{{use mdy dates|date=May 2016}} {{short description|American businessman and criminal}} {{Infobox person | name = Louis Rothkopf | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1902|10|11}} | birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, US | death_date = {{death date and age|1956|07|17|1903|06|3}} | death_place = Bainbridge, Ohio, US | resting_place = Glenville Cemetery, Cleveland | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = Lou Rhody, Lou Rody, John Zarumba, Uncle Louie | known_for = | education = | alma mater = | employer = | occupation = Businessman | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = {{marriage|Blanche Morgan|1929|June 6, 1955|reason=her death}} | children = | parents = | relatives = }} '''Louis Rothkopf''', also known as '''Louis Rhody, Lou Rody''' or '''John Zarumba'''<ref name="deathofwidelyknowngambler">{{cite news|title=Death of Widely-Known Gambler Ruled Accidental|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/8933335/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Coshocton Democrat|date=July 18, 1956|location=Coshocton, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |pages=1; 5}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://mafiahistory.us/kef/kefp2.html|title=Kefauver: Peterson Testimony - July 1950. Part 2|website=The American Mafia - The History of Organized Crime in the United States|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref> (October 11, 1902<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://billiongraves.com/grave/Louis-Rothkopf/31302527|title=Louis Rothkopf 1902 - 1956 BillionGraves Record|website=BillionGraves|language=en|access-date=2019-08-28}}</ref> – July 17, 1956),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.sciron.cuyahoga.lib.oh.us/resources/doc/nb/image/v2%3A122AFBBA107AC9E4%40EANX-NB-12AEEAC437D2C7AA%402435673-12AEE9C3911ADAD4%404-12AEE9C3911ADAD4%40?p=EANX-NB&hlterms=Louis%3B+Rothkopf|title=Cleveland Plain Dealer|date=July 18, 1956| page= 5|website=0-infoweb.newsbank.com.sciron.cuyahoga.lib.oh.us|language=en|access-date=2018-02-08}}</ref> was an American businessman and career criminal. He was a bootlegger in Cleveland, Ohio, during Prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sites.rootsweb.com/~kycampbe/newportgambling.htm|title=Newport Gambling. Sin City Revisited: A Case Study of the Official Sanctioning of Organized Crime in an "Open City"|last=DeMichele|first=Matthew|website=sites.rootsweb.com|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref> He was an investor in casinos in Las Vegas, and racetracks in Ohio and Kentucky in the 1940s and 1950s.
==Early life== Rothkopf was born on October 11, 1902, in Cleveland, Ohio.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Silent Syndicate|page=5}}</ref> He attended three years of high school, and married Blanche Morgan in 1929. The couple had no children.<ref name="The Silent Syndicate">{{Cite book|title=The Silent Syndicate|pages=51–52}}</ref> He was known as "Uncle Louie" among showgirls.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Silent Syndicate|page=51}}</ref>
==Career== As a bootlegger, Rothkopf traveled widely, and supervised alcohol production for the "Cleveland Four," also known as the Cleveland Syndicate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dspace.nku.edu/bitstream/handle/11216/1637/Northern%20Kentucky.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=Northern Kentucky, The State's Stepchild: Origins and Effects of Organized Crime - Oral History|last=Challis|first=Richard|pages=154–155}}</ref><ref>{{Cite CiteSeerX |title=A Dark Side of Dixie: Illegal Gambling in Northern Kentucky, 1790-2000 |last=Royer|first=Jennifer Baugh|date=2009 |pages=71–73|citeseerx = 10.1.1.427.4721}}</ref> Rothkopf is credited with the "erection and operation of the largest illegal distilleries ever found in the United States."<ref name="The Silent Syndicate"/>
He maintained a suite in Cleveland's Hollenden Hotel with his associates.<ref name=":1" /> In the early 1930s, Rothkopf was a partner in the Prospect Advertising Co., a front for a gambling operation.<ref name=":1" />
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.<ref name="lastminutenewspiqua">{{cite news|title=Last Minute News Flashes: Companion of "Hymie" Identified|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/46049795/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Piqua Daily Call|date=August 19, 1931|location=Piqua, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=1}}</ref><ref name="policeseekinglouisreview">{{cite news|title=Police Seeking Louis Rothkopf: Figure in "Hymie" Martin Case Will o' the Wisp to Cleveland Authorities|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/60945947/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Evening Review|date=August 20, 1931|location=East Liverpool, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=1}}</ref>
Rothkopf and Max Diamond were convicted of tax evasion over liquor sales and sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined $5,000 in 1937.<ref name="clevelandmencoshocton">{{cite news|title=Cleveland Men Are Sentenced For Tax Evasion: Conspiracy to Defraud Government Brings Heavy Penalty|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/11197994/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Coshocton Tribune|date=May 23, 1937|location=Coshocton, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=8}}</ref> The trial showed they had failed to pay taxes on US$150,000 sales of illegal alcohol.<ref name="clevelandmencoshocton"/>
Rothkopf operated the Pettibone Club (originally the Arrow Club), a gambling club near Solon, Ohio, in Bainbridge Township,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/moe-dalitz/|title=Moe Dalitz|last=Smith|first=John L.|date=1999-02-07|website=Las Vegas Review-Journal|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chardonthoughtsatlarge.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-pettibone-club.html|title=The Pettibone Club|last=Ice|first=Rod|date=August 30, 2012|website=Thoughts At Large|language=en|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/MorrisMoeDalitzFBIFiles|title=Morris 'Moe' Dalitz FBI Files|last=FBI|publisher=Internet Archive}}</ref> and was connected to the Jungle Inn, located near Youngstown, Ohio.<ref name=":1" />
