August 1, 2023 • 32 mins
Remus is busted by Prohibition agents, and his rock-solid marriage to Imogene starts to show cracks. He thinks his bribes to DC officials will keep him out of prison. Remus is wrong.
Remus: The Mad Bootleg King is a Curiosity Podcast and is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. This podcast is based on Abbott Kahler’s book, “The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America.”
You can learn more about Abbott and her books here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Woo.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
There's violence against women in this episode. Please take care
where and when you listen.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
As strange as this story may seem, this is a
work of nonfiction with no invented dialogue. Every reenactment you
hear comes from government files, archives, diaries, letters, newspaper articles, books,
or trial testimony. It's Friday night, October nineteenth, nineteen twenty one,
(00:44):
at George Remis's bootlegging headquarters, Death Valley Farm. A hired
hand named Johnny garum answers the phone.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Hello.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Remus himself is calling.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Johnny, I got some friends coming into town. They're going
to need some booze. I need you to put a
few bottles away for them. Can you do that for me?
Speaker 5 (01:02):
Sorry, Boss, but I can't do it.
Speaker 6 (01:05):
There's not a drop in the place and none coming
in before Monday.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
The next day, while he's relaxing with his wife imaging
Remus's phone rings, it's a prohibition agent who was already
on the bootlegger's payroll. He passes along a tip that
a new prohibition agent has come to Cincinnati, but not
a local. He's from another state and he's not on
Remis's payroll. But Remus isn't worried about an immediate raid.
(01:33):
Johnny had told him there wasn't a drop of whiskey
on the whole farm. The next morning, Sunday, Johnny and
Remus's right hand man, George Connors, decide to get an
early start on the week's bootlegging business. They drive into
the yard at Death Valley Farm and see two men
they don't know. One of them speaks to Connor's slurring
his words like he's drunk.
Speaker 6 (01:55):
Do you want anything, any what?
Speaker 7 (01:58):
Any wicker?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Connors grow suspicious. These men do not seem like legitimate customers.
Speaker 6 (02:06):
We're not looking for any liquor.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
The drunk wobbles closer and throws his arm around Conners. Well,
have you got to do something.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
We're not in the liquor business.
Speaker 7 (02:16):
We're not interested in it.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
And if you don't take your hands off of me,
I'll give you a crack in the jaw. The stranger
opens his coat and slashes a badge.
Speaker 7 (02:25):
We're prohibition officers.
Speaker 6 (02:27):
Hands behind your back.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
The agent sees thousands of gallons of wine and liquor,
a stockpile of firearms, and incriminating record books. Connors, garm
and three other Remas employees are arrested for violating the
bulk set up, and a few days later, Remus himself
is behind bars. Johnny had lied to Remus and the
forces against the bootlegger had converged. I'm Abbi Taylor and
(02:58):
this is Remus, the mad bootleg king. The arrest didn't
slow down Remas's business one bit. Within two weeks, he
and his men were out on bail and acting like
the raid had never happened. Customers, fearful that their supply
(03:19):
would be cut off, had driven the price of Remis's
whiskey up by nearly fifty percent. Even the prospect of
a trial didn't scare Remis. He believed that the trial
would result in an easy acquittal if it happened at all.
He had regularly paid bribes to Jess Smith, aide to
US Attorney General Harry Dougherty, and Smith was Remis's insurance
(03:41):
against a conviction. Back in their price Hell Mansion, George
and Immajeen were sitting on top of the world. Their
renovations were finally complete, all seven hundred and fifty thousand
dollars worth that's over twelve million in today's money. The
finished house had thirty one rooms each one reflecting George
(04:01):
and Imageen's garish tastes. The pool table in the billiard
room stood on carved claw feet the size of Remas's head.
Marble figures of cherubs and warriors and goddesses pose atop
every fireplace mantle chandeliers splayed across the ceilings like customized constellations.
A solid gold piano illuminated the parlor. Their peace day
(04:24):
resistance was a Greco Roman indoor swimming pool, almost ten
thousand square feet house in a separate backyard building. The
pool was heated, an incredible luxury for the time. Carved
marble furniture and statues depicting ancient Greek swimmers surrounded the water.
At one end stood a variety of Turkish and Swedish baths,
(04:46):
and even electric bass, an early version of a tanning bed,
heated by incandescent electric lights. They were said to make
the user frisky. Remus named it the Imaging Bass, an
homage to her beauty.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
A man's home is his castle, you know, really got
a castle, Emni.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
But in Remus's eyes, the most beautiful thing in the
house was Imaging herself. She was the kind of woman
that made you think of Turkish arams, oriental dances, and Cleopatra.
As one of his friends described her, her every glance
seemed like a caress. Although she was voluptuous to the
point of stoutness, there was something feline in her every movement,
(05:26):
and Remus wanted nothing more than to show her off
and the house she had inspired to Cincinnati's finest. To
that end, Remus and Imageing planned a near z evash
like nothing the city had ever seen. Imageing oversaw the
design of the invitations, Printed on tea colored paper tied
with a red ribbon, they read.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Our New Year's greeting dive to hell, swim to well,
float unhappiness nineteen twenty one and twenty two.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
They also included an image of a mother holding a baby, which,
considering the level of debauchery planned for this party, seemed
to an odd choice. Six maids addressed and mailed the
invitations to journalists, politicians, captains of industry, and Cincinnati social
elite family names that were internationally famous the clan of
(06:18):
former President William Howard Taft, the wine making real estate magnets,
the Longworst, and the pig iron industrialist sentence worth half
a billion dollars Remas and Imaging hoped that this party
would be their entree into Cincinnati society, the most coveted
invitation in the city and even in the country. The
(06:39):
guests began arriving in the early evening, some from as
far away as San Francisco. The honey notes of a
live string orchestra wafted throughout the house, orchids perfumed the air.
Servers looped through, chattering couples, offering Remas's best whiskey and
champagne and gin, and vodka and beer. There was a
rumor that Remas had even filled his pool with whiskey.
(07:02):
Models attired in Grecian gowns and towering turbans served or
derbs from silver platters. Remas circulated through the rooms, lighting
the cigars of his guests with flaming one hundred dollar bills.
Whenever imageen passed by, Remus threw her close and ran
his thick fingers through her carefully styled hair adorned with
jeweled pins. He bragged, and I've.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Got Imaging the truest, squarest, prettiest wife man ever had.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
When the dinner hour arrived, one guest found one thousand
dollar bill tucked beneath his plate, waved it in the air,
and lo and behold the same party favor had been
planted for each reveler. Still Remus wasn't finished. Each man
at the party received a diamond stickpin and a gold
watch engraved with the letter R and the words from
(07:52):
mister and Missus George Remis nineteen twenty two. The trinkets
thrilled the men and disappointed the women. But when the
ladies moment came, Remus became a roaring twenties version of
Oprah Winfrey. He delivered his last surprise sets of keys,
then led them to the front door and swung it open.
