Dutch Shultz
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Throughout history many gangsters, mobsters, and wise guys have left their mark on society. Names like Al Capone, “Lucky” Luciano, and Albert Anastasia come to mind when one looks back on the history of Le Cosa Nostra, However one of the most interesting figures in the history of organized crime, Dutch Schultz, was also able to leave a lasting mark in history with his unorthodox style of crime.
Dutch Schultz was born Arthur Flegenheimer, Despite of the nickname “Dutch” Arthur Flegenheimer was a German Jew. Flegenheimer was arrested early, at the age of 17, for burglary. He served time at Blackwells Island for one year and was released. After returning to his hometown, he demanded to be called “Dutch Shultz” the nickname of a famous gangster from the late 1800s.
Dutch Shultz rose quickly to power and became one of the most ruthless gangsters ever. Dutch Shultz had the Bronx to himself in 1928, running every aspect of it. Dutch forced speakeasy owners to only buy bootlegged alcohol from him; those who declined were introduced to the dark side of Dutch. Shultz was a quick-tempered gangster, often losing his cool easily. A nightclub owner named Joe Rock found out how ruthless Dutch was the hard way, Rock was beaten unmercifully by Dutch Shultz and his goons, then hung from a meat-hook by his thumbs. Schultz then tied a gauze bandage smeared with gonorrhea puss around Joe Rocks eyes, and left him dangling in a warehouse. Shortly after the incident, Joe Rock went blind.
During 1928 through 1933, Dutch and his gang were involved in many turf wars. When Jack “Legs” Diamond was thought to be hijacking Schultzs whiskey trucks, he ended up being dubbed Legs “the Clay Pigeon of the Underworld.” By the press (Due to the massive amount of bullets pumped into him) when asked about the murder, Schultz told reporters “Diamond was just another punk with his hands in my pockets.” An Irish psychopath named Vincent Coll and his cronies, actually gave Dutch and his gang a run for their money, but never posed as a serious threat. Eventually Shultzs men gunned down Coll in a phone booth.
After Dutch Shultz controlled all of Harlem and the Bronx, he begin to have problems with Lucky Luciano and the New York syndicate, The syndicate was tired of Dutch hogging his territory, not sharing profits, and only looking out for himself.
Like many other gangsters Shultz had his trouble with the I.R.S. To avoid further trouble Shultz hired Otto “Abbadabba” Berman (At a salary of 10,000$ a week), a very knowledgeable accountant, together they rigged Shultz gambling syndicate, and Shultzs bookies nearly never paid out, It is believed that Shultz brought in 14 million dollars in 1933. In 1933, the state of New York indicted Schultz for tax evasion, however he was able to evade these charges until 1934, after a lengthy train Shultz was found not guilty.
After Dutch had evaded a prison sentence he began muscling around New York just as he had before. Shultz had his cronies run for elected office, forced business owners to pay him for protection, and gunned down anyone that got in his way. This continued to anger the New York crime syndicate and Lucky Luciano. Luciano was never very fond of Dutch Shultz, Luciano also described Dutch as cheap stating “Schultz was one of the cheapest guys I ever knew, practically a miser.” Luciano was a flashy gangster himself, always wearing the most expensive clothing available when Dutch Shultz was wearing