How Did Dutch Schultz Die?
Mobsters DailyDutch Schultz died on October 24, 1935, a day after being shot in the Palace Chophouse in Newark, New Jersey — a hit ordered by the Mafia Commission because Schultz was determined to murder prosecutor Thomas Dewey, and the syndicate decided killing Schultz was cheaper than the crackdown his plan would bring. He lingered for roughly 24 hours, converted to Catholicism, received last rites and died talking in surreal riddles that stenographers recorded.
Why the Commission killed its own
Schultz, born Arthur Flegenheimer, had built a Bronx beer and numbers empire on terror — the career we profile in Who Was Dutch Schultz? Dewey's prosecutions were squeezing him, and Schultz demanded Commission permission to kill the prosecutor. Luciano and the others refused: murdering America's most famous racket-buster would bring heat nobody could survive. Schultz announced he would do it anyway. The Commission's answer was Murder, Inc. — gunmen including Charles "The Bug" Workman walked into the chophouse on October 23 and shot Schultz and three of his men.
November is here and the holidays are closing in, which makes this the season of the Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater — the black-and-white Tony stencil on a proper Christmas sweatshirt. Schultz ran Newark and the Bronx in a suit; his era's style survives mostly in photographs — and, every December, in one famous stencil.
The deathbed performance
Shot in the bathroom and gut-wounded, Schultz survived in agony, was baptised a Catholic at his request, and drifted through a delirium police stenographers transcribed — fragments treasure hunters still mine for clues to his buried millions. He died with the riddle unsolved, and the organisation he defied absorbed his rackets within weeks, a lesson in the new order Lucky Luciano was building: the Commission outranks any single boss.
Frequently asked questions
Who shot Dutch Schultz? Murder, Inc. gunmen carried out the hit; Charles Workman was later convicted of the Schultz murder specifically.
Where is Dutch Schultz's treasure? Legend says he buried millions in cash and bonds in a sealed box in upstate New York. It has never been found — if it ever existed.
How old was Dutch Schultz when he died? He was 34 years old.
Keep reading: The Castellammarese War Explained · How Did Joe Masseria Die? · How Did Buddy McLean Die? · Who Was Benny Binion? The Cowboy Who Built the Horseshoe · Who Was Freddie Foreman? Britain's 'Brown Bread Fred'
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — the real mob history behind the movies, in one book.
Join the conversation
Still thinking about this one? That is exactly what The Social Club is for. It is the MobstersDaily Discord, and it is the best Sopranos community on the internet: serious Sopranos talk, meme wars, Friday movie nights, a casino, and an arcade, all run by fans who never stopped rewatching. If you want to be part of the Sopranos community, this is where it lives.
