Willie Carter Sharpe

Willie Carter Sharpe was a rum runner in Virginia during the prohibition of alcohol.

Early life Sharpe was raised in a small mountain town, gaining employment in a cotton mill during her childhood.

Criminal career Sharpe had been arrested 13 times between 1921 and 1932 for driving offences. as well as serving as a 'blocker'; hindering police attempts to intercept the convoys.

Sharpe reportedly became one of the best-known rum runners in Virginia, having involvement in the movement of somewhere between 79,000 and 200,000 gallons of illicit liquor. In 1932, Sharpe commenced a 3-year sentence in the Alderson Reformatory for Women for violations of the National Prohibition Act. and in 1935 testified as a witness in the trials of 34 persons accused of illicit liquor offences. Prior to the commencement of the trial, Sharpe was arrested in St Louis as a material witness.

Following the 1935 trial, twenty of the accused were found guilty, three were acquitted, and eleven did not contest the allegations. Sharpe's reliability as a witness was disputed during the trial.

Samuel O. White, the federal agent whom arrested Sharpe and accepted a $50 reward for doing so, subsequently faced prosecution for accepting this gratuity.

Personal life Sharpe was married to Floyd Carter, the son of a bootlegger.