Rothkopf was an investor in the Desert Inn Casino, a casino in Las Vegas.<ref name="deathofwidelyknowngambler" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/m/mayfield-rd-mob|title=Mayfield Rd. Mob|date=2018-05-11|website=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Case Western Reserve University|language=en|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref> He was also an investor in gambling businesses in Kentucky and Ohio.<ref name="deathofwidelyknowngambler" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/k/kefauver-crime-commission|title=Kefauver Crime Commission|date=2018-05-11|website=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Case Western Reserve University|language=en|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/an-unexpected-disaster-in-1977-left-ky-heartbroken/|title=An Unexpected Disaster In 1977 Left Kentucky Heartbroken|last=Shockley|first=Jenn|date=August 26, 2016|website=OnlyInYourState|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref> In 1936, alongside Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman and Sam Tucker, Rothkopf invested in the River Downs and Thistledown racetracks in Ohio.<ref name="mobranohioracetracks">{{cite news|title=Mob ran Ohio racetracks, Dayton Daily News say|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/62250512/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=Wilmington News-Journal|date=June 7, 1973|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=17|location=Wilmington, Ohio}}</ref>
With Morris Kleinman, Rothkopf was asked to testify before the Senate Crime Investigation Committee chaired by Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver on bootlegging allegations in 1952.<ref name="rulesrefusalrighttotalk">{{cite news|title=Rules Refusal Right To Talk Before Public|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/4497876/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Sandusky Register|date=October 9, 1952|location=Sandusky, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=7}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanmafia.com/Allan_May_1-10-00.html|title=Refusing to Refuse: The Kleinman / Rothkopf Testimony|last=May|first=Allan|date=2000-01-10|website=AmericanMAFIA.com|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref> 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.<ref name="rulesrefusalrighttotalk" /><ref name=":0" />
==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).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sidneyrigdon.com/books/Hnry1942.htm|title=Bainbridge Township, Ohio|last=Henry|first=Frederick A.|website=sidneyrigdon.com|page=14|access-date=2019-06-21}}</ref> Mrs. Rothkopf shot herself on June 6, 1955.<ref name="gamblerswifeshootsherself">{{cite news|title=Gambler's Wife Shoots Herself|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/31966252/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The News Tribune|date=June 6, 1955|location=Fort Pierce, Florida|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=2}}</ref> A year later, on July 17, 1956, Rothkopf was found dead in his car on their estate.<ref name="gamblingfigurediessandusky">{{cite news|title=Gambling Figure Dies|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/4628985/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Sandusky Register|date=July 18, 1956|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |location=Sandusky, Ohio|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Barker|first=Thomas|title=Wicked Newport: Kentucky's Sin City|year=2008|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-59629-549-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJf0sASQTZ8C&q=%22louis+rothkopf%22+1956&pg=PA66}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="fumesfataltogambler">{{cite news|title=Fumes Fatal To Gambler|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/16613968/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Daily Reporter|date=July 18, 1956|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |location=Dover, Ohio|page=5a}}</ref>
His brother was Benjamin Rothkopf. His nephew, Bernard Rothkopf, worked for him in Cleveland and at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas.<ref name=":2" />
By the time of his death, his estate was worth $225,000 ({{Inflation|US|225000|1956|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="willaidscharitiesthe">{{cite news|title=Will Aids Charities|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/8951496/?terms=%22louis%2BRothkopf%22|access-date=March 7, 2016|work=The Coshocton Democrat|location=Coshocton, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=6|date=September 16, 1956}}</ref> He bequeathed $5,000 to five philanthropic organizations, for a total of $25,000.<ref name="willaidscharitiesthe"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Messick, Hank. ''[https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/Miscellanea_Judaica_%2309/MESSICK%28Hank%29-The_Silent_Syndicate_%281967%29.pdf The Silent Syndicate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828162853/https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/Miscellanea_Judaica_%2309/MESSICK(Hank)-The_Silent_Syndicate_(1967).pdf |date=August 28, 2021 }}''. New York : Macmillan Company, 1967. * Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8160-5694-3}}
==External links== *[https://outlet.historicimages.com/collections/cleveland-plain-dealer/products/cvp73530 1951 Press Photo Louis Rothkopf and Cleveland Police Captain Olin Caveness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620142915/https://outlet.historicimages.com/collections/cleveland-plain-dealer/products/cvp73530 |date=June 20, 2019 }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothkpof, Louis}} Category:1902 births Category:1956 suicides Category:1956 deaths Category:Businesspeople from Cleveland Category:American bootleggers Category:American businesspeople in the casino industry Category:Jewish American gangsters Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American Jews Category:Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Category:Suicides in Ohio