Down the long driveway, past the stone lions and iron gates,
(08:15):
was a string of brand new nineteen twenty two sedans.
There was one for every woman at the party. All
this excess in an error when the average salary was
twelve hundred dollars per year. It was time now for
the evening's highlight. Remus led them all to the poolhouse
for his big announcement.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Swimming is my hobby. I have dreamed of having my
old fools since I was a boy.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Then he ushered his guests inside and showed them how
he made his dream come true, and the imaging bass
aquatic nymphs performed synchronized routines underwater, their toes rising and
disappearing in unison. At the stroke of midnight, Young Ruth Remis,
dressed in a sheer gown, ascended the diving board and
yelled a happy New Year. Then Ruth plunged in, imaging
(09:04):
not to be outdone, mounted the diving board in a
daring swim seat. She slowly removed the diamonds, rubies, and
emeralds from her hair, and then gracefully dove into the pool.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Go ahead, at what have swim?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Remus encouraged his guests to jump in, and they obliged,
soaking their tuxes and gowns, and Remus followed in full tuxedo,
his first swim in his own pool. After he taled off,
he strolled around the poolhouse, fitting good night to each guests,
and his heart began to sink. None of the paragons
of Cincinnati society, neither the tafts, nor the lawngworst, nor
(09:42):
the sentence, had shown up. Remus realized that no matter
how extravagant his home or gifts, no matter how urgently
he wished to be one of them. His world would
never align with theirs, so he retreated to the mansion.
He could hear the laughter and clinking glasses of the
remaining guests, but for Remus, the party was over. Retired
(10:05):
to his library, where he sat down with the biography
of Abraham Lincoln all alone as the noise faded and
the sun rose on nineteen twenty two. Remas's legendary parties
are one of the reasons he reportedly inspired author F.
Scott Fitzgerald to create the Great Gatsby. There is no
hard evidence that Remus and Fitzgerald ever met, but Fitzgerald
(10:28):
certainly knew who Remas was when he was writing Gatsby.
By that time, the entire world knew who Remas was,
and the similarities between the two men are conspicuous. Both
owned a string of pharmacies and opulent mansions. Both loved
mysterious women and lavish parties. Most of all, both longed
to inhabit a world that did not seem willing to
(10:49):
welcome them, causing a pervasive sense of melancholy that lasted
throughout their lives. The raid On Death Valley Farm was
Mabel will and Brandt's first step into prohibition enforcement, and
it was a big one. Rounding up the field agents
to do it had been troublesome. The Bureau of Investigation,
(11:10):
the precursor to the FBI, had a prohibition unit that
included about fifteen hundred field agents, and Mabel wasn't sure
she could trust most of them. She had good reason.
Qualifications to become a field agent were virtually nonexistent. Most
of the force was ex policeman, bailiffs, and deputy sheriffs
working for a meager starting salary of twelve hundred dollars
(11:33):
per year. Taking bribes from bootleggers, they could make at
least ten times that. Already the chief federal prohibition agent
for Cincinnati was earning a better salary by taking hush
money from remus. Even a criminal record couldn't stop somebody
from becoming a prohibition agent. One aspiring recruit convicted of
(11:54):
armed robbery and murder was still doing time in an
upstate New York prison when he received his badge. Mabel
wrote about the problem in her journal.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
The dominant reac is that the whole problem is one
of getting the right men into places of power in enforcement.
Men of creative thought of courage those not slaves to
political ambition, and by men, I also mean women, lots
of them.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
But the urgency of the Remus problem left no time
for a recruiting drive. Willenbrandt had no choice but to
identify and organize the best agents from the ones she
already had. Her first choice for the Cincinnati investigation was
a thirty year old special agent named Franklin Eld Dodge.
He was patently handsome, with slake dark hair and a
(12:45):
deeply cleft chin. Dodge also had a distinguished pedigree. His
father was a prominent Democrat in Michigan, with connections throughout
the state and federal government. By the time Willebrandt arrived
on the scene, Dodge was already considered a rising star
in the Bureau of Investigation. The Remus Whiskey ring would
be both Willebrandts and first foray into prohibition. She dispatched
(13:09):
Dodge to Cincinnati, and she hoped the agent would not disappoint.
After the raid on death Valley, Dodge and more of
willim Brand's handpicked agents, nicknamed the Mabel Men, were hard
at work preparing for Remus's trial. She was working on
indictments against more of Remus's men, and agents on the
ground in Cincinnati sent her a stream of damning information.
(13:33):
The agents confirmed that one hundred and eighty thousand cases
of liquor had been withdrawn from the Squib's distillery using
the federal permits that Remus was buying from Jess Smith,
and all of that whiskey had been shipped to recipients
who didn't actually exist. It was proof positive that Remus
was shipping all of his medicinal whisky to himself. One fact,
(13:55):
in particular, gave Willian Brandt pause. The agents had recruited
the Death Valley night watchman Elijah Hubbard as an informant,
and then he turned up dead. Franklin Dodge visited Hubbard's wife, Mary.
She told him that her husband had been poisoned to
prevent him from testifying at the trial he was killed.
(14:18):
She told Dodge for knowing too much, Williembrandt knew Mary
Hubbard was a critical witness and one who needed protection,
so she headed to Cincinnati herself. She personally escorted Hubbard
to testify before the federal grand jury, and sure enough,
on the strength of Hubbard's testimony, the grand jury returned
(14:39):
nine indictments against Remus and his co defendants. In addition
to felony charges for violating prohibition laws and internal revenue statutes,
Remus was accused of a misdemeanor maintaining a quote nuisance
at Death Valley Farm. The trial would begin in May
of nineteen twenty two a U. S District Court in Cincinnati,
(15:01):
with Hubbard as the government's star witness. Williembrandt left her
wa witness in Franklin Dodge's capable hands and told him
to keep an eye on Remus. Remus could not spend
a single moment out of Dodge's view day and night.
Dodge parked his sedan outside the mansion, watching Remas and
Imagen come and go. Every time Remis ap peered from
(15:23):
his window or step out his door, the agent was there,
silent and unmoving. Remas appeared unworried. He boasted that his
trial would be a walk in the park.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
I've got everyone and his brother in Washington on my payroll.
