cincinnati lawyer during prohibition who killed his wife

Why did Frank Remus kill his wife?

Rich bootlegger George Remus killed his wife — and got away with murder By Ron Hogan August 17, 2019 3:12pm George Remus was a notorious Prohibition-era bootlegger and bad boy who threw such lavish...

Was a Cincy lawyer model for Gatsby?

The larger-then-life Remus had been a pharmacist and defense lawyer in Chicago when he moved to Cincinnati to take advantage of legal loopholes that allowed him to build the largest empire of...

What happened to organized crime after Prohibition was repealed?

Bootlegger George Remus shot and killed his wife, Imogene Remus, in Eden Park in Cincinnati. (Remus claimed temporary insanity and was acquitted that December.) Who was the most famous bootlegger? George Remus Other names King of the Bootleggers Citizenship American

How much did the lawyer Remus make during Prohibition?

Feb 10, 2015 · George Remus, a Cincinatti lawyer, was known as 'King of the Bootleggers' and may have been the inspiration behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby A Cincinnati lawyer who was known as 'King of the...

Who was the most famous bootlegger during Prohibition?

George “Bugs” Moran, a top Chicago bootlegger and gangster rival of Al Capone, smiles for a photographer in the late 1920s.

Where did George Remus shoot his wife?

Eden ParkBootlegger George Remus shot and killed his wife, Imogene Remus, in Eden Park in Cincinnati. (Remus claimed temporary insanity and was acquitted that December.)Oct 6, 2019

Was George Remus convicted of murder?

In 1925, Remus' plan to use his legal knowledge to evade the law went awry. He was indicted for thousands of violations of the Volstead Act, convicted by a jury that made its decision in under two hours, and given a two-year federal prison sentence.

How did George Remus get caught?

Remus had falsely thought that he had bought protection from federal prosecution. He had bribed a high official in the Department of Justice. But agents arrested him and charged him on 3,000 counts.

When did George Remus go to jail?

After just two years in the bootleg business, George Remus had created one of the largest illegal liquor enterprises in the United States. At the time of his arrest in late 1921, he controlled or owned nine distilleries.Mar 15, 2012

Did George Remus go to jail for killing his wife?

It still took months to secure a bootlegging indictment against Remus and take the case to trial, but on the evening of May 16, 1922, he was sentenced to two years at the federal prison in Atlanta. He was able to put it off for a year and a half with appeals but began serving his time in early 1924.Aug 17, 2019

Is The Great Gatsby based on George Remus?

Jay Gatsby, the man of fortune and tragedy, was real. His actual name was George Remus. He lived in Cincinnati. And he was known as the "King of the Bootleggers."Feb 7, 2015

Who is the most famous bootlegger?

Al Capone If there were one bootlegger that has been romanticized above the rest thanks to Hollywood, it's Al Capone.Feb 18, 2022

Who made the most money from Prohibition?

Kingpins like Al Capone were able to rake in up to $100 million each year thanks to the overwhelming business opportunity of illegal booze.Mar 9, 2021

Who is Remus wife?

Nymphadora TonksRemus John Lupin is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. He first appears in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor....Remus LupinSpouseNymphadora Tonks (deceased)ChildrenTeddy LupinNationalityBritishHouseGryffindor15 more rows

Who was the first moonshiner?

Robert Glen 'Junior' Johnson. Johnson's ancestry stretched back to some of the first moonshiners in America. While he was growing up, Johnson's house was filled to the brim with moonshine that his father had distilled. At the age of 14, Johnson began bootlegging in his car and discovered he had a natural talent for it.Mar 2, 2021

Why is it called a bootlegger?

The name is said to derive from the practice of American frontiersmen who carried bottles of illicit liquor in the tops of their boots. In its original sense, bootlegging blossomed during the Prohibition era in the USA (1920–33), and helped create powerful gang bosses.May 8, 2018

What did Remus do in law school?

Remus specialized in criminal defense, especially murder , and became quite famous, due in large part to the highly publicized William Cheney Ellis murder case in 1914.

