History: When Beer Was Outlaw, Port Jeff Hotelier was Captured by Long Arm of the Law

In 1931, the Port Jefferson Echo reported on Aug. 7 that Federal Agents raided local hotels looking for illegal contraband. Of course during prohibition, that contraband was simply alcoholic beverages of every kind like beer, wine or gin.

At the Hayes Hotel located at 131 Surf Avenue in Port Jefferson, Federal Prohibition Agents arrested Percy Hayes, 51, confiscating six half-barrels of beer from the basement of his hotel.

Not far away in Stony Brook, at the Stony Brook Hotel the agents discovered “15 bottles of Rhine wine, 15 bottles of beer, three of whiskey, two of wine, one of crème de menthe and one of gin.” There they arrested Robert Shippnick, 25, the son of the owner for allegedly being the bartender.

In Rocky Point, waitress Geraldine Cummings was arrested with a bottle of gin.

All three had bail set at $1,000.

In all, Federal agents took in nine prisoners from various towns around Suffolk County.

Prohibition of alcohol lasted in the United States from 1920 to 1933.

You can read the entire article here.

The image of the prohibitionist on Myrtle Avenue in Port Jefferson is from the Kenneth Brady Collection in the historical archive on the official Port Jefferson village website. To see more historical photos visit the website here.