This trial will take care of itself.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
He felt so confident that his Washington connections would protect
him that he even made threats if.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
I'm crowded too far, i will tear the heart out
of Washington.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
But Dodge didn't scare easily. He kept spying on the remises,
recording every moment they made until the trial began. With
(16:18):
the crack of his gavel, Judge John Peck called the
trial to order. The prosecution called its star witness, Mary Hubbard,
to the stand. She explained her deceased husband's duties at
death Valley, describe the cars that arrived from across the country,
and named the labels on the cases of whiskey. She
walked along the line of defendants and identified familiar faces.
(16:41):
When the prosecution rested, spectators whispered to each other. Would
George Remas testify now? Would he testify at all? He didn't.
Remas figured there was no point. Jess Smith had repeatedly
assured him there would be no conviction. Within two hours,
the jury reached a decision. Remus and his co defendants
(17:02):
sat in silence as the foreman handed the seal verdict
to the court clerk.
Speaker 7 (17:07):
George Remas guilty, he.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Said, and paused. One by one, he read the other names,
each followed by the word guilty. When he finished the list,
Judge Peck asked the defendants to step forward. Then he
looked Remus in the eye.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
George remas, have you anything to say?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
In that moment, Remus did not feel like himself, and
consequently he failed to act like himself. He did not
unfurl a long soliloquy of esoteric words, or shout or
weep or tear it his hair, or refer to himself
as the third person. Instead, he just swallowed and whispered,
(17:48):
I have nothing. Judge Peck gave him the maximum penalty,
two years at the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta and a
ten thousand dollars fine for the misdemeanor charge of maintaining
a nuisance at Death Valley. He received additional year in
the Miami County Jail in Troy, Ohio. One hour later,
(18:10):
Emma Jean arrived at the clerk's office in a bold
red dress to sign the bonds for her husband and
his co defendants. They would all be free until their
sentences began, but Remus had no intention of going to
prison at all. His mind spun a web of plans,
who ordered his lawyers to start work on his own appeal.
He called Jess Smith and demanded to meet him immediately
(18:33):
in Washington Smith had promised that there would be no conviction.
Now Remus needed Smith to deliver on his second promise
that the bootlegger would never spend a day behind bars.
Remus wasted no time on pleasantries.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
The conviction is there. We are likely to go to
prison if the Court of Appeals don't reverse the case.
What assistance can give it doesn't make any difference. If
the Court of Appeals affirms it, I'll get you out
of it.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Remus remained skeptical.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
The Court of appeas will undoubtedly reverse the decision of
the lower court.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
How do you even know that?
Speaker 4 (19:10):
On account of my friendship with the.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
General, Remus considered this. He knew there was talk both
in Washington and in Ohio that Attorney General Harry Dougherty
was a partner in the circle. To counteract those rumors,
Dougherty had to allow Willem Brandt and the federal prosecutors
in Cincinnati to pursue his case after his trial. Remus
thought maybe Dougherty would be freer to call in favors
(19:36):
discreetly exercising the power of his office. Smith waited, Remus
opened his wallet and counted off twenty thousand dollars bills,
tucking the watt and dismissed. Waiting hand, Remas returned to
his hotel suite. He worried that his money would never
be enough. All Remus could do that summer was wait
(19:59):
for his lawyers to prepare his appeal. Immage did her
best to distract him and suggest Tod a trip to Chicago.
He agreed and she. Remus and Ruth packed their bags
and took off in a limousine with their driver at
the wheel. Ruth sat shotgun and Remus climbed with Imaging
into the back. The drive was unsettling. It seemed they
(20:20):
crossed a railroad track every few minutes, which made Imaging nervous.
She asked the driver to slow down, and then asked again, pleading.
Now Toms pressed to her cheeks. Remus grew impatient. He
did not want to hear another word of complaint. They
bickered incessantly. Finally he had enough. He shoved Imaging toward.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
The car door, stop the cork, get out.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Imaging obeyed. Then Remus got out, opened the driver's door
and told him to move over. The driver forced Ruth
out of her seat. Remus screeched off a short way
down the road, leaving his wife and stepdaughter behind. The
car hurdled along so fast he lost control, so he
thrust his feet against the break. The car whined in
(21:08):
the submission. He allowed Imogen and Ruth to approach. He
joined Imagine in the back seat and motioned for Ruth
to return to the front. The driver took off again,
slowly this time, and they headed west in silence. Ruth
never forgot the ominous events of that summer, including the
(21:29):
night it all came to a head. On this night,
the family was at home, Remas pulled Imagine aside for
a talk. He told her that he wanted to be
the official owner of their home, to alter the deed
to include his name. She refused. It was her wedding gift.
It belonged to her. From her room, Ruth heard a terrible,
(21:50):
terrible scream, and she ran toward the sound. Remus passed
her in the hall, saying nothing. She found her mother
on the bed, a thin ribbon of blood snaking from
her nose. Despite his conviction, Remus wanted to stay in
(22:11):
the liquor business. His various distilleries across the country still
bulged with inventory, and he was desperate to sell these reserves.
He got a tip about the Jack Daniels distillery in
Saint Louis, Missouri. He could purchase it for a reasonable sum,
and its distance from Cincinnati and Willibrand's Mabelman was an
added bonus. But first, as usual, Remus consulted with Imaging.
(22:36):
After their tumultuous summer, they had reconciled, as they always did.
Imageing heard the details of the Jack Daniels deal, and
she decided to make a personal investment of twenty eight
thousand dollars. They would be in this together. Remus plotted
exactly how the whiskey could be removed from the Saint
Louis's stillery without being noticed. He would space out his
(22:57):
withdrawals over an entire year, he confided to a friend,
one of.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Must be patients in these matters.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Thinking so far into the future comforted Remus, as if
the possibility of prison had ceased to exist, and the
rest of his life stretched before him, sweeping and unblemished.
He decided to check in with Jess Smith about protection
payments one last time, but he never got the chance.
At six point thirty in the morning on May twenty ninth,
(23:25):
nineteen twenty three, Jess Smith knelt by the wastebasket in
his bedroom. He placed his head above the opening, like
he would soon vomit. Throughout the previous year, he had
taken hundreds of bribes and made hundreds of promises he
could not keep. The stress was taking a toll. He
was only fifty one years old, but his body was
(23:46):
failing him. His best and truest friend, the Attorney General,
Harry Dougherty, suggested that he check himself into a hospital.
Smith agreed, but then changed his mind. He wanted to
go golfing instead. The following afternoon, Smith Dougherty and one
of his assistants, Warren Martin, for a round of golf.