How much did Remus make in 1920?

By 1920, Remus was earning $500,000 a year, approximately $6,459,000 today. Following the ratification of the 18th Amendment and the passage of the Volstead Act, on January 17, 1920, Prohibition began in the US.

Where was George Remus born?

Early life. Remus was born in Landsberg, Germany in 1878 to Frank and Marie Remus. Remus arrived to the United States on June 15, 1882 (departing from Norway on the ship named "Fifington" to New York) and briefly lived in Maryland, then Wisconsin and finally moved to Chicago in 1885. At age 14, George supported the family by working ...

Who was George Remus?

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. George Remus (November 13, 1878 – January 20, 1952) was a German-born American lawyer who found success as a bootlegger during the early days of Prohibition.

What was Remus' plan to evade the law?

In 1925, Remus' plan to use his legal knowledge to evade the law went awry . He was indicted for thousands of violations of the Volstead Act, convicted by a jury that made its decision in under two hours, and given a two-year federal prison sentence. He spent two years in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for bootlegging. While he was in prison, Remus befriended another inmate and eventually confided in him that his wife, Imogene Holmes, had control over his money. The inmate was an undercover prohibition agent, Franklin Dodge, who was there to gather information of that sort. Instead of reporting the information, Dodge resigned his job and began an affair with Remus' wife. Dodge and Holmes liquidated Remus' assets and hid as much of the money as possible. In addition, Remus's Fleischmann Distillery was sold by Holmes. Remus' wife gave her imprisoned husband only $100 of the multimillion-dollar empire he created. Holmes and Dodge attempted to deport Remus, and even hired a hit man to murder Remus for $15,000. The would-be assassin didn't follow through because he feared being double-crossed, and told Remus about the plot instead.

Who was Romola Remus married to?

Romola Remus The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays. On July 20, 1899, Remus married Lillian Klauff. Their daughter, born in 1900, was Romola Remus, who became a child actress in silent films, playing cinema's first Dorothy Gale in the 1908 short film of The Wizard of Oz when she was eight years old.

Who was the king of bootleggers?

George Remus, the 'king of bootleggers,' who was reputed to have piled up a $20,000,000 fortune during prohibition days, died at his home here today. The 78-year-old former Chicago attorney suffered a stroke August 9, 1950. ... ^ Cook, William A. (2008). King of the Bootleggers: A Biography of George Remus.

Who was the king of the bootleggers?

Copy link to paste in your message. George Remus, a Cincinatti lawyer, was known as 'King of the Bootleggers' and may have been the inspiration behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby. A Cincinnati lawyer who was known as 'King of the Bootleggers' and turned to crime after noticing his clients were getting rich may have been ...

Who played Gatsby in the 2013 movie?

Copy link to paste in your message. George Remus shared many characteristics with the character of Jay Gatsby (pictured is Hollywood actor Leonardo di Caprio as Gatsby in the 2013 film) - he was overly generous, ostentatious and yet introverted.

How much did Remus make in 1920?

He specialised in criminal defence, particularly in murder cases and by 1920 he was earning $50,000 a year - a huge amount at the time. In 1920 Remus divorced his first wife Lillian after embarking on an affair with his legal secretary, Augusta Imogene Holmes, whom he subsequently married.

Who was George Remus?

George Remus was a lawyer turned bootlegger during U.S Prohibition. He made millions selling and distributing his illegal alcohol in Cincinatti. Once threw a party and gave every woman a car and men diamond watches. Believed to be inspiration behind eponymous character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' after a chance encounter with ...

Who is the author of The Great Gatsby?

Copy link to paste in your message. Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald met Remus (pictured) by chance at a hotel in Louisville and was fascinated with this larger-than-life personality - he apparently based the eponymous character in 'The Great Gatsby' on Remus.

Where was George Remus born?

