1. George Remus was a German-born American lawyer who was a bootlegger during the early days of Prohibition, and later murdered his wife Imogene.
26 Facts About George Remus
1. 2.
George Remus arrived in the United States on June 15,1882, and briefly lived in Maryland, then Wisconsin and finally moved to Chicago in 1885.
3.
At age 14, George supported the family by working at his uncle's pharmacy because Remus's father was unable to work.
4.
George Remus married Lillian Klauff on July 10,1899, after a quick courtship.
5.
George Remus attended the Illinois College of Law and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1904.
6.
George Remus specialized in criminal defense, especially murder, and became quite famous, due in large part to the highly publicized William Cheney Ellis murder case in 1914.
7.
George Remus decided to become a criminal himself, using his knowledge of the law to escape punishment.
8.
George Remus memorized the Volstead Act and found a loophole which allowed him to buy distilleries and pharmacies to produce and sell bonded liquor for medicinal purposes, under government licenses.
9.
George Remus moved to Cincinnati, where 80 percent of America's bonded whiskey was located within a 300-mile radius, and bought up most of the whiskey manufacturers.
10.
George Remus owned many of America's most famous distilleries, including the Fleischmann Distillery.
11.
George Remus held many parties, including a 1923 birthday party for his wife Imogene, in which she appeared in a daring bathing suit along with other aquatic dancers, serenaded by a fifteen-piece orchestra.
12.
George Remus held a similar party in June 1923, while he was having problems with the government, at which he gave each female guest a brand new car.
13.
The marriage ended in divorce in 1920 after George Remus began an affair with his legal secretary, Augusta Imogene Holmes.
14.
George Remus was indicted for thousands of violations of the Volstead Act, convicted by a jury that made its decision in under two hours, and given a two-year federal prison sentence.
15.
George Remus spent two years in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for bootlegging.
16.
George Remus's wife gave her imprisoned husband only $100 of the multimillion-dollar empire he created.
17.
George Remus jumped out and fatally shot Imogene in the abdomen in front of the Spring House Gazebo to the horror of park onlookers.
18.
The trial made national headlines for a month, as George Remus defended himself on the murder charge with the help of Charles Elston.
19.
George Remus pleaded transitory insanity, which he had used previously during his time as a defense lawyer, emphasizing his distress at his wife's betrayal.
20.
George Remus later moved to Covington, Kentucky, where he lived modestly the next 20 years without incident.
21.
George Remus married for a third and final time to his long-time secretary Blanche Watson.
22.
George Remus ran a small contracting firm, Washington Contracting, until he suffered a stroke in August 1950.
23.
George Remus is buried beside his third wife at Riverside Cemetery in Falmouth, Kentucky.
24.
George Remus is sometimes credited as the direct inspiration for The Great Gatsby, though Gatsby might have been based on one of several figures such as Arnold Rothstein.
25.
George Remus was featured in the 2011 Ken Burns documentary Prohibition; texts written by George Remus were read by Paul Giamatti.
26.
George Remus was portrayed by Glenn Fleshler on HBO's Prohibition-era series Boardwalk Empire, beginning in its second season.