(24:06):
Dougherty was relieved to see Smith laughing and joking, a
glimpse of his old self peeking through. At sundown, Dougherty
said goodbye and went to the White House, where he
planned to stay overnight. Warren and Smith went back to
the hotel, and Smith closed his bedroom door at nine pm.
(24:27):
Eight and a half hours later, Martin was awakened by
a terrifying crash. He hurried to Smith's room and found
him his head buried in the trash can. A hole
in his right temple and the pistol still dangling from
his fingertips. Smith's suicide sent Remus down a dark well
of worry. Who was left turn shore. He would not
go to jail. It would certainly not be the Federal
(24:49):
Court of Appeals, which on June thirtieth, nineteen twenty three,
upheld Remas's conviction. He would have to serve his time
at the Federal pen in Atlanta. Even with the appeal
denied and jess Smith dead, it wasn't over for Remus.
He would while for a rehearing of his appeal. If
that failed, he would appeal to the Supreme Court of
(25:09):
the United States, and if that failed, he would appeal
to President Harding himself. But on the morning of August fourth,
Remus picked up a copy of the Cincinnati Inquirer and
read the headline President Warren Harding dead. The official cause
of death was quote a stroke of apoplexy. His vice President,
(25:31):
Calvin Coleidge had been sworn in as the nation's thirtieth president.
Will And Brandt and Franklin Dodge had tracked Remus's behavior
as his appeal wound its way through the courts.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
We know he's been working his influence all up and
down the line congressman and public officials in the state
of Ohio, and clear up even to the White House itself.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
She needed to quash the bootlegger's hopes of reopening his
case before President Colidge could be persuaded to decide otherwise.
She scrolled a piece of paper through her typewriter and
began writing the words, coming faster than her fingers were
able to move.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
I am of the emphatic opinion that no respite should
be given to George Remas or any of the defendants
convicted with him. George Remas and his group of co
conspirators are defiant, dangerous lawbreakers. I am reliably informed that
Remus is now engaged in the distribution of illicit liquor
in Saint Louis. In fact, I have under weigh at
(26:29):
the present time an investigation as to his activities.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
In all of his conspiracies, he has exhibited a rare
ability to surround himself with seemingly respectable and unimportant citizens
while he hides behind their operations.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Mullin Brandt wasn't sure her plea would be heard, but
President Colich surprised her. He agreed that Riema should report
to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary on January twenty fourth, nineteen
twenty four, as originally scheduled. On that day, Reemas stood
before his bedroom mirror, dressing to go to prison. He
selected a pearl gray silk suit, his favorite bowler hat
(27:09):
as soon with a ribbon, and as usual, no underwear.
Remus's lawyer had prepared a power of attorney that granted
Imaging control of his empire. Although he had, in a
fit of anger, sought to reclaim the deed to their mansion,
he was now glad it was under Imaging's name. He
transferred ownership of the Fleischmann Distillery in Cincinnati and entrusted
(27:33):
her with his various bank accounts, also a million dollars
in whiskey certificates, and all of his personal jewelry worth
one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars into her hand.
He dropped the keys for two luxury cars to cover
her and Ruth's expenses. For two years, he were to
check for one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. He also
set up a trust for Omola, his daughter from his
(27:55):
first marriage, Even though his affection for the girl regularly
sent Imaging into an absurd and vengeful rage. At the
start of their relationship. Back in Chicago, she told a
bell boy at the Illinois Athletic Club that she would
kill Remiss if he gave Romola any gifts. He kissed
Imaging goodbye at the front door of the mansion. An
(28:16):
automobile idled in the driveway, waiting to take him to
the Federal Building downtown. From there he would catch the
train to Atlanta. As the train rubbled into motion, Remus
tried to maintain his joviality, or at least the appearance
of it. He joked that his weight had climbed to
two hundred and twenty five pounds, the heaviest he'd ever been.
(28:37):
He said prison would help him quote reduce. He equipped
to the accompanying reporters that this was the first pro
tracked in vacation he'd had in years.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
Oh wow, I'm reconciled to my favor. I'll be a
good soldier and served my time.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
On this date, November twenty first, nineteen twenty seven, this
session of the Criminal Division of Common Police Court in
Hamilton County will come to order.
Speaker 7 (29:17):
I call Henry Spilker to the stand. Do you remember
when George Remas was sent to the Atlanta penitentiary?
Speaker 6 (29:33):
Yes?
Speaker 7 (29:34):
Did you see Missus Remas anytime after he was sent
to the Atlanta Penitentiary?
Speaker 6 (29:39):
Yes, it was when I had charged one afternoon in
a road house. They called it the Delhi House. It
is six miles out of Cincinnati.
Speaker 7 (29:48):
Who did Missus Remas come there with?
Speaker 6 (29:51):
I never saw that fellow before. He might be lighter
than Remus, much younger. I let them in. It was
a secret place for all the dry officials and well
to do people. So I left them and I never
said a and I sat them in the big dining room.
But before I had them seated, miss Remus asked me
if I didn't have a private room for them. They
(30:13):
didn't like to be seen in case someone else should
come in. So I took them upstairs and gave them
a private room.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
How did you happen to come here as a witness?
Speaker 6 (30:24):
I read in the paper about this case, So I
remember the time I saw miss Remis in the roadhouse,
and so I thought to myself that man has made
lots of money, and she ought to go out with
somebody else while he is in jail. I wanted to
tell people that she done something bad that she should
not do, and I always figured after that that she
(30:44):
will get in trouble sooner or later.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
Next time. On Remiss The Mad Bootleg.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
King, I want you to cultivate Frank the dotch play
up to him because he is the last chance to
Elton get.
Speaker 7 (31:04):
Out of here. Well, I'm daddy.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
I think mister Dodge will be able to do you
some good.
Speaker 7 (31:11):
Frank, You're getting yourself in a hot spot. If Georgie
ever finds out that you are mixing up in company
with his wife, he will shoot you.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Remus The Mad Bootleg King is a co production of
iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It's hosted by me
Abbot Kaylor, Chuck Reese and I wrote the show. Our
producer is Miranda Hawkins. Our senior producer is Jessica Metzker.
Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, Elsie Crowley, and
Jason English. Sound design and mixed by Chris Childs. Elise
(31:43):
McCoy composed original music. Additional scoring by Chris Childs. Voices
in this episode provided by Ben Bolan, Lauren Vovobaum, Julia,
Chris Gal Noel Brown, Matt Frederick, James Morrison, Luke Carlozel,
Jonathan Sleep, Jewel Ruiz, Miranda Hawkins, Jay Jones, and Van Gunter.