George Remus was born in Germany in 1874, before his family moved to Chicago when he was five. After supporting his family by working in a pharmacy from the age of 14, he bought the pharmacy at 19, expanded and bought another in his early twenties before deciding to become a lawyer aged 24. He specialised in criminal defence, particularly in murder ...

Who was the king of bootlegging?

George Remus, a former Chicago attorney called the “King of the Bootleggers” during Prohibition, stands behind bars in 1927 while being tried for the murder of his wife. In 1925, Remus, charged with thousands of alleged violations of the Volstead Act after leading a large bootlegging operation in the Midwest, was sentenced to two years in federal ...

Who was the most famous gangster in the 1920s?

Al Capone, Mob boss in Chicago, is the most infamous gangster and bootlegger of the Prohibition era. When Chicago Outfit boss Johnny Torrio quit and turned control over to him after the violent “beer wars” in Chicago in 1925, Capone was only 26 years old. Capone’s criminal operation at its height in the late 1920s reached an estimated $100 million ...

Who were the gangsters in the 1920s?

The Outfit was a mostly Italian-American group that would fight violently in the 1920s with gangsters of Irish and Polish extraction, including Dion O’Banion, Hymie Weiss and George “Bugs” Moran, who controlled the illegal liquor trade on the city’s North Side. The Outfit gunned down O’Banion in 1924.

What happened in 1931?

Luciano arranged for the death of his longtime boss Masseria, in April, 1931, fearing that Masseria was out to get him.

Biography

George Remus was born on 14 November 1874 in Berlin, German Empire, and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois in the United States before he was even five years old. Remus worked at his uncle's pharmacy before buying it in 1895, and he became a lawyer in 1898 after tiring of the pharmacy business.

Bootlegging

Remus moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where 80% of America 's bonded whiskey was located, and he had his own men hijack his government-licensed medical liquor so that he could sell the liquor illegally; he memorized the Volstead Act and exploited its loopholes. Remus purchased government liquor permits from Attorney General Harry M.

When did prohibition start?

National Prohibition went into effect in January of 1920. His practice soon largely involved defending bootleggers. Most would simply pull large wads of cash from their pockets for enormous fines. They would peel off enough $1,000 bills to pay in full. These men ‘without any brains at all’ could amass great wealth.

How rich was Remus in 1921?

Remus quickly became enormously rich. During one quarter in 1921, he deposited the equivalent in today’s dollars of over 33 million in the bank. Agents arrested him in late 1921. At that time, he controlled the sale of bootleg liquor in nine states as well as parts of others.

Who was George Remus?

As a trial lawyer, Remus pioneered in using the defense of guilt by reason of temporary insanity. II. Defense Attorney. George Remus. As a defense attorney, Remus was making well over one-half million per year in today’s dollars.

Where was Remus born?

It’s an amazing story of a very bright and very hard-working man. Remus was born in Germany in 1876. As a pre-schooler, he came to the U.S. with his family and settled in Chicago. His father became incapacitated when young Remus was 14. The boy had to become the major breadwinner.

How did Remus die?

Remus died in 1952 of natural causes at the age of 77. Back to Gatsby: "F. Scott Fitzgerald met him by chance at a hotel in Louisville," Hotchkiss said. The writer was fascinated with this larger-than-life personality, and based the eponymous character in "The Great Gatsby" on Remus.

Where did George Remus live?

His actual name was George Remus. He lived in Cincinnati. And he was known as the "King of the Bootleggers.". His story is one of the reasons why the Cincinnati Library has designated "The Great Gatsby" as this year's selection for its annual On the Same Page program. Helping build common threads through literature, ...

Overview

Later life and legacy

After his release from the institution in Lima he was an informal tutor to another well known Cincinnati lawyer, William Foster Hopkins, for a period of about six years. George Remus later moved to Covington, Kentucky (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati), where he lived modestly the next 20 years without incident. He married for a third and final time to his long-time secretary Blanche Watson. Remus ran a small contracting firm, Washington Contracting, until he suffered a

Early life

Career

Family life

Legal issues

Further reading

External links