Crown of Shadows: The Prohibition King's Rise and Fall (part 2)

In this week's episode of Bourbon: Legends from the trail, we will hear part 2 of Crown of Shadows: The Prohibition King’s Rise and Fall.

As George’s journey takes him to Cincinnati, he steps into a world where wealth and corruption go hand in hand. Surrounded by marble, gold, and opulence, he quickly rises to be the King of the Underworld. But his ambition and charm have their limits—and cracks begin to show, not only in his empire but in his marriage to the captivating yet dangerously impulsive Imogene. With powerful friends in high places and enemies lurking in the shadows, George’s world spirals into chaos as the authorities close in.

We’ll dive into George’s empire at its peak: the splendor, the deception, and the alliances that led to the legendary party that inspired a classic novel. But as the saying goes, all empires will fall. Betrayal, forbidden passion, and a high-stakes game of revenge bring George’s world crashing down, leading to one of the most sensational murder trials of the century. Will the King of Bootleggers escape unscathed, or will justice finally catch up to him? Join us for Part 2, where legends rise and fall in a blaze of glory.”

Thank you for listening to Bourbon: Legends from the Trail, where history meets flavor and every bottle has a story to tell. Cheers to the stores and legends behind the Spirit! Please leave a rating and review as it will help me plan future episodes.

Transcript

Last time on Bourbon: Legends from the Trail, we opened the tale of Crown of Shadows: The Prohibition King’s Rise and Fall. You heard the beginning of an extraordinary story, one that reveals how far ambition and cunning could carry a man in the era of Prohibition.

We began the incredible story of George, a fiery immigrant who clawed his way from poverty to prestige, first as a young pharmacist and then as a notorious, larger-than-life attorney. Known for his courtroom theatrics and his groundbreaking ‘insanity defense,’ George became a national sensation—but he craved even more. When Prohibition struck, he seized the moment, hatching an audacious plan to exploit legal loopholes and build a bootlegging empire. So, with his attention craving wife Imogene and her daughter Ruth, George moved to Cincinnati, ready to create an empire that would leave its mark on history.”

So….whether you got a glass in hand and a cozy spot to relax as your listen or you are weaving this story into the rhythm of your busy day, prepare for another LEGEND…straight from the heart of Bourbon’s past.

Welcome to Bourbon: Legends from the Trail….where history meets flavor and every bottle has a story to tell

Once in Cincinnati, George’s keen strategic mind kicked into high gear. He quickly secured relationships with powerful figures, including Jess Smith, who just so happened to be the best friend of the U.S. Attorney General Harry Daugherty—one of President Warren Harding’s inner circle. For $50,000 a year and a steady supply of liquor for Washington’s elite parties, George was promised protection, immunity from prosecution no matter how brazen his operations became. Under these powerful shields, George rose to become the undisputed king of Cincinnati’s underworld.

Soon…George’s wealth exploded, and like any self-respecting kingpin, he needed a palace. He built a sprawling, 31-room mansion, 19,000 square feet on Price Hill in Cincinnati that overlooked the river and the city. His estate boasted imported marble, granite, and tile from Italy and Asia which he used throughout his home and had his name spelled in giant tiled letters upon walking through the front door. He had bought Oriental rugs and furniture, marble statues of greek gods and goddesses from Greece and Rome, artwork that could rival any gallery in the country, a solid gold piano and piano bench, and the pièce de résistance—the largest indoor swimming pool in the country at that time that had a large fountain in the center that would spew water and he called it the “Imogene Baths.” His mansion became the epicenter of extravagant parties that outdid anything ever seen before in Cincinnati.

As George’s empire continued to expand, so did his acquisitions. He bought distilleries all over at an astonishing pace: two of those that you might even recognize, Burks Springs in Loretto, KY - which you know today as Maker’s Mark; the Squibb Distillery in Lawrenceburg, IN that became Seagrams and today is MGP. It was said that if you held a glass of bourbon anywhere from New York to the Rocky mountains, there was a good chance that bourbon came from George.

Emboldened by his untouchable status, George even flaunted his wealth. He frequently traveled down from Cincinnati to Louisville, KY often staying at the legendary Seelbach Hotel-a notorious hotspot for bootlegging deals with its speakeasy located behind the Oakroom. If you visit the Seelbach today and look at their old guest registry, not only will you see George’s name, but a few lines underneath, you will also see Al Capone as they used to meet there and do business. The Seelbach also had underground tunnels leading to escape routes. And George, ever the storyteller, would hold court in that hidden speakeasy, captivating the crowds with his tales of his legal prowess and criminal conquests.

