Bill McCoy was one of the most successful rum-runners of the Prohibition era, smuggling high-quality liquor from the Caribbean into the U.S.  He was so honest about the purity of his product that people started calling top-tier smuggled liquor "The Real McCoy.“

To avoid capture, McCoy disguised his ships as those from other nations—often flying fake British or French flags to fool U.S. authorities. He also anchored just outside the 3-mile U.S. jurisdiction, turning international waters into a floating liquor market. People would take small boats out to him, load up on booze, and bring it back to shore.

He was caught by the US Coast Guard off the coast of New Jersey in November, 1923, and after two years of legal battles, served only nine months in prison.  A celebrity of his day, he was allowed the leave the prison daily, provided he was back by 9 p.m.