Tobacco growers in Southwick, Massachusetts, and Simsbury, Connecticut, filed suits against Kutinsky, Adler & Co. of New York and Luther M. Case of Winstead, Connecticut, with Constable George B. Woodruff of Suffield, Connecticut, serving the defendants papers on August 11, 1906. Constable Woodruff also placed attachments on the tobacco, about $10,000 worth, that Kutinsky, Adler & Co. had stored in Suffield. (Serving Case was a formality as a court-approved petition forced him into bankruptcy in June.) Below is a list of the Southwick tobacco growers and the amount of each suit against Case and Kutinsky, Adler & Co. (Some growers also sued Starr Bros., who Case did business with or for.) Fred Arnold $6,000 ($5,500 tobacco, $500 damages) Adrian Coe $2,500 L. A. Fowler $2,500 Llewyn Wetherbee $1,800 Cooley Griffin $1,600 Fred Warner $1,200 Clement Robinson $1,200 Charles Noble $500 Walter S. Steer $400 Robert Nicholson $300 Fred Miller $300 Firms Boyle & Avery $1,500 Boyl...

On August 23, 1929, seven Massachusetts State Police officers went to Southwick, Massachusetts. At 5:45 p.m., they smashed their way into a popular resort on North Pond at Congamond Lake.  When the raiding party arrived at the Point Grove Inn, they found the doors locked. Busting in, they surprised the proprietress and her son, who had sat down for supper.  The long-planned raid on the inn (and two adjacent cottages) netted eight gallons of assorted liquors (mostly moonshine whisky), 2,000 bottles of beer, and two arrests: Margaret (Shea) LeFeave, charged with keeping and exposing liquor for sale, and her son Walter, illegal selling and manufacturing. The pair were taken to Westfield and later released on bail. (Walter: $500, Margaret $200).  In court, the judge fined Walter $100 for illegal liquor manufacturing and $50 for selling liquor; Margaret was fined $100 for keeping and exposing liquor for sale.  About one week later, just after 3:00 p.m. on August 30, 1929,...

The Rum Train Massachusetts State Police at the Agawam Barracks received word that a Packard Twin Six was leading a couple of Hudsons and a Chrysler toward Southwick (from Connecticut) on March 28, 1926. Connecticut State Police were already pursuing the train of vehicles, the second one carrying illegal spirits. Still, they could not stop them before they crossed the state line into Massachusetts at Southwick. Massachusetts State Police joined the chase, taking the lead, Connecticut following. But their machines were no match against the mighty powerful Packard.   One of the Hudsons (the one loaded with 150 gallons of illegal, high-grade, high-priced wholesale liquor) broke down. With the police hot on their trail, there was no time to unload the goods, so the Chrysler towed it.  Meanwhile, Massachusetts State Police officers were waiting in front of infamous Southwick physician Dr. Harry Carr's house on College Highway, ready to pounce on the bootleggers.  Catching...

It had all the markings of a stereotypical Hollywood gangster-themed motion picture. But instead of featuring a character based on Chicago's own Scarface, it involved Springfield's real-life Scarnicis, and it was no movie. This wild episode of hi-jacking and robbery with double-crossing, bootlegging, and gunplay unfolded in Feeding Hills and Southwick on December 16-17, 1924.  Cast  Louis Scarnici Leonard Scarnici Pellegrino Bonavito Alfred E. Brown Joseph Dubian Francis Bills Daniel Coffey and starring  Timothy J. Malone as the Deputy Sheriff After making a deal for 35 gallons of alcohol, a group of men headed from Springfield via Feeding Hills and Southwick to Westfield in a three-automobile convoy.  The Scarnicis, a father and son team, drove a large Buick touring car containing the illegal spirits; Francis Bills of Southwick and Joseph Dubian of Westfield accompanied them. Following them was Daniel Coffey of Westfield, who drove his auto alone. Behind the wheel i...