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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1885 | 7 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 2 |
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| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 8 |
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| 1917 | 1 |
76 stories matching illicit
- The Great Smuggled Salmon Caper
When federal agents boarded the steamer Idaho, they didn't just find barrels of fish—they found a desperate, high-stakes attempt to smuggle opium into the Pacific Northwest.
- The Midnight Smuggling Ring at Oyster Bay
Customs officials track a clandestine operation smuggling Chinese laborers into Washington via the mudflats near Olympia.
- Tacoma’s Secret 'Fining' System
Mayor Wright and Chief Malony allegedly operated a shadow tax on gambling and vice, using fake names to funnel illicit profits through the city’s ledgers.
- The Shadowy Resort on the Reservation
Neighbors allege a dance hall and illicit bar near Bay Street are a hub for vice, liquor sales to minors, and persistent noise, while city officials look the other way.
- Olympia Official Warns Traders Violating Tribal Trade Laws
Superintendent Calvin H. Hale issues a stern warning that the illicit liquor trade on Indian reservations will be met with force and prosecution.
- The Opium Conspiracy: How Seattle’s Customs Chief Played Both Sides
A dramatic trial reveals a scheme where federal inspectors smuggled contraband across the border while pretending to seize it, exposing deep corruption in early 20th-century Pacific Northwest law enforcement.
- A Fatal Duel Over a Heart
A husband in a nearby town loses his life in a tragic altercation sparked by his wife’s paramour.
- The Opium Ring Debauching Tacoma’s Messenger Boys
Detective Flannigan uncovers a ring of adults using opium and illicit lodging houses to exploit children in the messenger service.
- The Notorious Haytian Republic Seized in Seattle
A federal investigation into a sophisticated smuggling ring leads to the sudden impounding of a steamship at the Seattle waterfront.
- The Slot Machine King's Secret Life
A brutal divorce trial exposes the illicit gambling empire and domestic violence hidden behind a Tacoma marriage.
- Police Raid Hoquiam Opium Den
Local authorities target the Chinese community in a sweep for illicit substances.
- Scandal at the State Capital
A political exposé details how legislators used committee clerkships as patronage bribes to maintain illicit affairs, resulting in a public divorce case.
- A Murder Case Cleared in Hours: Peter Brickley Sentenced to Life
In a swift Prosser court session, Brickley was tried and sentenced for the June killing of Charles Rasmussen, while other defendants pleaded or were acquitted.
- The Reverend’s Smuggled Sawdust
A customs inspector discovers nearly a hundred pounds of opium hidden inside a shipment of 'books' addressed to a clergyman.
- The Opium Smuggler of Second Street
A diligent customs officer tracks a young man and his illicit cargo to a local rooming house.
- The Hidden Anarchist Dens of Old Seattle
A reporter goes undercover into the city's dimly lit saloons to find the radicals, the red-eyed agitators, and the illicit literature that supposedly threatened the order of the growing town.
- The Tragedy at the Grandvue Hotel
A scandalous love affair and a newspaper exposé drive a Seattle woman to a fatal act of desperation.
- The Shadowy Business of the Slot Machine King
A divorce trial involving a Tacoma slot machine operator reveals a hidden world of illicit gambling and domestic abuse.
- The Great Western Land Grab
A federal investigation exposes how massive railroad corporations illicitly claimed hundreds of thousands of acres of public land by exploiting loopholes and keeping government clerks in the dark.
- Everett Prepares to Go Dry
As the state moves toward local prohibition, Everett faces the closure of all its saloons and the uncertainty of a post-alcohol economy.
- The Hidden Trade in Willapa Harbor
While boosters brag about new ports, illicit opium and seal poaching thrive just down the coast.
- Bootleg Rings Thrived Under Washington's Dry Law
As Washington State’s 1916 'dry law' causes bootlegging to explode, local newspapers argue that criminalizing private habits only breeds corruption and crime.
- Washington’s 1916 Dry Law Fueled Bootlegging Syndicates
An editorial argument against the state's dry laws, claiming they fueled criminal syndicates and destroyed home order.
- Seattle Bootlegging Rose After Dry Law Stocks Ran Out
Pro-liquor advocates use the rise of bootlegging and 'blind pigs' to argue for the passage of Initiative 24, claiming that legalizing home delivery of light beer is the only path to temperance.
- The City Hall Gambling Den
When police raided the local underworld, the city’s courtroom was transformed into an impromptu warehouse for illicit gaming gear.
Also about this, in other words
- Exposing the Opium Dens of Opera Alley
A local expose reveals that teenage messenger boys are being drawn into the city's opium dens and disreputable houses, triggering a promised police crackdown.
- The Green Smuggler and the Tricky Trunk
A novice opium smuggler is nabbed in Puyallup after his anxious behavior at the train station tipped off the local police chief.
- The High Price of Opium Smuggling
A ship's cook is arrested in Port Townsend after attempting to bribe an inspector to ignore a hidden cache of opium.
- The Opium Smuggler in the Beer Hall
A steamship engineer is arrested in a Seattle saloon, highlighting the city's early, tense relationship with the maritime opium trade.
- The Opium Smuggler of Port Townsend
A ship steward is arrested and held on high bond after customs agents discover a hidden stash of opium on his person and in his cabin.
- The Opium Smuggler of the Union Depot
A traveler posing as a hardware salesman is arrested in Spokane after authorities discover 1,300 pounds of contraband in his luggage.
- Seized on Jackson Street
A sailor aboard the steamer City of Kingston is arrested with sixteen pounds of opium in his pockets.
- The Underground Opium Pipeline
A bold smuggling operation involving pack animals and stages ends in a Spokane arrest.