1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,840 Speaker 1: We went to podcast Moving this weekend and they said 2 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: the first thirty seconds to your show are the most important. 3 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: So here we go, thirty seconds bing bang boom, ready 4 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: and thirty seconds go. We're very funny and we're gonna 5 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:10,560 Speaker 1: do stuff here. It's gonna be great. You're gonna hear 6 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: about stories, and you're gonna be hear about people, history, stuff, romance, love, affection, killing, 7 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: all kinds of weird ship. Whoa, I think that was 8 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: only like ten, so right ahead, great, yeah, alright, Well, 9 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: the first thing we gotta do is, of course, we 10 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: gotta do little housekeeping. We gotta get some of this 11 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: garbage out of the way. And oh my god, I 12 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: can't believe it. I feel like we're always here. But 13 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: we got to revisit corrections corner. You're such a loser. Well, 14 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,239 Speaker 1: in our episode about Murasaki Shikibu and the Tale of Genji, 15 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: we brought up Wishbone, the literary dog. Yeah, who I love, 16 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,279 Speaker 1: by the way, so this is really upsetting to me, 17 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: childhood favorite. And I said Wishbone was a beagle. Fortunately, 18 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: lovely listener Jonathan Gara Lami wrote in and he told 19 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: us you're wrong. He's not a beagle. He's a Jack 20 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: Russell terrier. Obviously, this whole thing is a Jack Terrier. 21 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: And I apologize to everyone because the Wishbone deserves more respects. 22 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,479 Speaker 1: It's true. It's those it's those sharp ears that keep 23 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: us honest, and we appreciate it. Also, I think I 24 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: believe this is the same Jonathan who left us a 25 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: review on Apple Podcasts talking about how he likes to 26 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: listen to our podcast while he works on a hunt build. 27 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: I really need more information about this hunt build. I 28 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: would like to know more. Please and thank you, send 29 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: photos or whatever. Thank you so much? Hunt build? Is 30 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: that you can't just drop two words like that? What 31 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: can I go? I mean, I need more information aunt 32 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: haunt me so yes, thank you Jonathan, much appreciated. Yeah, 33 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: sorry to Wishbone and all his fans. Well, anyway, let's 34 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: get to it. Hey y'all, what's up? Hey everybody. I'm 35 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: Diana and I'm Eli, and today we have a very 36 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: exciting story about George Remus. This one was suggested by 37 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 1: a listener named Karen G. Thank thank really good suggestion. 38 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. These are the kind of suggestions 39 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: we like to get. Take note, we've been getting a 40 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: lot of really good ones. So if we haven't got 41 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: two years yet, apologies, but it is on the list, 42 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: I promise. And when I say this is the kind 43 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:26,519 Speaker 1: of suggestion we like to get, I mean one a suggestion. 44 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 1: But yeah. So this story is about George Remus, who 45 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: was a super smart guy. He went from drug store 46 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: clerk to pharmacist to lawyer and his brains and ambition alone. 47 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: But when prohibition hit he saw his real opportunity and 48 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: he became the King of the Bootleggers, controlling most of 49 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: the whiskey in the US. And he thought his empire 50 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: was safe in the hands of his beloved wife, Augusta 51 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: Emma Jane Holmes when he was finally busted and taken 52 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: to prison for a couple of years, But instead she 53 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: double crossed him with the very federal agent who had 54 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: been assigned to his case, evening George with the gilch 55 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: with the King of the bootleggers, take revenge on his 56 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,959 Speaker 1: backstabbing Betty, or which did you leave him high and dry? 57 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: All right, let's go, hey, their friends come listen well, 58 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: Elia and Diana got some stories to tell. There's no 59 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: match making a romantic tips, It's just about ridiculous relationships. 60 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: A lover might be any type of person at all, 61 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,839 Speaker 1: and abstract comes at a concrete wall. But if there's 62 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: a story where the second glance ridiculous roles a production 63 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: of iHeart Radio, let's talk about George Remus. This guy 64 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: was born in Germany in eighteen fifty two. His family 65 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: immigrated to the U s when he was four years old, 66 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: and they moved around a little bit before they finally 67 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: settled in Chicago, where his father worked as a lumber scorer, 68 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: which I assume is somebody who looks at each log 69 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: that comes through and says, so he's German. So he's like, 70 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: that's the best piece of lumber we've seen this week, 71 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: because this is a nine point one. Yeah, exactly, So 72 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: the Olympics of lumbering, or maybe they like make the 73 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: marks that lumber is then cut on. I suppose that 74 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: could be it. That's another definition of scoring. Can you 75 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: imagine if someone's like, oh, come see my house. It 76 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: was built with only nines and tens lumbers. This plank 77 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: right here was an eight point seven. Sounds like my 78 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: house is crap. It's all fours and five. Yeah. Well, 79 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: George himself when he was fourteen, he started or working. 80 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: His father was an alcoholic and he developed rheumatism and 81 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: got too ill to work, so George had to step 82 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: it up when he was fourteen and he started working 83 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: as a clerk at his uncle's drug store in Chicago. 84 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: By the time he's nineteen, he completed a course to 85 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: become a certified pharmacist, and by the time he's twenty one, 86 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: he bought his uncle's drug store and another drug store. 87 00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: So he had two drug stores going at this time, 88 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: two more than I have. I know, right when I 89 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: was twenty one, do you know how many drug stores 90 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: I owned? I didn't even own drugs at all I had. 91 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: I had to go leach off friends leasing your drugs. 92 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 1: I was like, you got anything. So anyway, George has 93 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: got two drug stores. He's a certified pharmacist. He also 94 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: got an optometrist license. Jeez, the guy slow down. George 95 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: saves him for the rest of us. But he did 96 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: not stop there. He decided to study law and he 97 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: finished a three year course in eighteen months. Hang on, 98 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: I have to take some time in my head to 99 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: calculate how many months out of three years eighteen is 100 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: because I didn't do that. I figured it out while 101 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: I was saying that I'm pretty smart, not as smart 102 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: as George, you miss. He's ruining the curve all right. 103 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,679 Speaker 1: During this time, while he's at this three year course 104 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: in a year and a half, so during this time, 105 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: he meets Lillian Clough. She was a customer in one 106 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: of his drugs stores, and they just hit it off 107 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: right away, and in they got married and had a daughter, 108 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: Romola in By nineteen oh four, George is a criminal 109 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:16,160 Speaker 1: defense lawyer with offices right next to Clarence Darrow's pretty 110 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 1: sweet Clarence Darrow, of course, the famous lawyer who worked 111 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: on the Scopes monkey trial and was a leading member 112 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: of the A C. L U. It's here for Clarence. 113 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 1: In one year, George defended eighteen murder cases. Several of 114 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 1: them were found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty, 115 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: which George was very against, and so he became a 116 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,679 Speaker 1: very active member of the Anti Capital Punishment Society. George 117 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,359 Speaker 1: liked a controversial client, He loved a murder case. He 118 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 1: loved a big name. He loved and I think splashy. 119 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,559 Speaker 1: He was a really theatrical guy. He liked to refer 120 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: to himself in the third person. He actually earned the 121 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: name crying George or like crying remiss in the courtroom 122 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: because he would cry if he needed to. He's, like 123 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: I say, he's a dramatic eye. Hey, that's a solid tactic. 124 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: He was a meticulous dresser, an avid reader. He liked 125 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: good art and good food, and he did not drink 126 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: or smoked tobacco. According to the website Immigrant Entrepreneurship, he 127 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: was also an anarchist. He did not believe in God 128 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: or government. He knew how to fight and he was 129 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 1: willing to do it. He wasn't like jumping into fights 130 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: all the time, but if he had to, he could 131 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: give a good account of himself. Yeah, and he was 132 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: a strong swimmer. Apparently he set a record in nineteen 133 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: o seven for staying in Lake Michigan in the wintertime 134 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: for five hours and forty minutes, and that record would 135 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: stand for decades. What this guy is fucking, Harrison Burgheron, Like, 136 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: why he's too that's too much again, George, I I 137 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: said save some for the rest of us when you 138 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: were on seconds and now you're on fifths, Like, come on, 139 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: doing too much? Starving here in the courtroom he favored 140 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: dramatic pronouncement, bits of arcane law, and sweeping gestures and 141 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: passionate arguments, and like I said, he loved a controversial client. 