
George Remus: The Real Great Gatsby
About this episode
It's 1920 and George Remus, a Chicago attorney, stands before the bench in a Federal courtroom. He watches in horror as the Judge finds his client, a local booze bootlegger, guilty of violating the recently passed Volstead Act. The man's punishment? A $10,000 fine, the equivalent of roughly over $160,000 in today's money. Remus is horrified by the obscene punishment but notices that his client could care less. The bootlegger casually removes a wad of cash from his pocket so thick it can barely fold and tosses it to Remus to drop it off for him as he exits. Staring down at the money, Remus has a plan: To become the biggest bootlegger of illegal booze the world has ever seen. This is a tale of betrayal, duplicity, and cold-hearted murder.
Listen to Scoundrel ad-free, with bonus content, at KastMedia.com/KastPlus
Listen to Scoundrel ad-free, with bonus content at Amazon Music
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Get every episode summarized
Each time Scoundrel: History's Forgotten Villains publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Scoundrel: History's Forgotten Villains

Wang Ti: The Icarus of Beijing
Scoundrel: History's Forgotten Villains

Hetty Green: The Witch of Wall Street
Scoundrel: History's Forgotten Villains

Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General
Scoundrel: History's Forgotten Villains

Pearl and James O'Dell: The Honeymoon Murderers
Scoundrel: History's Forgotten Villains