King of the Bootleggers : A Biography of George Remus

As a pharmacist turned lawyer turned master prohibition era bootlegger, George Remus is now remembered as one of the most notorious figures of the American prohibition. A lifelong teetotaler, Remus nonetheless built one of the nation's largest illegal liquor empires with little regard to disguises or secrecy.This biography tells the complete story of Remus' private life and public persona, focusing especially on the turbulent rise and fall of his bootlegging kingdom. An introductory chapter provides an overview of Remus' early life and initial careers in pharmacy and law. Subsequent chapters focus on his bootlegging career, including his overwhelmingly successful early business ventures, his 1922 bootlegging conviction, his murder of wife Imogene (after she had a well-publicized affair with prohibition agent Franklin Dodge), and Remus' subsequent trial for her murder.