142 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: He got famous in nineteen fourteen defending William Cheney Ellis, 143 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: who was a guy who killed his wife. Um, he 144 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: had William plead not guilty by reason of transitory insanity, 145 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: which is known as temporary insanity. Of course, and a 146 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: lot of sources say that he pioneered this line of defense. 147 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: But of course our audience knows that Harry Thaw actually 148 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: tried the same thing successfully in nineteen o seven. But anyway, 149 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: George loves drama, all right. That all that to say, 150 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,080 Speaker 1: the guy loves a drama and he is about to 151 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: get plenty of it because in nineteen fifteen Lillian threatened 152 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: to divorce George. She was like, yeah, I've heard all 153 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: about your flirtation with some hussy. You might even be 154 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: paying a rent. I heard, George. Oh wow, I see her. 155 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: She's like in an Angora, you know, white sweater and 156 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: make stole. So Lillian didn't know this for sure, right, 157 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: but she was absolutely right that definitely was happening. When 158 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: you know, you know it's all I'm saying women's intuition. 159 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: George had become infatuated with a woman named Augusta Imogene Holmes, 160 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: and how they met is just a little obscured. In 161 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: some places, she's referred to as his secretary on immigrant entrepreneurship. 162 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:24,719 Speaker 1: They said that she worked at a deli near his 163 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: law office and he would go get groceries and talk 164 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: to her there, And then in the New York Post 165 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: they said that she was a dust girl who cleaned 166 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: his office. He told Lillian he was only helping her 167 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: with advice about her divorce. You know, just a kind gesture. 168 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: I'm just He's like, ah, no, George, He's just George 169 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: is just helping her out. To say, George is just 170 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 1: trying to help this poor girl out in a jam. 171 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: She even needs some advice about her divorce. And I'm 172 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 1: a lawyer, I'm a little German. He can just a 173 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: little bit of German in my voice. And yes, say so, 174 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: I'm just doing what I can here. She's just trying 175 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,679 Speaker 1: to help this poor girl out. But as soon as 176 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:09,079 Speaker 1: Imogen was divorced Boom they started having an affair. He 177 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: even moved into Imagene's place in nineteen eighteen on December. 178 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 1: So very Christmas wife. I'm moving in with the client. 179 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 1: But one day this guy shows up at Imagine's place. 180 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,959 Speaker 1: He had found a watch that her daughter Ruth, had 181 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 1: lost at some point, and he wanted a reward for 182 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: getting it giving it back. Can't anybody just do anything nice? 183 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? Where's altruism? I don't know. 184 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:39,319 Speaker 1: Maybe he was starving. Maybe he demanded fifteen dollars for it, which, 185 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 1: hang on, let me check here. It's nineteen, two hundred 186 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,079 Speaker 1: and twenty five dollars today. It's a lot for a 187 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: kid's watch. She countered with what she felt was a 188 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: more reasonable offer, which was five dollars, which is something 189 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: like seventy five bucks. Now, okay, that's still pretty good, 190 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:02,079 Speaker 1: Still pretty good. But then George got involved in the negotiations. 191 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,199 Speaker 1: He came in and punched the guy in the jaw 192 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 1: and chased him out of the house. Thanks so much 193 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: for bringing my for bringing my out all the way 194 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: you got Scottish al What what voice did I just do? 195 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 1: It was like, yeah, sure, thanks for bringing my daughter's 196 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: watch back. Yah, that'll that'll teach her to return children's 197 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: watches to them. The guy did press charges well, as 198 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,560 Speaker 1: they were dropped, but the whole story was in the papers, 199 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: and now Lilian had proof that George was cheating, so 200 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: she filed for divorce in nineteen nineteen for cruelty. She 201 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: said not only had he been providing a home for 202 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 1: another woman for three years, but he had also been 203 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: physically violent to Lilian on several occasions. So he had 204 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 1: to settle a bunch of money on her and their 205 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: daughter Romola outright, as well as giving weekly amens to them. 206 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: But he was free to marry Imagine, which he did 207 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 1: in ninety and he also formally adopted Ruth Imagine's daughter, 208 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: who at the time was thirteen years old. Now all 209 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: this time he's dealing with his love life. Big things 210 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 1: are happening in the US, obviously. I don't know if 211 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: you've heard, but the late teens and the twenties in 212 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: the United States things were going down. Yeah, big ship 213 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: first and foremost the Great War, World War the first, 214 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: the biggest far anyone ever heard of at the time. 215 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: Many implications to World War One, of course, but a 216 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: big one was the anti German sentiment that sees the nation. 217 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: And if you remember George's uh impeccable accent um. He 218 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: is of German descent. At the time of high schoolers 219 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: studied German. By the end of the war, only one 220 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: percent of high school's even taught it, you know which, 221 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: I would think that would make it more useful, honestly, 222 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:05,839 Speaker 1: but no, thine enemy, as you say, you know, I 223 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: better learn Germans. Yeah, as I could trick these guys 224 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,559 Speaker 1: if they ever get into my high school. Apparently they 225 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: had a thought that if you spoke in German, you 226 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,959 Speaker 1: would begin to think like a German, like if if 227 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: you if you spoke another language. That this is I'm 228 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: not even kidding this. On NPR, they're like, if you 229 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: speak like a Houn, you think like a hun Like. 230 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 1: I just wonder, because we studied German before, were we 231 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,320 Speaker 1: expecting everyone to suddenly be like, I don't know why, 232 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: but I love sauer Krau now or something like. So anyway, 233 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: German sentiment not going well in the US. Buildings were renamed, 234 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: German papers were suppressed, German books were taken off shelves 235 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 1: and libraries. German American citizens were even interned in camps. God, 236 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:52,480 Speaker 1: I'm just so sick of that. It's such a weird 237 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: solution to anything. Yeah, anything remotely related to the culture 238 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:01,199 Speaker 1: of the country we're fighting must be destroy. Put a 239 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: pile and look at it, make sture it doesn't move. 240 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: It's outrageous. Because Germans often brewed beer, they were targeted 241 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 1: by the Temperance movement, and they used anti German sentiment 242 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:16,080 Speaker 1: from the war to help spread their message. For example, 243 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: they claimed that German brewers were financing Germany during the war, 244 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: and so, oh, you drank that bud wis Er, you 245 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 1: know where that money's going straight to kaser Wilhelm's for chest. Yeah. Yeah, 246 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,800 Speaker 1: that beer paid for a hun's helmet. So the call 247 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: for prohibition is getting loud in the US. Yeah. And 248 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: we won't get super into the prohibition, just the parts 249 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 1: that matter for this, But I will say that a 250 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: great podcast about some of the reasons why prohibition came 251 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: about is it's called Unobscured, and they did a whole 252 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: season on spiritualism. And I had always thought it was 253 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: a bummer that suffragettes we're a major proponents of prohibition, 254 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: because I was like, man, why y'all got to be 255 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: such buzz kills or whatever? But that podcast taught me 256 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: how many of these women's husbands would drink away their 257 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: entire week's wages at the pub and then come home 258 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: and beat them up. So I was like, I guess 259 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: I get it now. That sounds like they'd be like, 260 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: you know what, maybe if he didn't drink, we wouldn't 261 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: have all these freaking problems. So I guess I get it. Yeah, 262 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: check out on Obscured. We met with Carl who is 263 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 1: a research on that show, uh this week at podcast Movement, 264 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: and he's awesome. We had a great time hanging out 265 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: with him, and we got to see Aaron Mankey give 266 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: a panel to which is really very interesting, very true 267 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: and helpful. Yeah for ourselves, no surprise, And Aaron Mankey 268 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: podcast is good. So anyway, prohibition is getting close and 269 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: closer to becoming law. People are being divided in this 270 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 1: country into drives who were for prohibition and wets who 271 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: were against, which was like gross wet, I would be 272 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: for prohibition just to not be called a wet. And 273 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: so they're crafting the federal legislation and it was tricky 274 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: because many senators and congressmen were wets. They like to drink, 275 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: They owned a bunch of stock and distilleries like you know, 276 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: they had sellers because they were rich, so they had 277 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: sellers full of generations worth of wine and beer that 278 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: