The Epic Lives of George and Imogene Remus

George Remus was a lawyer turned criminal who became known as the “King of the Bootleggers” during Prohibition. He made hundreds of millions of dollars by exploiting loopholes in the Volstead Act, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States. Remus was not the only bootlegger during this era, but he was one of the most notorious and colorful figures of the age. A contemporary of New York City criminal mastermind Arnold Rothstein, Remus sold the best bourbon and alcohol in the land, paving the way for another associate -- Al Capone -- to establish his Chicago crime syndicate.

To understand Remus's story, we must first understand the context of his era. The United States had entered a period of cultural and political change in the early 20th century. The Prohibition era, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, was a time when alcohol was illegal, but it was still widely consumed.

Many people saw Prohibition as a violation of their personal freedom, and they were willing to break the law to obtain alcohol. George Remus was driven by his feeling that Prohibition was against the rights of the people and that any law that was immoral could be broken. And, break Prohibition he did!