Ollie Quinn

Who is Ollie Quinn?

Ollie J. Quinn was a gang leader in Galveston, Texas in the United States during the early 1900s. He, with Dutch Voight, led the Beach Gang, one of the two gangs which controlled most of the Galveston underworld until the mid-1920s. As the Prohibition era began his gang came to be one of the dominant forces in the Galveston liquor trade.

He was generally considered the dominant figure in vice, especially gambling, on the island. His main casino, the Deluxe Club, was a fixture in the city. His Modern Vending Company leased gaming equipment such as slot machines to area businesses. Quinn was known for being, above all, a businessman who was accepting of honest competition in the vice business.

Quinn became a mentor, and then a partner, to Sam and Rosario Maceo, who later took over the Galveston underworld.