(32:05):
Special thanks to John Higgins from Curiosity Stream and the
team at CDM Studios in New York. If you're a
fan of the podcast, please give it a review on
your podcast app. You can also check out other Curiosity
podcasts to learn about history, pop culture, true crime, and more.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
School of Humans,
Woo.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
There's violence against women in this episode. Please take care
where and when you listen.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
As strange as this story may seem, this is a
work of nonfiction with no invented dialogue. Every reenactment you
hear comes from government files, archives, diaries, letters, newspaper articles, books,
or trial testimony. It's Friday night, October nineteenth, nineteen twenty one,
(00:44):
at George Remis's bootlegging headquarters, Death Valley Farm. A hired
hand named Johnny garum answers the phone.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Hello.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Remus himself is calling.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Johnny, I got some friends coming into town. They're going
to need some booze. I need you to put a
few bottles away for them. Can you do that for me?
Speaker 5 (01:02):
Sorry, Boss, but I can't do it.
Speaker 6 (01:05):
There's not a drop in the place and none coming
in before Monday.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
The next day, while he's relaxing with his wife imaging
Remus's phone rings, it's a prohibition agent who was already
on the bootlegger's payroll. He passes along a tip that
a new prohibition agent has come to Cincinnati, but not
a local. He's from another state and he's not on
Remis's payroll. But Remus isn't worried about an immediate raid.
(01:33):
Johnny had told him there wasn't a drop of whiskey
on the whole farm. The next morning, Sunday, Johnny and
Remus's right hand man, George Connors, decide to get an
early start on the week's bootlegging business. They drive into
the yard at Death Valley Farm and see two men
they don't know. One of them speaks to Connor's slurring
his words like he's drunk.
Speaker 6 (01:55):
Do you want anything, any what?
Speaker 7 (01:58):
Any wicker?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Connors grow suspicious. These men do not seem like legitimate customers.
Speaker 6 (02:06):
We're not looking for any liquor.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
The drunk wobbles closer and throws his arm around Conners. Well,
have you got to do something.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
We're not in the liquor business.
Speaker 7 (02:16):
We're not interested in it.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
And if you don't take your hands off of me,
I'll give you a crack in the jaw. The stranger
opens his coat and slashes a badge.
Speaker 7 (02:25):
We're prohibition officers.
Speaker 6 (02:27):
Hands behind your back.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
The agent sees thousands of gallons of wine and liquor,
a stockpile of firearms, and incriminating record books. Connors, garm
and three other Remas employees are arrested for violating the
bulk set up, and a few days later, Remus himself
is behind bars. Johnny had lied to Remus and the
forces against the bootlegger had converged. I'm Abbi Taylor and
(02:58):
this is Remus, the mad bootleg king. The arrest didn't
slow down Remas's business one bit. Within two weeks, he
and his men were out on bail and acting like
the raid had never happened. Customers, fearful that their supply
(03:19):
would be cut off, had driven the price of Remis's
whiskey up by nearly fifty percent. Even the prospect of
a trial didn't scare Remis. He believed that the trial
would result in an easy acquittal if it happened at all.
He had regularly paid bribes to Jess Smith, aide to
US Attorney General Harry Dougherty, and Smith was Remis's insurance
(03:41):
against a conviction. Back in their price Hell Mansion, George
and Immajeen were sitting on top of the world. Their
renovations were finally complete, all seven hundred and fifty thousand
dollars worth that's over twelve million in today's money. The
finished house had thirty one rooms each one reflecting George
(04:01):
and Imageen's garish tastes. The pool table in the billiard
room stood on carved claw feet the size of Remas's head.
Marble figures of cherubs and warriors and goddesses pose atop
every fireplace mantle chandeliers splayed across the ceilings like customized constellations.
A solid gold piano illuminated the parlor. Their peace day
(04:24):
resistance was a Greco Roman indoor swimming pool, almost ten
thousand square feet house in a separate backyard building. The
pool was heated, an incredible luxury for the time. Carved
marble furniture and statues depicting ancient Greek swimmers surrounded the water.
At one end stood a variety of Turkish and Swedish baths,
(04:46):
and even electric bass, an early version of a tanning bed,
heated by incandescent electric lights. They were said to make
the user frisky. Remus named it the Imaging Bass, an
homage to her beauty.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
A man's home is his castle, you know, really got
a castle, Emni.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
But in Remus's eyes, the most beautiful thing in the
house was Imaging herself. She was the kind of woman
that made you think of Turkish arams, oriental dances, and Cleopatra.
As one of his friends described her, her every glance
seemed like a caress. Although she was voluptuous to the
point of stoutness, there was something feline in her every movement,
(05:26):
and Remus wanted nothing more than to show her off
and the house she had inspired to Cincinnati's finest. To
that end, Remus and Imageing planned a near z evash
like nothing the city had ever seen. Imageing oversaw the
design of the invitations, Printed on tea colored paper tied
with a red ribbon, they read.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Our New Year's greeting dive to hell, swim to well,
float unhappiness nineteen twenty one and twenty two.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
They also included an image of a mother holding a baby, which,
considering the level of debauchery planned for this party, seemed
to an odd choice. Six maids addressed and mailed the
invitations to journalists, politicians, captains of industry, and Cincinnati social
elite family names that were internationally famous the clan of
(06:18):
former President William Howard Taft, the wine making real estate magnets,
the Longworst, and the pig iron industrialist sentence worth half
a billion dollars Remas and Imaging hoped that this party
would be their entree into Cincinnati society, the most coveted
invitation in the city and even in the country. The
(06:39):
guests began arriving in the early evening, some from as
far away as San Francisco. The honey notes of a
live string orchestra wafted throughout the house, orchids perfumed the air.
Servers looped through, chattering couples, offering Remas's best whiskey and
champagne and gin, and vodka and beer. There was a
rumor that Remas had even filled his pool with whiskey.
(07:02):
Models attired in Grecian gowns and towering turbans served or
derbs from silver platters. Remas circulated through the rooms, lighting
the cigars of his guests with flaming one hundred dollar bills.
Whenever imageen passed by, Remus threw her close and ran
his thick fingers through her carefully styled hair adorned with
jeweled pins. He bragged, and I've.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Got Imaging the truest, squarest, prettiest wife man ever had.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
When the dinner hour arrived, one guest found one thousand
dollar bill tucked beneath his plate, waved it in the air,
and lo and behold the same party favor had been
planted for each reveler. Still Remus wasn't finished. Each man
at the party received a diamond stickpin and a gold
watch engraved with the letter R and the words from
(07:52):
mister and Missus George Remis nineteen twenty two. The trinkets
thrilled the men and disappointed the women. But when the
ladies moment came, Remus became a roaring twenties version of
Oprah Winfrey. He delivered his last surprise sets of keys,
then led them to the front door and swung it open.