they were very proud of. They had to be real 279 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 1: careful with how they wrote this legislation because they wanted 280 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: it to pass. Obviously, that's the number one thing. So 281 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: there's this guy named Wayne Wheeler, and he is the 282 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: guy who is often credited with writing the Prohibition Act, 283 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: but actually it was just one of the guys in 284 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: the room where it happened. Daniel Okrant in his book 285 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: Last Call, he wrote that Wheeler was pretty cage about 286 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: how he got this done. He made sure that it 287 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: was not specifically stated that it was illegal to buy 288 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: or drink alcohol, and he felt that that would make 289 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: it easier if they caught somebody drinking, they would be 290 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: willing to give up the name of their supplier because 291 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 1: they weren't in trouble. You just had to pass on 292 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,480 Speaker 1: a name. And then he also had them right intoxicating 293 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: liquors instead of alcoholic beverages, and that kind of lulled 294 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: a lot of the wets into a false sense of 295 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: security because they were like, oh, well, cool, that means 296 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: surely that will have some alcoholics will be a strong 297 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: absence and ship like that is going to go. But yeah, yeah, yeah, 298 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:25,720 Speaker 1: but it'll be like something we can still get a 299 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: little funked up on, you know what I mean. So 300 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: they were like, okay, fine, yeah, we'll still have something 301 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: to drink. But then Wheeler got to define what intoxicating mint, 302 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: and as Occurrent writes, he defined it as quote anything 303 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: ingestible that contained more than zero point five alcohol. This 304 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: prescribed the lightest of wines, the most diluted forms of beer, 305 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: and if you really wanted to get serious about it, 306 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,400 Speaker 1: then naturally occurring fermentation that takes place in some recipes 307 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:01,359 Speaker 1: for sauerkraut, which is point eight per sent alcohol and 308 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: German chocolate cake, which is point six to He did 309 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: make some concessions, though, He said, hey, rabbis and priests, 310 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: you guys can still buy and distribute wine for religious services, 311 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: because he can't piss off the religious folks when you're legislating. 312 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: That is rule number one. And because the South was 313 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: so important to getting the legislation passed, he threw them 314 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 1: a bone two and he said, all right, ciders, your 315 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: fruit juices, things like that, those will be exempt to 316 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: quote enable the farmers and housewives of the country to 317 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 1: conserve their fruits. I think I think Okrant said something 318 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 1: like apparently he said this with a straight face, which 319 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: I think it's funny because it's like, Okay, sure, y'all 320 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: can make moodshine, Yeah, right, go for it. It was 321 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,400 Speaker 1: also legal for physicians and pharmacists to buy and distribute 322 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: alcohol for medicinal purposes. Okrant says fifteen thousand physicians lined 323 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: up for permits before the prohibition was six months old. 324 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,200 Speaker 1: Gotta get it in from most they saw which way 325 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: the wind was blowing. For most of the nine twenties, 326 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: a patient could fill a prescription for one point every 327 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: ten days, and a doctor could write a hundred prescriptions 328 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: a month. A numbered government issued forms that resembled like 329 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: a stock certificate. Remember all those senators with full sellers 330 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: at home, Well, it was perfectly legal for them to 331 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: have and drink any alcohol that they had bought before 332 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 1: the act was passed. Oh oh, it was nice of 333 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: the legislators to throw the legislators a bone. Now, so 334 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: sweet of them to look after themselves. I mean, I 335 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: think everybody could, but still, yeah, but we know who 336 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: they were thinking about. Who has a stockpile of alcohol 337 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,120 Speaker 1: that they don't want to get rid of right away. 338 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,879 Speaker 1: The rich people. So before the Volstead Act, which is 339 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: the law of prohibition named for the main writer Andrew Volstead, 340 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:56,400 Speaker 1: before it passed, plenty of senators started redistributing their stockholdings 341 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: and distilleries. They bought a bunch of liquor and beer 342 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 1: to keep at home, of course, while it was still legal, 343 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: and other people quickly opened pharmacies and took deliveries of scotch. 344 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:09,160 Speaker 1: Even Volstead, who wrote the Act so tightly that none 345 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: of it was ever found unconstitutional, knew that they'd have 346 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: to keep amending the law based on how people reacted 347 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: to it. He said, quote, all laws will be violated. Yeah, 348 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,879 Speaker 1: I mean true, That's pretty true. Occurrant rites. It was 349 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 1: said often in the nineteen twenties. The drys had their law, 350 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,879 Speaker 1: and the wets would have their liquor. Well, everybody's happy, 351 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,800 Speaker 1: except for the all the heads we busted, right except 352 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: for much like marijuana prohibition, you know, people who are 353 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: rich got away with it, and people who are poor 354 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,359 Speaker 1: or minorities did not. They bore the brunt of the 355 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: penalties that they wanted to put into place after the 356 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: Act passed, there were some songs that got popular, like 357 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: how dry I Am? I actually know that song? Do you? Yeah? 358 00:20:56,119 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: That's I know dry I am. Nobody knows how dry 359 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: I am. You don't sound very dry. Well, that's the 360 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:11,640 Speaker 1: only reason I know it is because they would sing 361 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 1: it in like old looney tunes, cartuns and stuff that 362 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: makes sense. Yeah, like the cartoon ant would fall into 363 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: a barrel whiskey and then come out singing that song. 364 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 1: Also a song that became popular was I never knew 365 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: I had a wonderful wife until the town went dry. Okay, 366 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:31,680 Speaker 1: that one I have not heard. No, please give me 367 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 1: a few hours. Oh didn't you know? I got a 368 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: wonderful wife, I got a wonderful life, and I never 369 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 1: didn't know because I was drunk the whole time. It's 370 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: got kind of a kind of a snappy cadence, a 371 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 1: little jazzy, a little uh yeah. I think they go 372 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:54,480 Speaker 1: into a break like boo. It's the kind of you 373 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:58,160 Speaker 1: know what, It's the kind of music you really want 374 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: to hear when you're drunk at a like a jazz club. 375 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: I'm sure they listened to and they were like, this 376 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: is better than alcohol. I feel great. So George. Back 377 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 1: to George. He's still practicing law, and after the Volstead 378 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: Act passed and was enacted on January six nine, he 379 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 1: started getting a lot more clients who were in trouble 380 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: for liquor violations. Of course, naturally, there was one judge 381 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: who really hated George's theatrical, long winded arguments. George had 382 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 1: come out like, listen here, George. George has a story 383 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,240 Speaker 1: for you. Once about a time my client was on 384 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 1: a green hillside and suddenly a bottle of liquor just 385 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: flew from the sky and fell into his hand, and 386 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:42,399 Speaker 1: he got up and danced like this, And then George 387 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: would dance for fifteen minutes. And the judge is like, okay, George, George, George, George, 388 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:56,159 Speaker 1: I find you in contempt. I find you intolerable. So 389 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 1: this judge liked a direct, concise line of thought, the 390 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,639 Speaker 1: opposite of George. So when George had a case, the 391 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,479 Speaker 1: judge usually found the client guilty real quick and just 392 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: sentenced them do this huge ten thousand dollar fine. But 393 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: even though most of these clients were working class, George 394 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 1: would see them just shrug and pay the fines, most 395 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 1: often with wads of cash they just pull out of 396 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: their pockets right there in court. Here you go, you're 397 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: on dollars. Let me see, let me check my shoe. Here. 398 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: We're like, oh, here you go jump change. Yeah, just 399 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: handery cash. And it's like, okay, I'm gonna go back 400 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: to my run down old house now. And he's like, 401 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: how is this happening? How are these guys getting so rich? 402 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: He realized, of course it was because of prohibition. He 403 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,439 Speaker 1: later said in court quote, I was impressed with the 404 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,400 Speaker 1: rapidity in which those men, without any brains at all, 405 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: piled up fortunes in the liquor business. I saw a 406 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: chance to make a clean up. Well how did he 407 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,640 Speaker 1: make his clean up? Let's find out Right after this 408 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 1: and we're back and George is ready to make some 409 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: money off prohibition, and everything he'd ever done up to 410 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: this point would help him do it because he was 411 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 1: a lawyer, so he studied the act. He found all 412 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: the loopholes that they had carefully placed in it. And 413 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,680 Speaker 1: he already owned some drug stores here and he had 414 