Louis Rothkopf, also known as Louis Rhody, Lou Rody or John Zarumba (October 11, 1902 – July 17, 1956), was an American businessman and career criminal. He was a bootlegger in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

in the 1920s and 1930s. He was an investor in casinos in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and racetracks in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in the 1940s and 1950s.

Early life

Rothkopf was born on October 11, 1902, in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended three years of high school, and married Blanche Morgan in 1929. The couple had no children. He was known as "Uncle Louie" among showgirls.

Career

As a bootlegger, Rothkopf traveled widely, and supervised alcohol production for the "Cleveland Four," also known as the Cleveland Syndicate. Rothkopf is credited with the "erection and operation of the largest illegal distilleries ever found in the United States." He maintained a suite in Cleveland's Hollenden Hotel with his associates. In the early 1930s, Rothkopf was a partner in the Prospect Advertising Co., a front for a gambling operation. Rothkopf was described as a Cleveland-based "racketeer" in the press by 1931, when he was sought by the police as a possible witness in the murder of a Cleveland councilor, William E. Potter. Rothkopf and Max Diamond were convicted of tax evasion over liquor sales and sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined $5,000 in 1937. The trial showed they had failed to pay taxes on US$150,000 sales of illegal alcohol. Rothkopf operated the Pettibone Club (originally the Arrow Club), a gambling club near

Solon, Ohio Solon ( ) is a city in southeastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 24,262 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History In 1820, the first ...

, in Bainbridge Township, and was connected to the Jungle Inn, located near

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

. Rothkopf was an investor in the Desert Inn Casino, a casino in Las Vegas. He was also an investor in gambling businesses in Kentucky and Ohio. In 1936, alongside Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman and Sam Tucker, Rothkopf invested in the River Downs and Thistledown racetracks in Ohio. With Morris Kleinman, Rothkopf was asked to testify before the Senate Crime Investigation Committee chaired by

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Senator Estes Kefauver on bootlegging allegations in 1952. When both men refused because they didn't want the media to attend their hearing, they were first charged with contempt of Congress and later cleared.

Personal life and death

Rothkopf and his wife Blanche resided in a 37-acre estate located in Bainbridge Center (formerly home to the Maple Leaf Country Club, or Maple Club, a gambling establishment closed in 1927). Mrs. Rothkopf shot herself on June 6, 1955. A year later, on July 17, 1956, Rothkopf was found dead in his car on their estate. His brother was Benjamin Rothkopf. His nephew, Bernard Rothkopf, worked for him in Cleveland and at the

Desert Inn The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the ...

. By the time of his death, his estate was worth $225,000 (). He bequeathed $5,000 to five philanthropic organizations, for a total of $25,000.

References

External links

1951 Press Photo Louis Rothkopf and Cleveland Police Captain Olin Caveness
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothkpof, Louis 1902 births 1956 suicides 1956 deaths Businesspeople from Cleveland American bootleggers American casino industry businesspeople Jewish American gangsters 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Suicides in Ohio

Early life

Career

Personal life and death

References

Further reading

External links