Down the long driveway, past the stone lions and iron gates,
(08:15):
was a string of brand new nineteen twenty two sedans.
There was one for every woman at the party. All
this excess in an error when the average salary was
twelve hundred dollars per year. It was time now for
the evening's highlight. Remus led them all to the poolhouse
for his big announcement.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Swimming is my hobby. I have dreamed of having my
old fools since I was a boy.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Then he ushered his guests inside and showed them how
he made his dream come true, and the imaging bass
aquatic nymphs performed synchronized routines underwater, their toes rising and
disappearing in unison. At the stroke of midnight, Young Ruth Remis,
dressed in a sheer gown, ascended the diving board and
yelled a happy New Year. Then Ruth plunged in, imaging
(09:04):
not to be outdone, mounted the diving board in a
daring swim seat. She slowly removed the diamonds, rubies, and
emeralds from her hair, and then gracefully dove into the pool.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Go ahead, at what have swim?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Remus encouraged his guests to jump in, and they obliged,
soaking their tuxes and gowns, and Remus followed in full tuxedo,
his first swim in his own pool. After he taled off,
he strolled around the poolhouse, fitting good night to each guests,
and his heart began to sink. None of the paragons
of Cincinnati society, neither the tafts, nor the lawngworst, nor
(09:42):
the sentence, had shown up. Remus realized that no matter
how extravagant his home or gifts, no matter how urgently
he wished to be one of them. His world would
never align with theirs, so he retreated to the mansion.
He could hear the laughter and clinking glasses of the
remaining guests, but for Remus, the party was over. Retired
(10:05):
to his library, where he sat down with the biography
of Abraham Lincoln all alone as the noise faded and
the sun rose on nineteen twenty two. Remas's legendary parties
are one of the reasons he reportedly inspired author F.
Scott Fitzgerald to create the Great Gatsby. There is no
hard evidence that Remus and Fitzgerald ever met, but Fitzgerald
(10:28):
certainly knew who Remas was when he was writing Gatsby.
By that time, the entire world knew who Remas was,
and the similarities between the two men are conspicuous. Both
owned a string of pharmacies and opulent mansions. Both loved
mysterious women and lavish parties. Most of all, both longed
to inhabit a world that did not seem willing to
(10:49):
welcome them, causing a pervasive sense of melancholy that lasted
throughout their lives. The raid On Death Valley Farm was
Mabel will and Brandt's first step into prohibition enforcement, and
it was a big one. Rounding up the field agents
to do it had been troublesome. The Bureau of Investigation,
(11:10):
the precursor to the FBI, had a prohibition unit that
included about fifteen hundred field agents, and Mabel wasn't sure
she could trust most of them. She had good reason.
Qualifications to become a field agent were virtually nonexistent. Most
of the force was ex policeman, bailiffs, and deputy sheriffs
working for a meager starting salary of twelve hundred dollars
(11:33):
per year. Taking bribes from bootleggers, they could make at
least ten times that. Already the chief federal prohibition agent
for Cincinnati was earning a better salary by taking hush
money from remus. Even a criminal record couldn't stop somebody
from becoming a prohibition agent. One aspiring recruit convicted of
(11:54):
armed robbery and murder was still doing time in an
upstate New York prison when he received his badge. Mabel
wrote about the problem in her journal.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
The dominant reac is that the whole problem is one
of getting the right men into places of power in enforcement.
Men of creative thought of courage those not slaves to
political ambition, and by men, I also mean women, lots
of them.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
But the urgency of the Remus problem left no time
for a recruiting drive. Willenbrandt had no choice but to
identify and organize the best agents from the ones she
already had. Her first choice for the Cincinnati investigation was
a thirty year old special agent named Franklin Eld Dodge.
He was patently handsome, with slake dark hair and a
(12:45):
deeply cleft chin. Dodge also had a distinguished pedigree. His
father was a prominent Democrat in Michigan, with connections throughout
the state and federal government. By the time Willebrandt arrived
on the scene, Dodge was already considered a rising star
in the Bureau of Investigation. The Remus Whiskey ring would
be both Willebrandts and first foray into prohibition. She dispatched
(13:09):
Dodge to Cincinnati, and she hoped the agent would not disappoint.
After the raid on death Valley, Dodge and more of
willim Brand's handpicked agents, nicknamed the Mabel Men, were hard
at work preparing for Remus's trial. She was working on
indictments against more of Remus's men, and agents on the
ground in Cincinnati sent her a stream of damning information.
(13:33):
The agents confirmed that one hundred and eighty thousand cases
of liquor had been withdrawn from the Squib's distillery using
the federal permits that Remus was buying from Jess Smith,
and all of that whiskey had been shipped to recipients
who didn't actually exist. It was proof positive that Remus
was shipping all of his medicinal whisky to himself. One fact,
(13:55):
in particular, gave Willian Brandt pause. The agents had recruited
the Death Valley night watchman Elijah Hubbard as an informant,
and then he turned up dead. Franklin Dodge visited Hubbard's wife, Mary.
She told him that her husband had been poisoned to
prevent him from testifying at the trial he was killed.
(14:18):
She told Dodge for knowing too much, Williembrandt knew Mary
Hubbard was a critical witness and one who needed protection,
so she headed to Cincinnati herself. She personally escorted Hubbard
to testify before the federal grand jury, and sure enough,
on the strength of Hubbard's testimony, the grand jury returned
(14:39):
nine indictments against Remus and his co defendants. In addition
to felony charges for violating prohibition laws and internal revenue statutes,
Remus was accused of a misdemeanor maintaining a quote nuisance
at Death Valley Farm. The trial would begin in May
of nineteen twenty two a U. S District Court in Cincinnati,
(15:01):
with Hubbard as the government's star witness. Williembrandt left her
wa witness in Franklin Dodge's capable hands and told him
to keep an eye on Remus. Remus could not spend
a single moment out of Dodge's view day and night.
Dodge parked his sedan outside the mansion, watching Remas and
Imagen come and go. Every time Remis ap peered from
(15:23):
his window or step out his door, the agent was there,
silent and unmoving. Remas appeared unworried. He boasted that his
trial would be a walk in the park.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
I've got everyone and his brother in Washington on my payroll.