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:19,119 Speaker 1: a pharmacist license, so he's good to go. Plus he 415 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,239 Speaker 1: was such a powerful swimmer. Uh he could you know, 416 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: swim through vats, which I assume maybe comes up sometimes 417 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: when you're doing when you're smuggling booze. Why not. I'm 418 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: sure all kinds of weird ship comes up when I'm 419 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:33,919 Speaker 1: just saying. If I if I was looking for somebody 420 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: to help me smuggle booze and it was down to 421 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: two guys, and it was like, this guy can really 422 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,679 Speaker 1: swim really well and this guy can't, I might think, like, 423 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 1: will you never know if somebody's gonna have to swim 424 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: through a vat a lot of vats in the in 425 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,640 Speaker 1: the booze business, or take a keg up the river. Sure, yeah, 426 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: sometimes that's gonna happen. So anyway, Yeah, he could easily 427 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 1: set up a fully legal operation basically to buy and 428 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:59,719 Speaker 1: sell alcohol for medicinal purposes. But George, as we know, 429 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: is ambitious. He wanted more. He wanted it all. Namely, 430 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,439 Speaker 1: he wanted all the whiskey in the US under his 431 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,679 Speaker 1: personal control. Oh is that all? He actually thought that 432 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,080 Speaker 1: he could get so big that he'd be able to 433 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:18,320 Speaker 1: have stock in his illegal business on Wall Street. I 434 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:20,919 Speaker 1: love it. It's time for George to get to work. 435 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: At First, he tried to start operating in Chicago, which is, 436 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:26,879 Speaker 1: of course where he lived, and your go to town 437 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: for for bootlegging booze. Right, If I if I had 438 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: to guess anywhere to bootleg booze, I'd say Chicago. That's 439 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: where they did it, right, al capone bing bang boom, 440 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,359 Speaker 1: bing bang boom. But then he realized eight of America's 441 00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:44,159 Speaker 1: bonded whiskey was actually within three hundred miles of Cincinnati. 442 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: Plus Cincinnati had a huge German population there, and the 443 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 1: Volstead Act was unpopular to basically the whole place. Yeah, 444 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,360 Speaker 1: nobody like that, a perfect place for him to set 445 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: up shop. He bought fourteen distilleries with millions of gallons 446 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: of whiskey inside. He got everything from Fleishman's to Jack Daniels, 447 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,399 Speaker 1: just all the whiskey. Yeah. And by the way, all 448 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: this whiskey is legal because it's as long as it's 449 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 1: already made and sitting in the warehouse, it's fine. You're good. 450 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,119 Speaker 1: That's why it's bonded whiskey. It's government owned kind of, 451 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,640 Speaker 1: so you need like a government withdrawal certificate to take 452 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: it out legally. So he buys another drug store in Covington, Kentucky, 453 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: to distribute his alcohol on the medical market, medicinal alcohol, 454 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 1: I love it. But he would also hire guys to 455 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: hijack his own trucks to divert the liquor back to 456 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: the bootlegging market. He also had a farm in northwest Cincinnati, 457 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: which he dubbed Death Valley because of all the hired 458 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,880 Speaker 1: gunmen he had protecting the road that led to it. 459 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: His business became so vast that it grossed as much 460 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: as twenty five million dollars per year that is not 461 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: adjusted for inflation. That is how much he was bringing 462 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: in in nineteen, which amounts to three hundred and eighty 463 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:08,159 Speaker 1: million dollars today a year. And he employed hundreds of 464 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: drivers and guards and salesmen. He had office personnel, warehouse workers, YadA, YadA, YadA, 465 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 1: A big, big hole industry, a lot of jobs. Acrane 466 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:21,679 Speaker 1: also writes, quote plus of course the lawyers, the politicians, 467 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:26,920 Speaker 1: prohibition agents, police officers, and other confederates necessary to any 468 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: self respecting criminal operation. Big payroll basically here. So he 469 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:37,040 Speaker 1: and his family, Imogene and and Ruth moved to Cincinnati, 470 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: and at first they hang out in this hotel room 471 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 1: for a little while before they get a house. But 472 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:43,120 Speaker 1: that turned out to be a bit of a mistake. 473 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,920 Speaker 1: US Treasury agent William J. Mellon bugged his hotel room 474 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,840 Speaker 1: and he listened to everything that happened inside it. One 475 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,680 Speaker 1: day he heard that George was about to bring eighteen 476 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 1: great cars of illegal liquor across the Ohio River from 477 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,199 Speaker 1: Kentucky and dis Cincinnati. When he took the info to 478 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: the prohibition enforcement officials in Cincinnati, they barely cared. They 479 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: told him Son, there's times when a man has to 480 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: be practical in this business. It's only a few weeks 481 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,439 Speaker 1: to election, and the information you've dug up is political dynamite. 482 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:22,320 Speaker 1: The menu spied on, the agents and marshals are political appointees. 483 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: Go back to New York and forget it. Incredible. When 484 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,679 Speaker 1: the election came and went, Warren Harding became president. And 485 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: Harding's presidency is pretty obscured these days because he had 486 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: a hard time making decisions, so he's kind of a waffler. 487 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: But he had some good moves. He was the first 488 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: to allow regular people inside the White House thanks Um. 489 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: He brought black people back to government jobs after Woodrow 490 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: Wilson pretty much purged all of them. Yeah, he was 491 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: very racist, and he urged Congress to pass an anti 492 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: lynching bill, and he traveled to Georgia to tell everyone 493 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,560 Speaker 1: that black people should be able to vote. So big 494 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: thumbs up for for Warren Harding there. Warren g And 495 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 1: when it came to Prohibition, he wasn't really into it either, 496 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: it seems, because he appointed people to his cabinet like 497 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,520 Speaker 1: Andrew Mellon, who was the Treasury Secretary. He loathed prohibition. 498 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: He was super against it. And the Prohibition commissioner, Roy 499 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: Haynes quote was a punchline. According to Akrant, his Attorney General, 500 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 1: Harry Doherty, I'm not gonna worry about it. In fact, 501 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,760 Speaker 1: Doherty actually brought a friend with him to Washington named 502 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 1: Jess Smith. Jess was just supposed to be an unpaid 503 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,960 Speaker 1: aid but actually what he started doing with selling government 504 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: withdrawals certificates for liquor as the paperwork that you need 505 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: to legally move liquor around that we talked about earlier, well, 506 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 1: George wanted those certificates, as you can imagine, so he 507 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 1: got close to Jess real quick, along with every other bootlegger. 508 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 1: Immigrant Entrepreneurship says it made George feel invincible. He thought 509 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,120 Speaker 1: he had protection for his enterprise at every level, quote 510 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 1: from local police to the president's cabinet. But President Harding 511 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,600 Speaker 1: was also looking around for a woman to a point. 512 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: Suffragettes were super politically powerful at this point in the twenties, 513 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 1: and he was looking for a symbolic appointment. Right, I 514 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,080 Speaker 1: need a token woman to make the ladies feel good. Yeah, 515 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 1: let's show and a twist. Let's show them. We'll hire 516 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: women by hiring one woman. That's the way to do it. Yeah, 517 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: and no more too many. So they settled on Mabel 518 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,560 Speaker 1: Walker Willebrandt. She was this thirty two year old woman. 519 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,840 Speaker 1: She was only five years out of law school, without 520 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 1: a single case under her belt. Perfect person to be 521 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:43,960 Speaker 1: the assistant Attorney General in charge of cracking down on 522 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: the volsted violators. That's how much they did not care. 523 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: They were like, good luck, but you're gonna get overwhelmed 524 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 1: real fast. But they didn't know about Mabel. Okay. Mabel 525 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: was deely, she was relentless, She was stoic and very proud. 526 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 1: She was also nearly deaf. According to crime reads dot 527 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: com article The Blue Stocking Lawyer Versus the Bootleg King, 528 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: she would spend an hour each morning arranging her hair 529 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:15,400 Speaker 1: to conceal her hearing aids. Those hearing aids helped her 530 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: hear a whole bunch of annoying shit about her clothes 531 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:20,960 Speaker 1: and figure, So that's annoying. She worked really hard to 532 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:24,320 Speaker 1: not be too masculine or too feminine, not too aggressive 533 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,400 Speaker 1: or too agreeable. That that old tight rope that a 534 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 1: lot of ladies are probably nodding along about right now. 535 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,400 Speaker 1: Mabel wrote an article once called give Women a Fighting Chance, 536 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 1: saying quote, a boy must do the job well and 537 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 1: develop personality. A girl must do the job well and 538 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:44,520 Speaker 1: develop personality. Plus break down the skepticism of her ability 539 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,479 Speaker 1: walk the tight rope of sexlessness without loss of her 540 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: essential charm, keep up an impersonal fight against constant efforts 541 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,720 Speaker 1: to sidetrack her, Devote extra work and thought to making 542 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: an opportunity out of every little opening, make the hard 543 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: choice between giving up children and home life in order 544 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,240 Speaker 1: to advance or having them in the face of increased prejudice. 