, finished eleventh out of fourteen candidates.[5]
In 1945, Sonderleiter assisted with the capture of a polar bear that escaped from a railway car in Boone, Iowa.[6]
Personal life
editSonderlieter was married to Faye Sonderlieter, who assisted in his bootlegging activities.[1]: 111
Sonderleiter was described in Bryce Bauer's 2014 book Gentlemen Bootleggers as being five feet and nine inches tall, with "classic good looks" and a lengthy scar across the front of his neck.[1]: 110
A speakeasy at the Iowa Taproom in Des Moines is named after Sonderleiter.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bauer, Bryce T. (2014). Gentlemen Bootleggers: The True Story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a Small Town in Cahoots. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-848-0.
- ^ a b "Charges "Frame-Up" in Rum Case". Burlington Gazette. 1925-12-30. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-07-15 – via Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c "Mumps Cramp Political Style of Arcade Owner". Billboard. Vol. 56, no. 13. 1944-03-25. p. 86 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Miscellany". Time. Vol. 43, no. 18. 1943-11-01. p. 97.
- ^ "Operators Fail to Place a Member on Run-Off Ballot". Billboard. Vol. 56, no. 15. 1944-04-08. p. 69 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Sonderleiter Pulls Frank Buck Stunt". Billboard. Vol. 57, no. 24. 1945-06-16. p. 72.
- ^ "Ken's – a not so secret speakeasy". Iowa Taproom. Retrieved 2024-06-04.