Numbers Queen: Stephanie St.Clair

[The following is a snippet of a conversation  of St.Clair telling her story of her younger days.]

"Look. I was 26 when I first moved to Harlem back in 1912.  Ten years later, I took $10,000 of my own money and started my establishment.  Around this time, the Jews and Italians were running the clubs and speakeasies and all that for the whites only.  Then dont forget, Schultz controlled all liquor during this prohibition mess that was going on so there was no need or space for blacks, Me, to try and interfere.  With that being said, I decided to get into the numbers game.  All I had to do was set up a spot with my own bookies and runners and have people place their bets.  Illegal or not, I saw a market no one had tapped into and being the ambitious woman I am, I took advantage.  Getting caught was something I would have to deal with.  My first numbers tavern was a success.  I had people placing bets with my bookies and had runners doing the dirty work.  The money I brought in off my first tavern gave me plenty of opportunity to open more and more taverns.  Now by this point, I done gained my respect from the neighborhoods in Harlem, Manhatten.  They even started calling me Queenie and Madam. (chuckles)  Child I tell you. For a woman, a black woman at that, and being the number one numbers "queen", I was doing alot.  Everything was good, running smooth. Little problems here and there with some employees being sneaky and people being disrespectful but that came with the game.  The real problems came when I got myself caught up in this gang called the 40 Thieves.   Being that it was all whites in it and running it, I caused a little stir when I got involved.  The police used to harass me all the time, coming in my businesses and messing things up. So I complained and when the police ignored me, remember they were being paid by the mobsters, I ran ads in the local newspapers. (laughs) I sure did! I told whoever would read my ads what the police were about. I even told them about the bribes and stuff the senior police officers would take under the table.  I didnt think anyone read them until I got arrested on some fake charges. They just wanted to shut me up.  Too bad it backfired on them.  I ended up going to court and telling the judge about kickbacks they took from me and had like 13 of the police officers arrested.  

(shakes head) I did alot in my younger days."