October 23, 1935. Newark, New Jersey. Two gunmen from Murder, Inc. walk into the Palace Chop House and open fire. Dutch Schultz, the “Beer Baron of the Bronx”, is hit in the men’s room. Three of his men are gunned down at the table
Schultz doesn’t. For almost 22 hours he fights for his life in Newark City Hospital. In his final hours, a police stenographer writes down every word of his delirium. Strange phrases, names, a hidden fortune somewhere in the Catskills, and one line that became famous: “Mother is the best bet and don’t let Satan draw you too fast.”
Why did the Commission order the hit? What was Schultz planning against prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey? And is his treasure still buried near Phoenicia, NY?
In this episode:
– Arthur Flegenheimer: from the Bronx to the Beer Baron
– The plan to kill Thomas Dewey and the Commission’s answer
– The shooting at the Palace Chop House
– Charles “The Bug” Workman and Mendy Weiss
– The last words, recorded word for word
– The legend of the Phoenicia treasure
Part of the Murder, Inc. series. If you missed the story of Abe Reles, “the canary who couldn’t fly”, watch it next.
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Images (Wikimedia Commons):
Phoenicia, NY: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phoenicia,_New_York_(51170647472).jpg
Sing Sing tower: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sing_SIng_tower_NY1.jpg
Sing Sing: Brett Weinstein, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sing_Sing.jpg
Franklin County Courthouse, Malone: Dclemens1971, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin_County_Courthouse_NY.jpg
Dutch Schultz grave, Gate of Heaven: Anthony22, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_Dutch_Schultz_800.jpg
New Jersey Meadowlands: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Jersey_Meadowlands_(7238112112).jpg
Other images: public domain (NYWT&S / Library of Congress, FBI).
#DutchSchultz #MurderInc #TrueCrime #Mafia #Gangsters #MobHistory #Prohibition #1930s #ThomasDewey #Newark #TrueCrimeDocumentary #History
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