545 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,960 Speaker 1: And lastly, maintain a cheerful and normal outlook on life 546 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 1: and its adjustments in spite of her handicaps, which I 547 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 1: read and went, wow, nothing not a lot has changed, Sorry, Mabel, 548 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 1: Look is it too much? To ask. It's a short list. 549 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: You just read it in like fifteen seconds. Boo. So 550 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 1: she wasn't a particular fan of prohibition herself. In fact, 551 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:29,520 Speaker 1: she was a bit of a social drinker, you know. Yeah, 552 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,280 Speaker 1: pour me a stiff one. It's been a long day. Yeah. 553 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 1: And the job was extremely hard. I mean, not only 554 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:38,719 Speaker 1: was the cabinet she worked for super not into prosecuting 555 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,720 Speaker 1: liquor cases. There was also a lot of creative ways 556 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:45,720 Speaker 1: people were smuggling booze. Crime Reads says a double amputee 557 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:48,960 Speaker 1: war veteran boasted that he could carry thirty six points 558 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 1: in his artificial arm and leg. A woman also hid 559 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: points in her fake rubber breasts. A raid in a 560 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,160 Speaker 1: soda parlor in Montana found squirt guns with a too 561 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,520 Speaker 1: drink capacid. I love going to the bar and being like, 562 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 1: I'll have a I'll have the man's leg on the right. Hey, 563 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 1: scored me a shot. Yeah, squeeze me a martini. I 564 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,360 Speaker 1: don't one of them rubb it easy, get there. I've 565 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:16,680 Speaker 1: got the breast liquor in the world. Wow. Hey, you know, 566 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 1: necessity is the mother of invention. I think they called 567 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 1: it boob Wweiser. I hope they did. If they didn't, 568 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 1: I'll take a boob wiser but added to my tab. 569 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,600 Speaker 1: So yeah, a lot of creative ways people were getting 570 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:33,720 Speaker 1: around this law. Um and it made it very overwhelming. 571 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 1: But Mabel was determined to show that she was the 572 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 1: boss bitch around here. That's right, But she had not 573 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,280 Speaker 1: caught onto George yet. By this time, George has been 574 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: in business for two years. He has created one of 575 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:50,160 Speaker 1: the largest illegal liquor enterprises in the US. Gross revenues 576 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 1: exceeded fifty million dollars, which is around seven hundred and 577 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 1: fifty eight million dollars today. So he and Image and 578 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:03,560 Speaker 1: are living large. Okay. They had a huge mansion where 579 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:08,680 Speaker 1: George installed this beautiful Grecian swimming pool lined with rookwood 580 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 1: tile and surrounded by Southern palms and colorful lights. He 581 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: called it imaging baths in honor of his wife. They 582 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:22,440 Speaker 1: had insanely lavish parties where every guest would find a 583 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,720 Speaker 1: one thousand dollar bill under their dinner plates. Spoiler alert 584 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:30,000 Speaker 1: about my personal money situation. But I didn't know there 585 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,720 Speaker 1: was a one thousand dollar bills, So I was like, oh, really, 586 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,200 Speaker 1: if I found a thousand dollar bill under my dinner plate. 587 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:38,919 Speaker 1: I'd be like, well this is fake. I would yeah, 588 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,440 Speaker 1: definitely be like, oh this is very funny, and I'd 589 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:43,160 Speaker 1: tear it up. I would turn it around and be like, 590 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:46,799 Speaker 1: is it going to be like you've been saved? For 591 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:51,279 Speaker 1: party favors? Women would get diamond earrings and new pontiacs, 592 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,520 Speaker 1: and men would get diamonds, stickpins and gold watches. I'm sorry, 593 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:57,879 Speaker 1: can I trade my watch in for a Pontiac? Right? 594 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,279 Speaker 1: I'm like, man, today it's like some candy and like 595 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: a weird ring pop or something, But I okay, could 596 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: I have to pay taxes on those? At one New 597 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:10,280 Speaker 1: Year's Eve party, Ruth jumped in the swimming pool yelling 598 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: Happy New Year's and George joined her in full tuxedo, 599 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,319 Speaker 1: which I just thought was cute because it made him 600 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,000 Speaker 1: look fun, you know, and cool or whatever. But he 601 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,800 Speaker 1: also left the party shortly after, retiring to his library 602 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:25,560 Speaker 1: to eat ice cream and read a biography of Abraham 603 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,000 Speaker 1: Lincoln until dawn. Of course, that's so George to be like, 604 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: oh no, this party is such a rage. I'm having 605 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 1: such a good time time to read a biography of 606 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln. You know what, I haven't learned anything yet Yeah, 607 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 1: the best liquor is information. It's some toxic I like 608 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: to get drunk off of knowledge. But George truly was 609 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,400 Speaker 1: in love with Imogene crime Read says that he depended 610 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:58,440 Speaker 1: on her socially and in business pursuits, and he sought 611 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,640 Speaker 1: her advice in deals. He can add it in her. 612 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,920 Speaker 1: He gave her little nicknames, his little emo, the truest 613 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:10,680 Speaker 1: and sweetest, my prime Minister, my centipede, my monkey, my gem, 614 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,000 Speaker 1: the apple of my eye, not just of fun eye, 615 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 1: but the apple of both of my eyes. Look at that. 616 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:22,359 Speaker 1: That's just sickeningly sweet. And she was super cool. She 617 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:26,640 Speaker 1: was dashing, She was a fashionable flapper. She was always 618 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:29,759 Speaker 1: in the middle of everything. She was glamorous, and she 619 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 1: was totally devoted to George too. So the two of 620 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,879 Speaker 1: them were just this power couple in the bootlegging industry. 621 00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:40,160 Speaker 1: But one day, you know, George, he flew a little 622 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:44,480 Speaker 1: close to the sun. George had attracted federal attention when 623 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:48,719 Speaker 1: he put through his biggest liquor shipment. Yet it was 624 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:53,960 Speaker 1: enough whiskey to cover every single physician in America for 625 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000 Speaker 1: their prescriptions for a year. But it was this routine 626 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,360 Speaker 1: traffic stop that did him in. A guy got stopped 627 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,640 Speaker 1: for some definitely little traffic violation, you know, like didn't 628 00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:05,280 Speaker 1: use your blinker or like, you know, bump the curb, 629 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:09,200 Speaker 1: ran to stop sign something like that, something non nonsense, 630 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,279 Speaker 1: and they found a little whiskey in his trunk. And 631 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:14,960 Speaker 1: the guys like, okay, I'll tell you everything. I'll tell 632 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:16,360 Speaker 1: you exactly when I got it. I got a George 633 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,480 Speaker 1: Death Valley farm, and the cops are like, oh wow, 634 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:23,080 Speaker 1: that was much easier than I expected it. And soon 635 00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:26,200 Speaker 1: the cops stopped another guy who had several cases of 636 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,319 Speaker 1: whiskey in his car, and he also was just like, hey, 637 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,520 Speaker 1: you got nothing to me. I was just transporting this 638 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,440 Speaker 1: whiskey from from Death Valley. And not only that, I 639 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,040 Speaker 1: know that there's nine men who control all the liquor 640 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:42,359 Speaker 1: distribution in over sixty cities and these guys just spill it. Yeah, 641 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:45,279 Speaker 1: they do not care at all, Like I'm just the 642 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:49,480 Speaker 1: driver here. I mean. So, the Feds rated Death Valley, 643 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,480 Speaker 1: they seized all the liquor there, which was of course 644 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:57,640 Speaker 1: insane amounts of sugar, and they indicted George on three 645 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,360 Speaker 1: thousand charges of volstead violation. It was like one of 646 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,799 Speaker 1: the most sweeping indictments in the history of American the 647 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:09,760 Speaker 1: American justice system at that George, of course, quickly remembered 648 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,880 Speaker 1: all his high level connections and he met with JESF. Smith, 649 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 1: and Jess promised him that Dougherty, the Attorney General, would 650 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:20,600 Speaker 1: make sure George would never see prison. But then George 651 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,480 Speaker 1: was found guilty. He was sentenced to two years in 652 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:26,360 Speaker 1: the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, which is just down the street 653 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:29,440 Speaker 1: from us UM. He also got a ten thousand dollar fine, 654 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:32,560 Speaker 1: which seems like not enough for what was going on here. 655 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 1: And he met again with Jess, who again assured him 656 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:38,799 Speaker 1: that Dougherty would get him pardoned. Don't worry about It's 657 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:43,200 Speaker 1: going to be fine, oh, Jess, making big promises. Jess 658 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:48,960 Speaker 1: was found dead later of an apparent self inflicted gunshot 659 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:53,280 Speaker 1: wound to the head. At the time was senator from Alabama. 660 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:57,480 Speaker 1: Said that he was murdered because Andrew Mellon, the Treasury Secretary, 661 00:38:57,719 --> 00:39:01,160 Speaker 1: had loaned the Republican National Committee five million dollars and 662 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,279 Speaker 1: they only paid back three million, and Jess was in 663 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:06,640 Speaker 1: charge of getting the rest of the money from the bootleggers. 664 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:08,799 Speaker 1: It seems a little fishy in either case. You know 665 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:13,960 Speaker 1: hashtag JESF. Smith didn't kill himself, all right, It's possible 666 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,279 Speaker 1: that he killed himself because he was supposed to get 667 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:21,200 Speaker 1: two million dollars from bootleggers. He couldn't and he was like, 668 00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:24,400 Speaker 1: oh ship. But either way, some shady was going on 669 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,400 Speaker 1: with Jeff Smith, and it's an unsolved mystery. So in 670 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:32,880 Speaker 1: George got ready to go to prison, he gave power 671 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:36,960 Speaker 1: of attorney to imagine giving her possession of their mansion, 672 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:40,920 Speaker 1: that huge, gorgeous, ridiculous mansion with the imaging baths. And 673 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:43,680 Speaker 1: he gave her over a million dollars in withdrawal certificates. 