Nate Hendley on Dutch Schultz

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Nate Hendley

Gary interviews the well-known Canadian true crime author Nate Hendley. Recently, He released his book Dutch Schultz: The Brazen Beer Baron of New York on Kindle for the first time. Mr. Hendley tells some of the best stories about this crude, repulsive 1930s mobster. For all his faults, Dutch Schultz could read the public’s desire for vice. As prohibition ended, he moved quickly into a previously untapped racket that the Italian mafia had not touched. He realized there was a lot of money in the little ten-cent bets made by many African-Americans in New York City. He eventually took over all the different Black policy operations except one. Schultz encountered an African-American policy kingpin who happened to be a woman named Stephanie Saint- Claire and her Lieutenant, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson.

Stephanie “Queenie” Saint-Clair

Stephanie Sinclair, at age 15, immigrated from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe to Montreal, Canada to be a domestic worker. She left Canada shortly and moved to New York City in 1912. She moved into Harlem where the first man she met tried to put her on the streets as a prostitute. He was murdered in a fight and she started her own business selling drugs with the help of a new boyfriend. As they made more and more money in the drug business, she tried to leave this new man. In a fight, she pushed him away so abruptly that he struck his head and died. She made more and more money in the drug business. As she got more successful she employed bodyguards, bribed cops, and set her ambitions on getting into the policy racket. She became the most well-known and successful policy operator in the city.

Dutch Schultz and Stephanie Sinclair

Queenie Saint-Clair refused to pay Dutch Schultz a piece of her action for protection. She had Bumpy Johnson and his men vandalize various storefronts of businesses where Dutch Schultz’s Policy agents worked. She also tipped off the police about Schultz.  Resultingly, the police raided several of his policy operators and his personal home. They arrested more than a dozen of his employees and seized around $10 million. Ms. Saint-Clair never submitted to Dutch Schultz but she did retire from the business and turned everything over to Bumpy Johnson.

The books and blog of Nate Hendley

This Canadian author is based in Toronto and he has been entertaining readers with his stories of organized crime mobsters like Al Capone and Dutch Schultz, bank robbers like Bonnie and Clyde, scam artists, and a great story about a wrongful murder conviction. Click here to see all books by Nate Hendley.

Show notes by Gary Jenkins
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