King of the Bootleggers: A Biography of George Remus

by William A. Cook

Overview

As a pharmacist turned lawyer turned master prohibition era bootlegger, George Remus is now remembered as one of the most notorious figures of the American prohibition. Even though he was a lifelong teetotaler, Remus built one of the nation's largest illegal liquor empires with little regard to disguises or secrecy.

This biography tells the complete story of Remus' private life and public persona, focusing especially on the turbulent rise and fall of his bootlegging kingdom. It begins with an overview of Remus' early life and careers in pharmacy and law, and covers his bootlegging career, including his overwhelmingly successful early business ventures, his 1922 bootlegging conviction, his murder of wife Imogene (after she had a well-publicized affair with prohibition agent Franklin Dodge), and Remus' subsequent trial for her murder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786436521
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	05/07/2008
Pages:	225
Sales rank:	609,504
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

William A. Cook is the author of numerous books, including 11 on baseball history, and has appeared in productions on ESPN2 and the MLB Network. A former health care administrator and township councilman in North Brunswick, New Jersey, he resides in Manalapan, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction     

1. Remus Pulls Himself Up by the Bootstraps     
2. Murder in the Sherman House     
3. Divorce and Career Change for Remus     
4. Politics and the Ohio Gang     
5. Taking Care of Business     
6. Remus Has His Day in Court     
7. Smith Commits Suicide and Remus Goes to Prison     
8. Remus, Roxy and Means Expose the Ohio Gang     
9. Remus Is Cheated Out of Whisky and Wife     
10. Imogene Gunned Down—Remus; “I owed this to Society”     
11. The Trial, Part One: Jury Selection     
12. The Trial, Part Two: Testimony     
13. The Trial, Part Three: Final Arguments and Verdict     
14. Remus Wins His Freedom     
15. Means, Daugherty and Willebrandt Become Authors     
16. Beyond Prohibition: Capone Falls and Remus Fights On     

Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index