Historica Wiki
Historica Wiki
Advertisement
August Tucker

August Tucker (died 1924) was an American bootlegger from Tampa, Florida. Tucker had local connections and had immense power in the Tampa underworld during Prohibition, and he was murdered by Bill McCoy in 1924.

Biography[]

August Tucker was from Tampa, Florida, and he smuggled rum and other alcoholic beverages into the United States from boats, working with Bill McCoy and becoming the boss of the rackets of Tampa. When McCoy was arrested by the government, $200,000 worth of scotch was confiscated, placing McCoy in Tucker's debt. Tucker was angered when McCoy's friend Enoch Thompson refused to buy 14,000 acres of land in Tampa for a liquor pickup point, as Thompson was very cautious. Tucker angrily headed to McCoy's room to force him to pay his debts, and he choked McCoy upon kicking open his door. The two got into a fight, which ended with McCoy hacking into Tucker's forehead with a machete, killing him. Thompson later decided to accept the deal, unaware that Tucker was dead.

Advertisement