This trial will take care of itself.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
He felt so confident that his Washington connections would protect
him that he even made threats if.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
I'm crowded too far, i will tear the heart out
of Washington.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
But Dodge didn't scare easily. He kept spying on the remises,
recording every moment they made until the trial began. With
(16:18):
the crack of his gavel, Judge John Peck called the
trial to order. The prosecution called its star witness, Mary Hubbard,
to the stand. She explained her deceased husband's duties at
death Valley, describe the cars that arrived from across the country,
and named the labels on the cases of whiskey. She
walked along the line of defendants and identified familiar faces.
(16:41):
When the prosecution rested, spectators whispered to each other. Would
George Remas testify now? Would he testify at all? He didn't.
Remas figured there was no point. Jess Smith had repeatedly
assured him there would be no conviction. Within two hours,
the jury reached a decision. Remus and his co defendants
(17:02):
sat in silence as the foreman handed the seal verdict
to the court clerk.
Speaker 7 (17:07):
George Remas guilty, he.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Said, and paused. One by one, he read the other names,
each followed by the word guilty. When he finished the list,
Judge Peck asked the defendants to step forward. Then he
looked Remus in the eye.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
George remas, have you anything to say?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
In that moment, Remus did not feel like himself, and
consequently he failed to act like himself. He did not
unfurl a long soliloquy of esoteric words, or shout or
weep or tear it his hair, or refer to himself
as the third person. Instead, he just swallowed and whispered,
(17:48):
I have nothing. Judge Peck gave him the maximum penalty,
two years at the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta and a
ten thousand dollars fine for the misdemeanor charge of maintaining
a nuisance at Death Valley. He received additional year in
the Miami County Jail in Troy, Ohio. One hour later,
(18:10):
Emma Jean arrived at the clerk's office in a bold
red dress to sign the bonds for her husband and
his co defendants. They would all be free until their
sentences began, but Remus had no intention of going to
prison at all. His mind spun a web of plans,
who ordered his lawyers to start work on his own appeal.
He called Jess Smith and demanded to meet him immediately
(18:33):
in Washington Smith had promised that there would be no conviction.
Now Remus needed Smith to deliver on his second promise
that the bootlegger would never spend a day behind bars.
Remus wasted no time on pleasantries.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
The conviction is there. We are likely to go to
prison if the Court of Appeals don't reverse the case.
What assistance can give it doesn't make any difference. If
the Court of Appeals affirms it, I'll get you out
of it.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Remus remained skeptical.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
The Court of appeas will undoubtedly reverse the decision of
the lower court.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
How do you even know that?
Speaker 4 (19:10):
On account of my friendship with the.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
General, Remus considered this. He knew there was talk both
in Washington and in Ohio that Attorney General Harry Dougherty
was a partner in the circle. To counteract those rumors,
Dougherty had to allow Willem Brandt and the federal prosecutors
in Cincinnati to pursue his case after his trial. Remus
thought maybe Dougherty would be freer to call in favors
(19:36):
discreetly exercising the power of his office. Smith waited, Remus
opened his wallet and counted off twenty thousand dollars bills,
tucking the watt and dismissed. Waiting hand, Remas returned to
his hotel suite. He worried that his money would never
be enough. All Remus could do that summer was wait
(19:59):
for his lawyers to prepare his appeal. Immage did her
best to distract him and suggest Tod a trip to Chicago.
He agreed and she. Remus and Ruth packed their bags
and took off in a limousine with their driver at
the wheel. Ruth sat shotgun and Remus climbed with Imaging
into the back. The drive was unsettling. It seemed they
(20:20):
crossed a railroad track every few minutes, which made Imaging nervous.
She asked the driver to slow down, and then asked again, pleading.
Now Toms pressed to her cheeks. Remus grew impatient. He
did not want to hear another word of complaint. They
bickered incessantly. Finally he had enough. He shoved Imaging toward.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
The car door, stop the cork, get out.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Imaging obeyed. Then Remus got out, opened the driver's door
and told him to move over. The driver forced Ruth
out of her seat. Remus screeched off a short way
down the road, leaving his wife and stepdaughter behind. The
car hurdled along so fast he lost control, so he
thrust his feet against the break. The car whined in
(21:08):
the submission. He allowed Imogen and Ruth to approach. He
joined Imagine in the back seat and motioned for Ruth
to return to the front. The driver took off again,
slowly this time, and they headed west in silence. Ruth
never forgot the ominous events of that summer, including the
(21:29):
night it all came to a head. On this night,
the family was at home, Remas pulled Imagine aside for
a talk. He told her that he wanted to be
the official owner of their home, to alter the deed
to include his name. She refused. It was her wedding gift.
It belonged to her. From her room, Ruth heard a terrible,
(21:50):
terrible scream, and she ran toward the sound. Remus passed
her in the hall, saying nothing. She found her mother
on the bed, a thin ribbon of blood snaking from
her nose. Despite his conviction, Remus wanted to stay in
(22:11):
the liquor business. His various distilleries across the country still
bulged with inventory, and he was desperate to sell these reserves.
He got a tip about the Jack Daniels distillery in
Saint Louis, Missouri. He could purchase it for a reasonable sum,
and its distance from Cincinnati and Willibrand's Mabelman was an
added bonus. But first, as usual, Remus consulted with Imaging.
(22:36):
After their tumultuous summer, they had reconciled, as they always did.
Imageing heard the details of the Jack Daniels deal, and
she decided to make a personal investment of twenty eight
thousand dollars. They would be in this together. Remus plotted
exactly how the whiskey could be removed from the Saint
Louis's stillery without being noticed. He would space out his
(22:57):
withdrawals over an entire year, he confided to a friend,
one of.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Must be patients in these matters.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Thinking so far into the future comforted Remus, as if
the possibility of prison had ceased to exist, and the
rest of his life stretched before him, sweeping and unblemished.
He decided to check in with Jess Smith about protection
payments one last time, but he never got the chance.
At six point thirty in the morning on May twenty ninth,
(23:25):
nineteen twenty three, Jess Smith knelt by the wastebasket in
his bedroom. He placed his head above the opening, like
he would soon vomit. Throughout the previous year, he had
taken hundreds of bribes and made hundreds of promises he
could not keep. The stress was taking a toll. He
was only fifty one years old, but his body was
(23:46):
failing him. His best and truest friend, the Attorney General,
Harry Dougherty, suggested that he check himself into a hospital.
Smith agreed, but then changed his mind. He wanted to
go golfing instead. The following afternoon, Smith Dougherty and one
of his assistants, Warren Martin, for a round of golf.
(24:06):
Dougherty was relieved to see Smith laughing and joking, a
glimpse of his old self peeking through. At sundown, Dougherty
said goodbye and went to the White House, where he
planned to stay overnight. Warren and Smith went back to
the hotel, and Smith closed his bedroom door at nine pm.
