Author to Discuss Book 'Prohibition on the North Jersey Shore' in M'town

Inspired by a Middletown girl's grandmother's tales of prohibition days along the northern Jersey shoreline, 25-year-old Hazlet native Matthew Linderoth will discuss his new book Prohibition on the North Jersey Shore: Gangsters on Vacation at a meeting of the Middletown Historical Society at 7:30 p.m. on Monday night at Croydon Hall, 900 Leonardville Road.

The idea for the book was conceived when Linderhoth's girlfriend, Sarah Halleran, of Middletown, told him stories of her grandmother growing up by the shore with rum runners. Linderoth, a student at Monmouth University, turned it into his master's thesis for his bachelor's degree in United States History.

In the book, Linderoth tells how vacation communities in Long Branch, Red Bank, Ocean Grove, and the Atlantic Highlands evolved into smuggling ports for organized crime after laws were passed prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol from 1920 to 1933.

The 130-page book contains 23 photos and three maps of the shore.

Fisherman and clammers working for well-known crime figures like Vito Genovese, Charles Luciano, Meyer Lansky, favored Atlantic Highlands when smuggling liquor, according to Linderoth.

History Press picked up the book and published it in December of 2010 with a cost of $19.99. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble or from Linderhoth's Web site at www.gangstersonvacation.com. He hopes to expand on idea for a future book project on the 1930s.