One particular legend claims that on one evening, as George was in the speakeasy spinning his tales, a young man in the crowd that became particularly enthralled with George. The young man stuck around after most had gone back to their rooms for the evening, and he struck up a conversation with George. They hit it off, and George, ever the socialite, invited the man to his New Year’s Eve bash in Cincinnati. He said the who’s who of anyone would be there.  That young man accepted without hesitation.

At the New Year’s Eve party in 1923, over 200 guests from as far away as New York, Chicago and DC, all dressed in formal attire enjoyed a synchronized swimming team’s performances in the Imogene Baths, a five-course dinner, and stunning gifts. Each guest found a $100 bill (that’s nearly $2,000 today) under their dinner plate. For dessert, the waiters brought out a tray to the men and they were gifted gold pocket watches and diamond stick pins. The waiters left and returned, the women received a set of keys. George walked them outside and for each of the women, he had purchased a brand-new car. As the clock closed in on midnight, Imogene, always craving the spotlight, climbed out onto the diving board. She took off her robe and was standing there in a nearly transparent swimsuit and then dove into the pool. This set off a frenzy, and guests, including that young man George met in the Seelbach speakeasy plunged into the pool as well.  The party went from grand to legendary.  Well that young man turned out to be an author.  His name….F Scott Fitzgerald, author of the Great Gatsby, whose wealth they say was based on George and what he saw at the party that night.

But as with any empire you study in history, they can grow to a point that it is hard to control.  George’s empire was no different.. The government, led by Assistant Attorney General Mabel Willebrandt and her top agent, Franklin Dodge, began snooping around George’s operation. Dodge, a tall, handsome, and immaculately dressed man, was a sharp investigator. Despite George’s assurances from Daugherty, his empire began to crack. Several of George’s men were caught and it led back to George.  George knew that he was OK, he had his “Get out of Jail Free” card and continued to operate business as usual.  The only thing that could stop him was if the unimaginable happened……Well, the unimaginable happened.  Feeling the heat of the investigation, George’s contact, Jess Smith committed suicide. His suicide left George exposed, and Daugherty began distancing himself, leaving George vulnerable. It wasn’t long before George found himself sentenced to two years in the Atlanta penitentiary.

While George was behind bars in Atlanta, Imogene took over, as George made a fateful mistake. First, to prevent the government from getting their hands on his empire, he signed everything over to Imogene before he entered prison.  With her in control of the money, George could run the operation from prison.  So Imgoene began traveling back and forth from Cincinnati to Atlanta and was taking orders from George. But then George commits his biggest mistake.  He asked Imogene to reach out to Franklin Dodge, who was still trying to dig up even more dirt on George and his operation, he hoped that she could bribe him with more money than Dodge could imagine. But when Imogene set her eyes on Dodge-the tall, handsome, suave agent, she became immediately infatuated— Dodge, learning that she controlled the money, saw his opportunity. He seduced Imogene and quit the bureau, together they began selling off George’s empire. Informants soon alerted George, who began sending letters to Imogene begging her to stop, but thode letters went ignored. George, blinded by his affection, believed that Imogene still truly loved him, but in truth, Imogene only loved the wealth and status her marriage had provided. George finally received a letter from Imogene, he opened it and found divorce papers, and George was blind with rage.

Upon his release, George returned to Cincinnati and found that he could not even enter his own home as the mansion had the windows and doors nailed shut.  After breaking in, he found his mansion had been stripped bare. Everything was gone. Growing angrier by the day, he then learned that Dodge and Imogene had hired multiple hit men to kill him. George became consumed with vengeance. As tension built, George plotted his next move, dodging hitmen and building his case against Dodge and Imogene. When the day of their divorce hearing arrived, George had his driver take him to the hotel where he had learned that she was staying with her daughter.  It was a last ditch effort to beg her to stop as he still felt that underneath it all, she loved him, and that it was all Franklin Dodge who had brainwashed her.  But then George saw Imogene and her 19yr old daughter Ruth come out of the hotel, Imogene had a huge smile on her face and was laughing alongside Ruth.  As George’s anger began to rise, he then saw Dodge. As Dodge exited behind them and left in another car.  George ordered his driver to follow Imogene’s taxi. Imogene then noticed that George’s car was following and told her taxi driver to go faster.  A chase ensued through the streets of Cincinnati. Imogene’s taxi turned into Eden Park and George’s car followed. Inside the park Imogene’s taxi turned down a dead end street. George’s driver followed, pulled up behind and pinned them in. Imogene jumped out of the car and started running through the park and George was quick on her heels.  Out of breath, she stopped in front of the giant gazebo inside the Park and begged George to stop, saying to him “Daddy, I am sorry, please do not do this”. And as Imogene went to embrace George, he stuck the muzzle of his pistol in her stomach and fired.  George went back to where he left the driver, but his driver had gone.  He began walking aimlessly through the streets of Cincinnati.  Imogene stumbled back to the taxi where her daughter had the taxi take her to the hospital.  Unfortunately, Imogene died 2 hours later.  After walking around for hours thinking about his next steps, George walked into the police station and turned himself in.You might be wondering why would George do this, well, this was all part of his plan that he devised while walking through the streets of Cincinnati.