(24:27):
Eight and a half hours later, Martin was awakened by
a terrifying crash. He hurried to Smith's room and found
him his head buried in the trash can. A hole
in his right temple and the pistol still dangling from
his fingertips. Smith's suicide sent Remus down a dark well
of worry. Who was left turn shore. He would not
go to jail. It would certainly not be the Federal
(24:49):
Court of Appeals, which on June thirtieth, nineteen twenty three,
upheld Remas's conviction. He would have to serve his time
at the Federal pen in Atlanta. Even with the appeal
denied and jess Smith dead, it wasn't over for Remus.
He would while for a rehearing of his appeal. If
that failed, he would appeal to the Supreme Court of
(25:09):
the United States, and if that failed, he would appeal
to President Harding himself. But on the morning of August fourth,
Remus picked up a copy of the Cincinnati Inquirer and
read the headline President Warren Harding dead. The official cause
of death was quote a stroke of apoplexy. His vice President,
(25:31):
Calvin Coleidge had been sworn in as the nation's thirtieth president.
Will And Brandt and Franklin Dodge had tracked Remus's behavior
as his appeal wound its way through the courts.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
We know he's been working his influence all up and
down the line congressman and public officials in the state
of Ohio, and clear up even to the White House itself.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
She needed to quash the bootlegger's hopes of reopening his
case before President Colidge could be persuaded to decide otherwise.
She scrolled a piece of paper through her typewriter and
began writing the words, coming faster than her fingers were
able to move.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
I am of the emphatic opinion that no respite should
be given to George Remas or any of the defendants
convicted with him. George Remas and his group of co
conspirators are defiant, dangerous lawbreakers. I am reliably informed that
Remus is now engaged in the distribution of illicit liquor
in Saint Louis. In fact, I have under weigh at
(26:29):
the present time an investigation as to his activities.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
In all of his conspiracies, he has exhibited a rare
ability to surround himself with seemingly respectable and unimportant citizens
while he hides behind their operations.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Mullin Brandt wasn't sure her plea would be heard, but
President Colich surprised her. He agreed that Riema should report
to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary on January twenty fourth, nineteen
twenty four, as originally scheduled. On that day, Reemas stood
before his bedroom mirror, dressing to go to prison. He
selected a pearl gray silk suit, his favorite bowler hat
(27:09):
as soon with a ribbon, and as usual, no underwear.
Remus's lawyer had prepared a power of attorney that granted
Imaging control of his empire. Although he had, in a
fit of anger, sought to reclaim the deed to their mansion,
he was now glad it was under Imaging's name. He
transferred ownership of the Fleischmann Distillery in Cincinnati and entrusted
(27:33):
her with his various bank accounts, also a million dollars
in whiskey certificates, and all of his personal jewelry worth
one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars into her hand.
He dropped the keys for two luxury cars to cover
her and Ruth's expenses. For two years, he were to
check for one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. He also
set up a trust for Omola, his daughter from his
(27:55):
first marriage, Even though his affection for the girl regularly
sent Imaging into an absurd and vengeful rage. At the
start of their relationship. Back in Chicago, she told a
bell boy at the Illinois Athletic Club that she would
kill Remiss if he gave Romola any gifts. He kissed
Imaging goodbye at the front door of the mansion. An
(28:16):
automobile idled in the driveway, waiting to take him to
the Federal Building downtown. From there he would catch the
train to Atlanta. As the train rubbled into motion, Remus
tried to maintain his joviality, or at least the appearance
of it. He joked that his weight had climbed to
two hundred and twenty five pounds, the heaviest he'd ever been.
(28:37):
He said prison would help him quote reduce. He equipped
to the accompanying reporters that this was the first pro
tracked in vacation he'd had in years.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
Oh wow, I'm reconciled to my favor. I'll be a
good soldier and served my time.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
On this date, November twenty first, nineteen twenty seven, this
session of the Criminal Division of Common Police Court in
Hamilton County will come to order.
Speaker 7 (29:17):
I call Henry Spilker to the stand. Do you remember
when George Remas was sent to the Atlanta penitentiary?
Speaker 6 (29:33):
Yes?
Speaker 7 (29:34):
Did you see Missus Remas anytime after he was sent
to the Atlanta Penitentiary?
Speaker 6 (29:39):
Yes, it was when I had charged one afternoon in
a road house. They called it the Delhi House. It
is six miles out of Cincinnati.
Speaker 7 (29:48):
Who did Missus Remas come there with?
Speaker 6 (29:51):
I never saw that fellow before. He might be lighter
than Remus, much younger. I let them in. It was
a secret place for all the dry officials and well
to do people. So I left them and I never
said a and I sat them in the big dining room.
But before I had them seated, miss Remus asked me
if I didn't have a private room for them. They
(30:13):
didn't like to be seen in case someone else should
come in. So I took them upstairs and gave them
a private room.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
How did you happen to come here as a witness?
Speaker 6 (30:24):
I read in the paper about this case, So I
remember the time I saw miss Remis in the roadhouse,
and so I thought to myself that man has made
lots of money, and she ought to go out with
somebody else while he is in jail. I wanted to
tell people that she done something bad that she should
not do, and I always figured after that that she
(30:44):
will get in trouble sooner or later.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
Next time. On Remiss The Mad Bootleg.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
King, I want you to cultivate Frank the dotch play
up to him because he is the last chance to
Elton get.
Speaker 7 (31:04):
Out of here. Well, I'm daddy.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
I think mister Dodge will be able to do you
some good.
Speaker 7 (31:11):
Frank, You're getting yourself in a hot spot. If Georgie
ever finds out that you are mixing up in company
with his wife, he will shoot you.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Remus The Mad Bootleg King is a co production of
iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It's hosted by me
Abbot Kaylor, Chuck Reese and I wrote the show. Our
producer is Miranda Hawkins. Our senior producer is Jessica Metzker.
Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, Elsie Crowley, and
Jason English. Sound design and mixed by Chris Childs. Elise
(31:43):
McCoy composed original music. Additional scoring by Chris Childs. Voices
in this episode provided by Ben Bolan, Lauren Vovobaum, Julia,
Chris Gal Noel Brown, Matt Frederick, James Morrison, Luke Carlozel,
Jonathan Sleep, Jewel Ruiz, Miranda Hawkins, Jay Jones, and Van Gunter.
(32:05):
Special thanks to John Higgins from Curiosity Stream and the
team at CDM Studios in New York. If you're a
fan of the podcast, please give it a review on
your podcast app. You can also check out other Curiosity
podcasts to learn about history, pop culture, true crime, and more.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
School of Humans,
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