674 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:46,239 Speaker 1: He gave her stock in the Fleishman distillery, he gave 675 00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:48,640 Speaker 1: her everything. So she was pretty much the de facto 676 00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:51,000 Speaker 1: head of his entire business. As long as he was 677 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:55,520 Speaker 1: in prison, she comforted him. She said, never mind, when 678 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:58,280 Speaker 1: it's all over, bogle awayte somewhere and forget the disgrace. 679 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:02,880 Speaker 1: And George took the train the penitentiary reading Dante's Inferno. 680 00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:05,680 Speaker 1: It's got a book for every situation. It's like, I'm 681 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:08,120 Speaker 1: going to prison, what do I want to read? I'm 682 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:11,560 Speaker 1: about going to hell. Let's see what abandoned all hope 683 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,680 Speaker 1: he who enter here. Yeah, although at first everything was 684 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,400 Speaker 1: fine for George. Emma Jane visited often, she cleaned to 685 00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:21,240 Speaker 1: sell and cooked at meals. Okrant says that he stayed 686 00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:24,520 Speaker 1: in a cushy part of the penitentiary called Millionaires Row, 687 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,280 Speaker 1: and later he had his own apartment in the prisons 688 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:32,120 Speaker 1: hospital building, where he quote eight dinner each evening with 689 00:40:32,239 --> 00:40:35,440 Speaker 1: two other well connected bootleggers in the peaceful hush of 690 00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:39,520 Speaker 1: the prisons Catholic chapel. Is there a problem with the 691 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,200 Speaker 1: prison system that we need to talk about. I think 692 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:44,879 Speaker 1: it's all working out great. Okay, never mind, I thought 693 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:49,480 Speaker 1: there was something grossly unbalanced and corrupt. Oh well, I 694 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:51,200 Speaker 1: didn't finish my sentence. I was going to say, it's 695 00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:53,680 Speaker 1: all working out great for a very small segment of 696 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:57,120 Speaker 1: the population that was a part of left that right. Well, 697 00:40:57,120 --> 00:40:59,560 Speaker 1: then discussion over. We can stop talking about the prison system. Now. 698 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:04,920 Speaker 1: Everything's fine. His business was safe outside prison with with Imogene, 699 00:41:05,239 --> 00:41:07,680 Speaker 1: and he was safe inside it. So he's like, I'll 700 00:41:07,719 --> 00:41:10,680 Speaker 1: do a couple of years, easy time. Everything's fine. My 701 00:41:10,719 --> 00:41:13,560 Speaker 1: wife is handling this. We're good. If there's one thing 702 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,960 Speaker 1: I don't have to worry about, it's the way my 703 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:19,799 Speaker 1: wife handles things because we are very much in love 704 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:24,840 Speaker 1: and there's and she has complete power and control over 705 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:31,320 Speaker 1: my enormous, multimillion dollar business. Nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, 706 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:35,160 Speaker 1: Mabel is always working hard in the background. She decides 707 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:37,080 Speaker 1: she's going to tap a rising star at the Bureau 708 00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:40,200 Speaker 1: of Investigation, which would eventually, of course, become the FBI, 709 00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:43,080 Speaker 1: and he was going to help her take George down. 710 00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:45,399 Speaker 1: This guy she tapped, he was the thirty year old 711 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:48,480 Speaker 1: Franklin Dodge, and he'd already helped bust up a ring 712 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:51,919 Speaker 1: of Georgian bootleggers called the Savannah Four. He got sent 713 00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,440 Speaker 1: to Atlanta to investigate the warden of the penitentiary, right, 714 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:58,920 Speaker 1: and he discovered a bunch of corrupt practices going on 715 00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:02,960 Speaker 1: at this prison that George was in. While he was there, 716 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:06,040 Speaker 1: he met George, and George told him he'd be willing 717 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:10,440 Speaker 1: to name the federal officers he'd bribed in exchange for leniency, 718 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:12,279 Speaker 1: and Dodge told him he'd look into He said, I'll, 719 00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:14,920 Speaker 1: I'll look into it for you, George. Maybe we can 720 00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:17,160 Speaker 1: make something work here, Maybe we gotta s abside deal. 721 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:21,160 Speaker 1: And so George tells imaging, Hey, why don't you all 722 00:42:21,239 --> 00:42:25,000 Speaker 1: go flirt with Dodge next time he's there, because Dodge, 723 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:26,720 Speaker 1: that's my best chance to get out of the jail. 724 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:29,520 Speaker 1: So hey, my wife there with all the money in 725 00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:32,440 Speaker 1: business and everything in my life, she has a control 726 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,560 Speaker 1: of it. Right now, why didn't you go flirt with 727 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:37,799 Speaker 1: this guy? This is young powerful hi here, and we'll 728 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:40,840 Speaker 1: see how things go. Even though he's in jail, George's 729 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:44,279 Speaker 1: legal troubles keep coming. A big shipment of whiskey from 730 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:49,040 Speaker 1: his Jack Daniel's distillery was busted as being stolen thanks 731 00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:52,840 Speaker 1: to Franklin Dodge, by the way, and George was indicted 732 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:55,560 Speaker 1: while he was still in jail film for this other crime. 733 00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:58,480 Speaker 1: So George met with Mabel herself this time, and he 734 00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:00,960 Speaker 1: told her he would testify if he could have immunity 735 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:05,040 Speaker 1: for this charge. So she agreed. He became their star witness. 736 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:09,280 Speaker 1: He told everyone in all about his arrangement with Dougherty 737 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:12,879 Speaker 1: and Smith, how he built his empire. He told him 738 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:15,239 Speaker 1: there's no doctor in the world who prescribes alcohol for 739 00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:18,200 Speaker 1: a medicinal purpose, so their dumb law was the problem 740 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:21,839 Speaker 1: and not him. He called it the greatest comedy, the 741 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:25,000 Speaker 1: greatest perversion of justice, that I've ever known in any 742 00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:28,760 Speaker 1: civilized country in the world. And Mabel managed to indict 743 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:32,160 Speaker 1: twenty three people for the Jack Daniels distillery theft, including 744 00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:36,640 Speaker 1: some prominent St. Louis politicians. Wow, she's racking up. He 745 00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:39,680 Speaker 1: was doing good, I'm sure, especially after Dougherty and Smith 746 00:43:39,719 --> 00:43:42,520 Speaker 1: were named in court. I feel strongly that all of 747 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:45,760 Speaker 1: them were like, oh, ship, ship and run. We fucked 748 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:50,200 Speaker 1: up and got a capable woman instead of some DEMI. Now, 749 00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:54,440 Speaker 1: Imogene was visiting less and less. She just wantsn't come 750 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:57,520 Speaker 1: by so much, and George was starting to hear rumors 751 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:02,000 Speaker 1: that she might be cheating on him with some strange 752 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:06,720 Speaker 1: guy who happened to be a federal agent who happened 753 00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:11,400 Speaker 1: to be building a case against him, Franklin Dodge. He 754 00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:14,960 Speaker 1: refused to believe it, he says not, frank would never 755 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,880 Speaker 1: do be like that. Imagine would never do be like that. 756 00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:23,560 Speaker 1: We've got deals to both of us. But Mabel heard 757 00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:26,600 Speaker 1: the same rumors, and she decided she was going to 758 00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:29,239 Speaker 1: go check it out, because maybe Mabel gets to the 759 00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:31,720 Speaker 1: bottom of things, that's what she do. And it turns 760 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:35,920 Speaker 1: out they were true. Franklin and Imogene had started a 761 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:40,560 Speaker 1: love affair because, of course, imagine had flirted with Franklin 762 00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:43,440 Speaker 1: just like George wanted her to. But you know, I 763 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:48,000 Speaker 1: guess he flirted back and it worked. Franklin was able 764 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:51,400 Speaker 1: to convince her to start liquidating George's empire and hiding 765 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:56,080 Speaker 1: the money. Uh speculation station. I got an idea, maybe 766 00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:00,120 Speaker 1: he like convinced her, Hey, you know, hey, George, she 767 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:03,600 Speaker 1: ain't never getting out, so how about how about we 768 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:06,480 Speaker 1: just take this money ourselves, forget him. He's stuck in there. 769 00:45:06,680 --> 00:45:10,200 Speaker 1: Let's just take it and go you And probably because 770 00:45:10,239 --> 00:45:13,560 Speaker 1: I was definitely like, what made her think that taking 771 00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:16,359 Speaker 1: his money and running off with another man would be 772 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:19,560 Speaker 1: more profitable in the long run than staying with George 773 00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:21,960 Speaker 1: who has proved himself many times over to be a 774 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,719 Speaker 1: guy who can make a lot of money. So maybe 775 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:27,320 Speaker 1: she was just actually really fell in love with Franklin 776 00:45:27,360 --> 00:45:29,440 Speaker 1: Dodge and was like, I don't whatever you want to do, 777 00:45:29,560 --> 00:45:32,400 Speaker 1: or I'm in you know, I don't know, but she's 778 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:35,120 Speaker 1: a bit of a bit about this. To George, I 779 00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:37,960 Speaker 1: have to say, sometimes that big stack of cash right 780 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:41,520 Speaker 1: now is more enticing than a larger stack spread out 781 00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:45,520 Speaker 1: over time. Very true, Bird in hand and all that well. However, 782 00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:49,280 Speaker 1: he convinced her. He did convince her like big time. 783 00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:52,120 Speaker 1: She went all the way with this. She used the 784 00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:54,920 Speaker 1: power of attorney she'd gotten from George to strip him 785 00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:58,360 Speaker 1: of his fortune. They rated his bank accounts in safe 786 00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:04,320 Speaker 1: deposit boxes. They sold off his whiskey certificates and distilleries. Franklin, 787 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:06,759 Speaker 1: of course, was forced to resign from the bureau after 788 00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:10,440 Speaker 1: Mabel found out that he was acting inappropriate. So he 789 00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:13,799 Speaker 1: didn't have job at this point. Um, but he's doing fine. 790 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:16,080 Speaker 1: He's trying to sell off these certific kids. They're getting 791 00:46:16,080 --> 00:46:19,239 Speaker 1: all this money, and Imaging filed for divorce. In n 792 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:24,560 Speaker 1: George found out that his entire multimillion dollar empire had 793 00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:27,320 Speaker 1: been sold off, piece by piece, and to add insult 794 00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:29,640 Speaker 1: to injury, they