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Revision as of 20:12, 3 April 2006 by 66.161.74.251 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)George Remus was a famous Cincinnati bootlegger and mobster during the prohibition era. It has been claimed that he was the inspiration for the title character Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
He was born in Germany in 1876. His family moved to Chicago by the time he was 5. At age 14 George supported the family by working at a pharmacy, because his father was unable to work. Remus later bought the pharmacy by age 19.
Within 5 years, Remus expanded, buying another drugstore. Remus soon tired of the pharmacy business and by 24, he became a lawyer.
He specialized in criminal defense, especially murder, and became rather famous. By 1920 he was earning $50,000 a year. Remus divorced his wife and mother of his daughter after an affair with his secretary Imogene.
Alcohol Prohibition began in 1920, and within a few months Remus saw that his criminal clients were becoming very wealthy very quickly.
Remus memorized the Volstead Act and found loopholes whereby he could buy distilleries and pharmacies to sell liquor to himself under government licenses for medicinal purposes. Remus would then hi-jack his own liquor so he could then sell it illegally. Remus moved to Cincinnati where 80 percent of America's bonded whiskey was located, and bought up most of the whiskey manufacturers.
In less than three years Remus made $40 million.
George and Imogene held a New Year’s Eve party at their new mansion in 1922. The guests included 100 couples from the most prestigious families in the area. As parting gifts, Remus's presented all the men with diamond watches, and gave each guest's wife a brand new car.
Remus was finally sentenced to two years in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for bootlegging. While Remus was in prison, his new wife Imogene started an affair with prohibition agent named Franklin Dodge. Dodge and Imogene liquidated Remus' assets and hid as much of the money as possible.
Imogene proceeded to divorce him in late 1927. On the way to court, for the finalization of the divorce Remus had his driver chase the cab carrying Imogene and her daughter through Cincinnati, finally forcing it off the road. Remus jumped out and shot Imogene while her daughter tried to stop him. Imogene died later that day. The trial made national headlines for a month, as Remus defended himself on the murder charge. Remus pleaded temporary insanity.
Partly due to the fact that Remus was very popular in the city, the jury deliberated only 19 minutes before acquitting him by reason of insanity. The state of Ohio then tried to commit Remus to an insane asylum since the jury found him insane, but prosecutors were thwarted by their previous claim (backed up by the prosecution's three well-known psychiatrists) that he could be tried for murder because was not insane.
Remus tried to get back into bootlegging, but soon retired when he found that the market had been taken over by notorious gangsters.
Remus and Fitzgerald
The Seelbach Hilton is a hotel that has attracted the rich and famous for almost 100 years. F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the hotel's most significant visitors, as he references the hotel in his book "The Great Gatsby." The Seelbach Hilton's past is filled with tales of 1920s gangsters and U.S. presidents.
In the 1920s, Prohibition contributed to the wealth of underworld kingpins who were drawn to the most glamorous spots for cards and leisure. The Seelbach, as the grandest hotel in Louisville and the center of Kentucky's bourbon and whiskey country, attracted some of the most famous gangsters. Notorious figures included Lucky Luciano and Dutch Schultz -- known as the "Beer Baron of the Bronx."