The story of gangster and bootlegger Dutch Schultz, and his connection to Yonkers, continues to grow, 80 years after “The Dutchman” was gunned down in New Jersey steakhouse.
A recent documentary “Secrets of the Dead-Gangster Gold” aired on PBS this month and is avaailable on demand. “It is widely believed that notorious Bronx-based gangster and bootlegger Dutch Schultz buried a fortune estimated to be worth more than $50 million somewhere in New York’s Catskill Mountains prior to his death in 1935. Schultz was gunned down and died without revealing where the treasure was buried, spawning a mystery that has endured for nearly a century,” writes PBS.
“Now, 85 years later, three groups of treasure hunters, armed with modern technology and decades worth of intensive research, race to uncover new leads in hopes of finding Schultz’s missing treasure. On SECRETS OF THE DEAD “Gangster’s Gold,” join these three groups of treasure hunters as they follow the trail of this unsolved mystery toward the discovery of a lifetime.”
It was widely believed that Dutch buried his treasure in the Catskills Town of Phoenicia, and that is where treasure hunters have spent their time looking through the forrest for a 2-by-3-foot steel box filled with diamonds, gold coins and $1,000 bills that Schultz was socking away for his getaway or retirement.
The film features a new interview with Stanley Grauso, the 104-year-old, last living member of Dutch Schultz’s gang who worked as an enforcer in the 1930s.
Professional treasure hunters Ryan Fazekas and Steve Zazulyk, along with Concordia College archivist Travis Basso and geo-tech specialist Frank Lopergolo, uncover the remains of a rumored bootlegger tunnel built by Dutch Schultz and his gang in Bronxville and go hunting in an overgrown part of Yonkers.
If you watch the documentary, which we recommend, longtime Yonkers residents will recognize the neighborhood where the treasure hunters focused their time. Another former Dutch house in Bronxville, now owned by Concordia College, is also a part of the documentary and search.
Yonkers Rising and YonkersTimes.com have written extensively about Dutch Schultz and his connection to Yonkers. Schultz lived in Yonkers and Bronxville with his wife, Frances Flegenheimer in the years before his death.
During prohibition, Schultz ‘purchased’ the Yonkers Brewery, under the threat of death to the owner if he didn’t sign away the deed, according to published reports. While the brewery continued to produce ‘near beer’ which had little or no alcohol, Dutch was able to concoct a scheme to run alcoholic beer through sewer lines under the streets of Yonkers to other locations out of the sight of law enforcement.
When the pipes were uncovered, an investigation into what happened and who was responsbile never resulted in any arrests or resolution. Many believe that the political powers of the day were able to keep the matter a mystery.
Elizabeth Trojian, Chief Creative Officer for Yap Films and the Executive Producer for Gangster’s Gold explained that the film and subject matter have a personal connection. “My grandfather was muscle for Dutch Schultz,” she told The NY Post. “He kept a journal, and there were references to gold coins.”
After he was shot, Schultz spent the final paindful day of his life in a hospital bed, uttering rambling thoughts that included, “Lulu, drive me back to Phoenicia,” and “Don’t be a dope, Lulu, we better get those Liberty Bonds out of the box and cash ’em.”
Even though Yonkers, and Bronxville, were elilminated as a possible location for the treasure, nobody knows the its actual whereabouts Perhaps someone in Yonkers knows more…
Dutch’s lawyer, Dixie Davis, wrote extensively about his former client under a pseudonym, including the story about how he saw the box of valuables in Dutch’s office one day.
The response to our stories about Dutch and Yonkers have resulted in great interest from our readers, and emails from relatives of those involved. One recent email has led us to more information about The Dutchman, from the family of a noted author from Yonkers, who wrote about this same story for a detective magazine in the early 1960’s.
His name is Avram Davidson. More on his interesting life story, and his story about Beer running under the streets of Yonkers during prohibition, coming soon.