sent him a hundred dollars while he 795 00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:32,640 Speaker 1: was in jail, which feels like a little bit like 796 00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:37,080 Speaker 1: here's your cut, bitch, You know what I mean? That 797 00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:40,759 Speaker 1: is so me. So George finally gets out of prison 798 00:46:40,760 --> 00:46:44,560 Speaker 1: in nine and he went home only to find his 799 00:46:44,680 --> 00:46:49,480 Speaker 1: huge mansion's windows and doors nailed shut. When he got inside, 800 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:55,520 Speaker 1: every stick of furniture was gone, the chandeliers were gone, 801 00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:59,919 Speaker 1: the tile of imaging baths had been stripped. They took 802 00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:04,719 Speaker 1: his bookcases. We left all the books thanks. In his 803 00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:07,480 Speaker 1: bedroom was an old cot and a pair of men's 804 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:10,720 Speaker 1: shoes that didn't fit. And he found all his clothing 805 00:47:10,719 --> 00:47:13,920 Speaker 1: piled up in the backyard. He discovered this. She intended 806 00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:16,759 Speaker 1: to marry Franklin, so she removed the R from her 807 00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:20,760 Speaker 1: silver and replaced it with a D. Damn. They even 808 00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:26,919 Speaker 1: took the roast beast, even the roast. They shoved the 809 00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:30,080 Speaker 1: tree up the chimney. They took it all, all that 810 00:47:30,160 --> 00:47:33,759 Speaker 1: last little crumb. He went back for it, oh man. 811 00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:38,000 Speaker 1: And she had bought seven automobiles while he was in prison, too, 812 00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:39,799 Speaker 1: which I'm like, I guess you wanted one for each 813 00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:42,480 Speaker 1: day of the week. It's like you can't drive the 814 00:47:42,520 --> 00:47:47,640 Speaker 1: same car twice? What am I? How embarrassing? So George, 815 00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:54,440 Speaker 1: you know, he's an emotional guy. Situation, he breaks down 816 00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:59,440 Speaker 1: in tears. He stayed with some friends who said that 817 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:04,000 Speaker 1: he lucinated he would see Immagene and Franklin together. George's 818 00:48:04,040 --> 00:48:06,359 Speaker 1: just at breakdown. He's at rock bottom right now? All right? 819 00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:09,879 Speaker 1: Is this not George's time? He's got no money, he's 820 00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:14,839 Speaker 1: got no business, he's got no wife. But you know George, 821 00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:17,000 Speaker 1: he's a go getter and he's not the kind of 822 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:19,960 Speaker 1: guy to just take something lying down. He's a man 823 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:23,040 Speaker 1: of action, and it was time to show it. And 824 00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:26,160 Speaker 1: it's time for us to show you some great commercials. 825 00:48:26,160 --> 00:48:30,920 Speaker 1: So we'll be right back and welcome back to the show. Everybody, 826 00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:35,120 Speaker 1: Imagine has taken everything. George had a mental breakdown, but 827 00:48:35,239 --> 00:48:39,680 Speaker 1: now he's like, I need to get my revenge. So 828 00:48:39,719 --> 00:48:42,720 Speaker 1: he got sad, then he got mad, then he got even. 829 00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:47,799 Speaker 1: He filed his own divorce suit against Imagine. He talked 830 00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:50,320 Speaker 1: about her often with the press, because you know, he 831 00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:58,160 Speaker 1: wouldn't talk shit. He called her names like degenerated clay whoa, whoa, whoa, George, 832 00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:03,600 Speaker 1: there's children present. He called Franklin a moral leper, a 833 00:49:03,719 --> 00:49:12,279 Speaker 1: human parasite, and imagines pimp. It's a little little rude, unnecessary. Uh. 834 00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:15,120 Speaker 1: They were divorced. Proceedings went on for quite some time 835 00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:17,759 Speaker 1: because it was held up with counter suits and they were, 836 00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:20,040 Speaker 1: you know, they were just going back and forth about it. 837 00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:24,359 Speaker 1: At one deposition, George got so mad that he tried 838 00:49:24,400 --> 00:49:30,879 Speaker 1: to throw Imagine's attorney out the window. Hey man, don't 839 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:34,879 Speaker 1: kill the messenger. He's like batman, just holding him out. 840 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:40,600 Speaker 1: I swear to me. Imogene and Franklin themselves were not 841 00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:43,640 Speaker 1: taking any of that lying down. They tried to get 842 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:47,080 Speaker 1: George deported by telling the government that George had never 843 00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:50,360 Speaker 1: become an American citizen. They paid a hit man fifteen 844 00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:55,160 Speaker 1: thousand dollars to try and kill him. Yeah, I don't 845 00:49:55,160 --> 00:50:03,439 Speaker 1: think I want to know that guy's story for Yeah, 846 00:50:03,440 --> 00:50:07,200 Speaker 1: that'll be fifteen dollars. Please, thank you very much. I'll 847 00:50:07,239 --> 00:50:14,960 Speaker 1: be right back after the murder, never to be seen again. 848 00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:20,120 Speaker 1: She also accused George of assassination plots against her. They 849 00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:23,799 Speaker 1: would both show up in court with bodyguards, quite a show. 850 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:27,040 Speaker 1: We're not sure if he ever actually did. He certainly 851 00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:28,880 Speaker 1: would have had the connections to do so in the 852 00:50:28,960 --> 00:50:31,239 Speaker 1: bootlegging business, but he also didn't have a lot of 853 00:50:31,239 --> 00:50:36,560 Speaker 1: money to throw around imaging where's my fifteen thousand dollars? Also, 854 00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:39,200 Speaker 1: he kind of seemed like, if you want something done right, 855 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:42,080 Speaker 1: you gotta do it yourself kind of guy. Right, So yeah, 856 00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:45,360 Speaker 1: I don't I don't know about all that. Finally, on 857 00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:49,560 Speaker 1: October six, the divorce was going to be finalized. It 858 00:50:49,640 --> 00:50:51,920 Speaker 1: was all all the arguments had been argued and they 859 00:50:51,920 --> 00:50:55,400 Speaker 1: were done, but George found out that Imaging and her 860 00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:58,959 Speaker 1: daughter Ruth, we're staying at the Alms Hotel the day 861 00:50:59,080 --> 00:51:02,040 Speaker 1: of their divorce for seatings, so he got a driver 862 00:51:02,160 --> 00:51:04,959 Speaker 1: to take him there. They waited outside until he saw 863 00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:09,120 Speaker 1: Imagine and Ruth get into a cab. George's driver chased 864 00:51:09,160 --> 00:51:12,719 Speaker 1: the cab. Of course, the doctor Imagene knew she was 865 00:51:12,760 --> 00:51:15,400 Speaker 1: in trouble. At this point. She jumps out of the 866 00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:18,960 Speaker 1: cab and goes running up this hill with George close behind. 867 00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:22,839 Speaker 1: And in Ruth's court testimony, she said that George was 868 00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:25,960 Speaker 1: cursing and swearing and acted like he was crazy. He 869 00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:29,359 Speaker 1: grabbed my mother, saying I'll fix you, I'll fix you. 870 00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:34,800 Speaker 1: When he grabbed her, Ruth heard Imagine scream, oh, daddy, dear, 871 00:51:34,880 --> 00:51:37,759 Speaker 1: you know I love you, Daddy, you know I love you. 872 00:51:38,160 --> 00:51:41,680 Speaker 1: But George he was past caring about all that, so 873 00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:45,120 Speaker 1: he shoved the pistol into her abdomen and pulled the trigger. 874 00:51:49,400 --> 00:51:51,960 Speaker 1: It was actually only the second time in his life 875 00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:55,680 Speaker 1: that he'd ever used a gun, and Imagine was rushed 876 00:51:55,680 --> 00:51:58,320 Speaker 1: to the hospital and died on the operating table a 877 00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:02,960 Speaker 1: couple of hours later, and then George marched on down 878 00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:07,000 Speaker 1: to the Cincinnati Police station, flung the doors open, walked 879 00:52:07,040 --> 00:52:09,640 Speaker 1: up to the desk and said, I'd like to turn 880 00:52:09,719 --> 00:52:13,440 Speaker 1: myself in for a murder. When he learned that Imogene 881 00:52:13,520 --> 00:52:17,439 Speaker 1: had died, he told police quote, she who dances down 882 00:52:17,480 --> 00:52:22,080 Speaker 1: the Primrose Path must die on the Primrose Path. I'm happy. 883 00:52:22,920 --> 00:52:25,200 Speaker 1: This is the first peace of mind I've had in 884 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:27,840 Speaker 1: two years. He said. He was only sad that he 885 00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:30,720 Speaker 1: hadn't gotten to Franklin Dodge as well. He told reporters 886 00:52:30,719 --> 00:52:32,399 Speaker 1: that he turned himself in because he had a clear 887 00:52:32,440 --> 00:52:34,560 Speaker 1: conscience and didn't want to run around the country as 888 00:52:34,560 --> 00:52:37,359 Speaker 1: a fugitive. Quote. A man who feels that he has 889 00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:40,480 Speaker 1: performed a duty to society and that he has committed 890 00:52:40,480 --> 00:52:43,920 Speaker 1: no moral wrong does not run away from the consequences 891 00:52:43,960 --> 00:52:47,360 Speaker 1: of his act. He declared, I did you all. Basically, 892 00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:50,719 Speaker 1: I did you a favor you all. I killed his 893 00:52:50,800 --> 00:52:53,879 Speaker 1: horrible woman who was a duty to society. I did 894 00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:58,560 Speaker 1: nothing morally wrong. I'm a good guy. Very uh, very hary, 895 00:52:59,120 --> 00:53:02,160 Speaker 1: very harry though for sure. So he's of course indicted 896 00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:06,960 Speaker 1: for first degree murder. You first, because he first degree 897 00:53:07,040 --> 00:53:10,560 Speaker 1: murdered someone. He has his trial, of course a big sensation. 898 00:53:11,160 --> 00:53:14,160 Speaker 1: The prosecution was headed up by Charles Taft, who was 899 00:53:14,239 --> 00:53:16,560 Speaker 1: the son of the former president and at the time 900 00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:20,640 Speaker 1: current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Howard Taft, 901 00:53:21,040 --> 00:53:25,920 Speaker 1: and Ruth was tafts star witness. He painted Imagine as 902 00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:28,960 Speaker 1: a woman terrified of her violent husband who wanted to 903 00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:31,759 Speaker 1: testify against him, so he killed her because she knew 904 00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:35,439 Speaker 1: too much. But George's first wife Lillian, and their daughter 905 00:53:35,560 --> 00:53:39,759 Speaker 1: Romola testified for George. He represented himself. I know, I 906 00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:41,839 Speaker 1: thought it was interesting that they did, because she said 907 00:53:41,840 --> 00:53:45,240 Speaker 1: he was violent towards her and stuff. He represented himself. 908 00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:48,799 Speaker 1: Of course, he pled transitory insanity, which is the same 909 00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:52,400 Speaker 1: defense that made him famous back in. It comes and goes. 910 00:53:52,440 --> 00:53:55,719 Speaker 1: You know, sometimes I'm crazy, sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I'm fine. 911 00:53:55,760 --> 00:53:58,960 Speaker 1: You can't blame me for sometimes being real crazy and violent. 912 00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:02,560 Speaker 1: Willian called Imaging a gold digger and said George had 913 00:54:02,640 --> 00:54:06,320 Speaker 1: killed her in self defense. It's kind of a stretchy 914 00:54:07,719 --> 00:54:11,320 Speaker 1: and Imaging became a woman who willingly participated in bootlegging, 915 00:54:11,480 --> 00:54:14,480 Speaker 1: but trade her husband for a corrupt government agent, stole 916 00:54:14,480 --> 00:54:17,120 Speaker 1: her husband's assets, and tried to have him killed. I mean, 917 00:54:17,600 --> 00:54:21,319 Speaker 1: which does have the benefit of being true. I don't 918 00:54:21,320 --> 00:54:24,240 Speaker 1: know about this violent husband and all that, but self defense, 919 00:54:24,680 --> 00:54:27,880 Speaker 1: you know. So George steps up to argue his own defense, 920 00:54:28,239 --> 00:54:32,960 Speaker 1: and he's in his element right dramatic case, telling his 921 00:54:33,040 --> 00:54:36,240 Speaker 1: own story. That's that's George to a t. He spoke 922 00:54:36,320 --> 00:54:39,240 Speaker 1: for an hour and a half, making the whole trial 923 00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:43,640 Speaker 1: more about prohibition than murder, saying, basically, the Volstad Act 924 00:54:43,760 --> 00:54:48,560 Speaker 1: created bootleggers like him and corrupted agents like Franklin Dodge. Yeah, 925 00:54:48,600 --> 00:54:50,759 Speaker 1: and if disagree, if it weren't for all that, I 926 00:54:50,800 --> 00:54:53,200 Speaker 1: wouldn't have murdered my wife. And the jury is mostly 927 00:54:53,200 --> 00:54:56,400 Speaker 1: made up for first and second generation German immigrants, so 928 00:54:56,480 --> 00:54:59,200 Speaker 1: he appealed to them by talking about his humble beginnings. 