Dutch Schultz

Lore & Background

Arthur Simon Flegenheimer, better known as Dutch Schultz, was a New York City mobster active during the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in the Bronx to German Jewish immigrants and had a younger sister. His father either abandoned the family or died around 1910, a trauma Schultz spent his life denying. He left school after the eighth grade to support himself and his mother, working as a feeder, pressman, and for a trucking company. His criminal career began with burglary and robbing craps games at a nightclub. After being caught breaking into an apartment, he was sent to prison on Blackwell’s Island, where his unmanageable behavior led to a transfer to a work farm; an escape attempt added two months to his sentence. Paroled in December 1920, he returned to the trucking firm, which had begun smuggling alcohol from Canada under Prohibition. He soon left to work for Italian competitors. Schultz later became a bouncer at a speakeasy owned by gangster Joey Noe, who made him a partner. They opened more illegal bars in the Bronx, using their own trucks to deliver beer from a New Jersey brewer, with Schultz riding shotgun against hijackers. They violently subdued rival bootleggers, notably kidnapping and blinding Joe Rock. Their operation expanded across the Bronx and into Manhattan, sparking a war with Irish mob leader Jack “Legs” Diamond. After Noe was fatally shot in 1928, Schultz is believed to have ordered the murder of crime boss Arnold Rothstein in retaliation. Schultz’s rackets were later weakened by tax evasion trials and threats from fellow mobster Lucky Luciano. He sought permission from the Mafia’s Commission to kill prosecutor Thomas Dewey, but was refused; when he attempted the hit anyway, the Commission ordered his murder. He was shot in a Newark, New Jersey, restaurant in 1935 and died the next day.

Reader's Guide

Dutch Schultz's significance lies in his rise as a major bootlegger and racketeer during Prohibition, and his fatal confrontation with both legal authorities and the Mafia's governing body, the Commission. His attempt to assassinate U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey led the Commission to order his death. This event illustrates the limits of mobster autonomy within organized crime's hierarchy and the power of federal prosecution. Schultz's death marked the end of an era for Jewish gangsters in New York, as Italian syndicates consolidated control. His life and violent end remain a notable example of the consequences of defying both the law and the Mafia's internal rules.

Did You Know?

• Schultz was sent to prison on Blackwell’s Island after being caught breaking into an apartment; his mugshot at age 18 later appeared in the book *New York City Gangland*.
• After a disagreement with Schultz Trucking, he left to work for Italian competitors.
• Schultz asked the Mafia’s governing body, the Commission, for permission to kill Thomas Dewey, but they refused; when he disobeyed, the Commission ordered his death.