What followed was a courtroom drama for the ages. George was a very good lawyer, and ever the showman, for the most part represented himself, and he turned the trial into a spectacle. The prosecuting attorney was Charles Taft, his dad used to be the President.  He took the case as a slam dunk, this man had admitted to killing his wife in the police station after all, and Taft hoped to improve his own political career as the man who would bring the death penalty down on the famous bourbon king. But remember, as we have said many times, George was very smart, and had a couple of plans in his back pocket.  One was that he would first win over the press so that they would present him in a positive light. He would show that he was a man to feel sorry for, that the things his wife and Dodge had done to him, stealing his money, and ruining his home really affected his mental state.  Second, he knew that he needed to paint the picture of a loving husband that was blindsided by the plotting of his wife and her lover, Franklin Dodge.  With this, he could then lead the judge and jury into believing that he was a broken man. He wanted them to believe that he was driven to do this, as he was so in love with his wife that the sheer betrayal of the affair, stripping him of everything he owned, and even the attempts to have him killed, had damaged him emotionally. In court as he was putting on his show and had them believing he was broken, he announced that the morning he shot her, when he saw her leave the hotel with a huge smile on her face and noticed that she had been with Dodge just moments before, he had a moment…of……transitory insanity.  The courtroom buzzed and Taft was prepared. Taft then brought in expert psychiatric witnesses to testify that George was indeed sane. But the jury, captivated by George’s theatrics and charm, deliberated for only 19 minutes before acquitting him. “George is not guilty by reason of transitory insanity” they said. With Taft's career in politics now shot, he pushed the judge to not let George walk completely free.  So the judge assigned George to the Lima Hospital for the criminally insane.  And again, this was all part of George’s plan as he knew if things went his way, he would have to serve time in Lima. 

While there, George planned his appeal. His appeal was this, George is not insane.  He knew that he could not be tried for her murder again because he had already been found “not guilty” by reason of transitory insanity. That would be double jeopardy. He then went back and brought in the same expert psychiatric witnesses that Taft had used to testify now, that he was not insane.  And yet again, George ran a master class in the courtroom and was released 5 months after arriving at Lima. George had killed his wife, served 5 mos and was now free. 

George went on to marry his secretary Blanche, who had stood by his side through his prison sentence in Atlanta and all throughout his trials.  He and Blanche moved across the river to Northern KY after his repeated attempts to acquire some of his possessions and money.  They started a construction company and a real estate company.  He spent the next 20 years with Blanche until having a stroke and dying from complications 2 yrs later. 

And now to bring the legend home.  Who was this man named George?  Well, earlier I told you that George had purchased many distilleries, one of them being the Squibb distillery in Lawrenceburg IN. That distillery had become the Seagrams Distillery and later was purchased by the Midwest Grain Products company, known as MGP.  Now, MGP has been operating as a contract distiller for years and years, making rye whiskey and high rye bourbon for all kinds of other distilleries and never have they had their own signature bourbon label.  Well today, they now have their own signature bourbon label thanks to George. That bourbon, with a picture of a man with that steely glare, is called…. George…..Remus: King of Bootleggers.

Thanks for tuning in to today’s episode—I hope you enjoyed the journey!  And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to hit that subscribe or follow button.

I appreciate you joining me on this flavorful journey through time and taste… Cheers to the stories behind the spirit.

I’m your host, writer, and producer, Travis Hounshell

If you enjoyed the episode, please help the show grow by sharing it with friends and leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Feel free to mention a story you’d love to hear in the future

For reference listing for this episode, see Crown of Shadows: The Prohibition King's Rise and Fall (part 1) show notes or Transcript.