929 00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:04,799 Speaker 1: He says, this defendant started life at five dollars a month, 930 00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:08,239 Speaker 1: and he may have contaminated his neighbors, but ladies and 931 00:55:08,239 --> 00:55:10,960 Speaker 1: men of the jury, we could not all be born 932 00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:15,200 Speaker 1: with a golden spoon in our mouths, like Charles P. Taft. 933 00:55:16,320 --> 00:55:19,160 Speaker 1: Some of the jurors wiped tears from their eyes as 934 00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:24,319 Speaker 1: he concluded that he just wanted justice, not compassion, and 935 00:55:24,400 --> 00:55:27,200 Speaker 1: that he had been defending the sanctity of his home 936 00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:30,920 Speaker 1: and if that was a crime, then lock me up. 937 00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:37,680 Speaker 1: And then he said, Merry Christmas. Charles was not amused. 938 00:55:39,200 --> 00:55:42,120 Speaker 1: He knew exactly what George was doing, and he told 939 00:55:42,160 --> 00:55:44,960 Speaker 1: the jurors George was playing with their emotions. He's basically 940 00:55:44,960 --> 00:55:47,840 Speaker 1: doing everything but singing. Oh Tannon bombs him fucking appealed 941 00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:50,680 Speaker 1: to them. He's like, don't let him play with you. 942 00:55:51,920 --> 00:55:54,160 Speaker 1: The trial lasted five weeks in two days, but it 943 00:55:54,239 --> 00:55:56,880 Speaker 1: only took the jury nineteen minutes to decide that George 944 00:55:56,920 --> 00:56:00,520 Speaker 1: was not guilty by reason of insanity. Juror Robert Hosford 945 00:56:00,520 --> 00:56:04,360 Speaker 1: told the press when we retired, I said, let's go 946 00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:06,759 Speaker 1: out and give him a Christmas present. Let's make him 947 00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:09,840 Speaker 1: happy this Christmas. He says he wasn't happy last Christmas, 948 00:56:11,719 --> 00:56:13,920 Speaker 1: which I'm like, if every case is like, well he 949 00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:19,280 Speaker 1: wasn't happy last year, like, well, come on man. Basically, 950 00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:21,680 Speaker 1: the jury thought George had suffered enough at Emma Jane's 951 00:56:21,719 --> 00:56:25,319 Speaker 1: hands and she deserved what she got. On December, he 952 00:56:25,400 --> 00:56:28,520 Speaker 1: was committed to an asylum, but by April he was 953 00:56:28,560 --> 00:56:31,640 Speaker 1: out on appeal. His evaluation of his sanity was the 954 00:56:31,760 --> 00:56:34,960 Speaker 1: only time he would ever express remorse for killing Imogene. 955 00:56:35,239 --> 00:56:37,840 Speaker 1: He never did go after Franklin Dodge. He spent the 956 00:56:37,840 --> 00:56:39,800 Speaker 1: rest of his life trying to get his personal properties 957 00:56:39,840 --> 00:56:42,480 Speaker 1: and the distilleries that Franklin and Imagine had taken back 958 00:56:42,520 --> 00:56:45,040 Speaker 1: to himself. But he was never really successful in that 959 00:56:45,640 --> 00:56:47,799 Speaker 1: because it was perfectly legal because he had given her 960 00:56:47,880 --> 00:56:50,080 Speaker 1: his power of attorney, so she was allowed to sell whatever. 961 00:56:51,239 --> 00:56:53,440 Speaker 1: He had a real estate office in Cincinnati, and he 962 00:56:53,520 --> 00:56:56,640 Speaker 1: lived in Kentucky, just fading from public view, and he 963 00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:59,200 Speaker 1: died in nineteen fifty two and was laid to rest 964 00:56:59,320 --> 00:57:03,719 Speaker 1: in full Mouth, Kentucky, without any fanfare. Franklin Dodge repeatedly 965 00:57:03,760 --> 00:57:06,799 Speaker 1: denied having an inappropriate relationship with Imagine, even though there 966 00:57:06,880 --> 00:57:10,680 Speaker 1: was like, there's so much evidence, there is so much evidence, Franklin, 967 00:57:10,760 --> 00:57:13,600 Speaker 1: look at the evidence. Do you see it. Yeah. He 968 00:57:13,719 --> 00:57:17,000 Speaker 1: ended up serving three years at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary 969 00:57:17,120 --> 00:57:22,000 Speaker 1: himself for false testimony in another bootlegging case. This guy's 970 00:57:22,080 --> 00:57:24,360 Speaker 1: just golden all around. And he ended up working for 971 00:57:24,440 --> 00:57:28,360 Speaker 1: the Michigan Liquor Control Commission after Prohibition. He married, and 972 00:57:28,480 --> 00:57:32,440 Speaker 1: he died in nine and George and Lillian's daughter Romola, 973 00:57:32,520 --> 00:57:34,720 Speaker 1: who had stuck by her dad through it all, she 974 00:57:34,840 --> 00:57:37,720 Speaker 1: became a silent film actress. She was actually the first 975 00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:41,200 Speaker 1: person to play Dorothy Gale in a Wizard of Oz film. 976 00:57:41,240 --> 00:57:43,840 Speaker 1: And there's no word on what happened to Ruth. She 977 00:57:43,880 --> 00:57:46,000 Speaker 1: would have been twenty at the time of her mother's murder. 978 00:57:46,040 --> 00:57:49,440 Speaker 1: If I can pull into speculation station, do you think 979 00:57:49,560 --> 00:57:52,640 Speaker 1: Ruth knew where all this money was hidden? Oh damn, 980 00:57:52,760 --> 00:57:54,880 Speaker 1: because that's the only thing I'm not I wasn't finding 981 00:57:54,960 --> 00:57:57,880 Speaker 1: is what happened to all the money? Because did Imagine 982 00:57:57,880 --> 00:58:00,360 Speaker 1: and Franklin actually spend it all before you got out 983 00:58:00,360 --> 00:58:02,640 Speaker 1: of prison? Man? Or did ruthly be like, I know 984 00:58:02,640 --> 00:58:05,160 Speaker 1: where this ship shot her? Ruth putting her sunglasses up, 985 00:58:05,280 --> 00:58:09,760 Speaker 1: looking over her shoulder, picking up two heavy Deffel bags. 986 00:58:07,920 --> 00:58:11,520 Speaker 1: And that's what I think I was like. And she 987 00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:13,600 Speaker 1: changed her name to it Betty Widen, made it fake 988 00:58:13,640 --> 00:58:18,240 Speaker 1: in Hollywood or something like. Uh So, no word what 989 00:58:18,360 --> 00:58:21,520 Speaker 1: happened to Ruth, But I'm thinking I'm thinking she knew 990 00:58:21,560 --> 00:58:24,040 Speaker 1: where that ship was buried and went off and lived 991 00:58:24,040 --> 00:58:27,640 Speaker 1: in great life, chilling with a lot of money and 992 00:58:27,800 --> 00:58:32,440 Speaker 1: some rookwood tile. That's the shot at the end. Do 993 00:58:32,480 --> 00:58:34,360 Speaker 1: you see a woman in a bathroom with all the 994 00:58:34,440 --> 00:58:36,600 Speaker 1: rookwood tile and they're like, and that's how you know 995 00:58:36,760 --> 00:58:39,600 Speaker 1: Oh shit, it's her. She got the tiles, she knew 996 00:58:39,600 --> 00:58:44,400 Speaker 1: where it all was. Wow. Well, prohibition, you know, fucked 997 00:58:44,480 --> 00:58:48,240 Speaker 1: up everybody wild time. Yeah. I mean again, even when 998 00:58:48,280 --> 00:58:51,120 Speaker 1: you look at I kind of get George's case that 999 00:58:51,240 --> 00:58:55,640 Speaker 1: like prohibition made people bad because it was a bad 1000 00:58:55,680 --> 00:58:58,160 Speaker 1: thing that we were kind of pushing back against. I mean, 1001 00:58:58,600 --> 00:59:01,280 Speaker 1: it's a lot like marijuana pro issition, isn't it, Because 1002 00:59:01,880 --> 00:59:04,440 Speaker 1: I mean, first of all, marijuana did actually does actually 1003 00:59:04,440 --> 00:59:08,200 Speaker 1: have some medicinal property. But you know, it's the same 1004 00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:10,080 Speaker 1: thing where it's sort of like, if you're poor and 1005 00:59:10,160 --> 00:59:13,080 Speaker 1: a minority, I'm using this against you to harm your 1006 00:59:13,120 --> 00:59:16,479 Speaker 1: community as much as possible. Um, it's not really doing 1007 00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:18,840 Speaker 1: any harm. A lot of people use it and we 1008 00:59:18,880 --> 00:59:21,880 Speaker 1: know that, and we're just kind of letting it happen 1009 00:59:22,280 --> 00:59:24,400 Speaker 1: to the point where it is finally like you know what, fine, 1010 00:59:24,440 --> 00:59:26,600 Speaker 1: fuck it, Like, let's just do this. Why are we 1011 00:59:26,640 --> 00:59:28,960 Speaker 1: doing this? Right? And if you're rich, you get as 1012 00:59:29,080 --> 00:59:31,320 Speaker 1: you get as much as what you want with no consequences, 1013 00:59:31,640 --> 00:59:34,680 Speaker 1: and you can hire uh, you know, people in the 1014 00:59:35,000 --> 00:59:37,920 Speaker 1: losses in the legal system and the justice system to 1015 00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:40,200 Speaker 1: make it okay for you. It's it's it is very 1016 00:59:40,240 --> 00:59:43,280 Speaker 1: similar and it is. Yeah, that the same outcome where 1017 00:59:43,280 --> 00:59:46,680 Speaker 1: you're getting who's getting punished, you know, and who's getting 1018 00:59:46,680 --> 00:59:49,240 Speaker 1: away with it. Yeah. He even said one time, I 1019 00:59:49,320 --> 00:59:52,160 Speaker 1: realized the frailty of human nature, but I didn't count 1020 00:59:52,200 --> 00:59:54,440 Speaker 1: on the fact that in a clash between principles of 1021 00:59:54,520 --> 00:59:58,160 Speaker 1: right and wrong, justice would win. So it was like, 1022 00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:00,240 Speaker 1: as soon as he was like, oh, well, will just 1023 01:00:00,280 --> 01:00:02,400 Speaker 1: break the law, it's no big deal, he thought that 1024 01:00:02,440 --> 01:00:04,360 Speaker 1: he would totally be able to get away with it 1025 01:00:04,480 --> 01:00:06,920 Speaker 1: without any problem like that. That was his opinion of 1026 01:00:06,920 --> 01:00:10,800 Speaker 1: the justice systems, right, right, right, well man. And the 1027 01:00:10,840 --> 01:00:12,680 Speaker 1: other thing too is like, you know, I don't want 1028 01:00:12,680 --> 01:00:15,720 Speaker 1: to say it, kind of joked about it, but it's 1029 01:00:15,760 --> 01:00:20,440 Speaker 1: not like he should have expected his his wife to 1030 01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:24,000 Speaker 1: steal all of his money and assets. They seem to 1031 01:00:24,040 --> 01:00:26,480 Speaker 1: have a good thing going so and of course, you know, 1032 01:00:26,520 --> 01:00:29,960 Speaker 1: at the end of the day, I'm gonna leaned to 1033 01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:35,000 Speaker 1: her side because you know, she got murdered. That that 1034 01:00:35,120 --> 01:00:39,080 Speaker 1: was the wrong choice for George. You know, no matter 1035 01:00:39,120 --> 01:00:43,600 Speaker 1: how wrong he was, murder gonna go ahead and say it. 1036 01:00:44,160 --> 01:00:47,440 Speaker 1: I'm I'm not afraid of the consequences of saying this 1037 01:00:47,680 --> 01:00:52,360 Speaker 1: on our show. Murder is bad. Always the wrong choice. Yeah, 1038 01:00:52,920 --> 01:00:54,920 Speaker 1: you know what's funny is that he was so anti 1039 01:00:55,080 --> 01:00:58,080 Speaker 1: capital punishment and then he decided to give her a 1040 01:00:58,120 --> 01:01:01,440 Speaker 1: capital punishment. Come on, I mean, how hypocritical are you? 1041 01:01:01,600 --> 01:01:03,640 Speaker 1: I guess Yeah, I can see that he lost all 1042 01:01:03,680 --> 01:01:06,320 Speaker 1: faith in the legal system at last, probably changed a 1043 01:01:06,320 --> 01:01:09,400 Speaker 1: lot of his opinions about things. That's true, That is true, 1044 01:01:10,040 --> 01:01:12,320 Speaker 1: But yeah, it was definitely. I did feel a little 1045 01:01:12,360 --> 01:01:16,280 Speaker 1: bad though that, like Franklin Dodge just totally dodged any 1046 01:01:16,480 --> 01:01:23,000 Speaker 1: fucking he any consequences at all. Really. I mean, like, 1047 01:01:23,080 --> 01:01:25,840 Speaker 1: I don't know that he got any of the money, 1048 01:01:25,840 --> 01:01:28,880 Speaker 1: but he sure lived well for a little while with Imogen, 1049 01:01:29,040 --> 01:01:31,120 Speaker 1: and he never got in trouble really for any of 1050 01:01:31,120 --> 01:01:35,280 Speaker 1: that stuff, And so did so many federal agents during 1051 01:01:35,320 --> 01:01:39,080 Speaker 1: Prohibition and politicians and just like, way more people got 1052 01:01:39,120 --> 01:01:42,400 Speaker 1: away with it than got in trouble, you know. So yeah, 1053 01:01:42,440 --> 01:01:45,160 Speaker 1: I was just like, of course the lady got in trouble, 1054 01:01:45,280 --> 01:01:48,200 Speaker 1: and how is it. Everybody else is fine, but she 1055 01:01:48,240 --> 01:01:50,800 Speaker 1: did do a funked up thing. So so I hope 1056 01:01:50,840 --> 01:01:52,880 Speaker 1: you all enjoyed this episode. Hope you had a nice 1057 01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:56,680 Speaker 1: cold drink in your hand for it. Raised a glass 1058 01:01:56,680 --> 01:01:59,320 Speaker 1: to Karring for suggesting this again. Yes, this is such 1059 01:01:59,360 --> 01:02:02,720 Speaker 1: a good one. Thanks Karen, Yes, thank you. Um and 1060 01:02:02,880 --> 01:02:05,600 Speaker 1: uh yeah, that's if you want. If you got feedback, 1061 01:02:05,640 --> 01:02:07,640 Speaker 1: if you've got any thoughts, or you have another suggestion 1062 01:02:07,680 --> 01:02:09,320 Speaker 1: of your own, don't forget to hit us up at 1063 01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:12,080 Speaker 1: romance at i heeart media dot com. We're also on 1064 01:02:12,480 --> 01:02:16,360 Speaker 1: social media. Um, I'm at Dianamite Boom on Twitter and Instagram, 1065 01:02:16,440 --> 01:02:19,280 Speaker 1: and I'm at oh great, it's Eli on Twitter and Instagram. 1066 01:02:19,360 --> 01:02:21,760 Speaker 1: And you can find the show at ridic Romance for 1067 01:02:21,840 --> 01:02:27,120 Speaker 1: fund memes and announcements and little games and messages. Will 1068 01:02:27,120 --> 01:02:29,960 Speaker 1: take them there too. M hmm. Yeah, thanks as always 1069 01:02:29,960 --> 01:02:32,680 Speaker 1: for joining us. We are obsessed with you guys. Yeah, 1070 01:02:32,800 --> 01:02:35,040 Speaker 1: so tune in for the next one. Pass it along 1071 01:02:35,080 --> 01:02:37,840 Speaker 1: to your friends. We're not kidding when we say your neighbors, 1072 01:02:37,840 --> 01:02:40,680 Speaker 1: your uncles and aunts. Tell them all to listen to 1073 01:02:40,720 --> 01:02:45,280 Speaker 1: the show and to join the Ridiculous What are we? 1074 01:02:45,320 --> 01:02:51,760 Speaker 1: What are we? The Ridiculous Romance Army, the Ridiculous Romantics. Yeah, 1075 01:02:51,920 --> 01:02:56,160 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Romantics. That sounds normal. The Ridiculous Romance Army sounds 1076 01:02:56,200 --> 01:02:59,520 Speaker 1: very aggressive. Ridiculous Romance Army. We will crush all other 1077 01:02:59,600 --> 01:03:04,800 Speaker 1: podcast asks. It's a weird combination word. All right, thanks 1078 01:03:04,800 --> 01:03:06,920 Speaker 1: for tuning in, y'all. We will catch you on the 1079 01:03:06,960 --> 01:03:11,320 Speaker 1: next one. Hi, so long friends, It is time to go. 1080 01:03:12,040 --> 01:03:16,040 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to our show. Tell your friends neighbor's 1081 01:03:16,080 --> 01:03:19,560 Speaker 1: uncle Sandance to listen to a show Ridiculous roll Dance