5. A bit about lower L Street:

Very near the infamous intersection of 2nd and L, between 3rd and 4th Streets, there was a firetrap of a boxing arena called the House of Action. In fact, there were many boxing venues featuring intra-racial bouts which lasted until someone was unconscious.

6. A note about Austin Roche after Sacramento:

Austin J. Roche was driven out of town, virtually on a rail, following the bust of the window girls. He had a safety net. He'd been offered a job representing breweries in Northwestern New York state prior to his term in Sacramento. On heading back east, he accepted the job, which at an annual salary of $10,000, paid more than double what he'd made as chief. If it seemed ironic that a man who made his law enforcement reputation in gun battles with bootleggers was now assisting the manufacturers and distributors of alcohol to Roche, he kept quiet about it.

In addition to making a lot more money than he'd ever earned in his life, at the dawn of US involvement in World War Two, Roche organized civil defense squads in several communities near Buffalo. His programs were imitated by several communities nation-wide. He eventually passed away due to heart failure at the age of 73.

7. Sources:

1. Contemporary news accounts from the Sacramento Bee and the Sacramento Union, Sacramento Public Library, Central Branch.
2. Interviews with "Paul Steuer," who was a young man at the time of Austin Roche and who provided a lot of useful and entertaining information.
3. Barrio Boy, by Ernesto Galarza.
4. The Archives Museum.

Index