While uncouth, unpredictable, and unpopular with his mob peers, ruthless gang boss Dutch Schultz was also wildly successful — for a time.

Gang boss Dutch Schultz rose to prominence in the 1920s using violent means to peddle low-quality bootleg beer in New York City. When Prohibition ended, Schultz diversified into other rackets, becoming fantastically wealthy in the process.

Playing by his own rules, “The Dutchman” always seemed to come out on top in conflicts with cops, courts, and disloyal members of his own crew. Uncouth and unpredictable, Schultz was also unpopular with his mob peers who conspired against him. Shot in a restaurant ambush, Schultz”s delirious hospital-bed rants cemented his idiosyncratic legacy.

This concise account highlights the short, violent life of one of America”s strangest gangsters.