Anyone ever watch an old cartoon, movie or tv show and someone says “Holy Toledo”?
I finally found out where that comes from.
In the 20s and 30s, Toledo was a sanctuary for gangsters.
The gangsters made an agreement with the police that if the police would leave them alone, they would leave Toledo alone.
Since this provided a sanctuary, the gangsters called the city “Holy Toledo.”
And well, it caught on.
Fascinating!
Hot Springs, AR had a similar rep. It was an open city among mobsters, and more a resort than anybody's turf. Gambling and booze were illegal, yet rampant. Most other crime was at a zero.
The town was dominated by an ex-pat British gangster living in genteel retirement who had brokered the peace. Any hood coming to Hot Springs had to visit him first, to have it explained that nobody would be allowed mess up the good thing they had going.
There was in fact a 1955 movie that was based on the true story of Phenix City, AL, a similar southern town that was run by organized crime. You can read about the movie (and the actual historical story) here.
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I always thought the word sheriff came from the Arabic sharif.
I guess not!
In Anglo-Saxon England, a “reeve” was an officer who was appointed by the king to be responsible for the public business of the locality. A high–ranking official, the “shire–reeve” (the precursor to the modern sheriff) was the representative of the royal authority in a “shire” or “county”.
The shire–reeve and his hundreds (deputies) wore a plate in the shape of a five, six, or seven point star made of brass, metal, or any other material that could be highly polished and visible by moonlight. This allowed them to identify each other, and over time, they began to put markings and insignias on the plates.