- In the early 1930s,

Dutch Schultz acquired his most formidable adversary.

And interestingly enough, it wasn't a fellow gangster.

It was a straight-shooting lawyer named Thomas Dewey.

- Dewey had it up to here with him, see?

Because the Dutch

wanted power.

When he found out that Dewey was after him

and wanting to shut him away and all that,

that's when the fireworks started.

- [Vintage Narrator] From the beginning,

Dewey faced an almost hopeless job, clearing

out gangsters and racketeers whose hold

upon upon the city had been tightening

through years of Tammany rule.

Mr. Dewey, you have been given a most difficult task.

But the opportunity of helping the people of this city.

- Thomas Dewey was born in Michigan,

went to Columbia Law School

and was very much a straight arrow,

very hardworking man, very determined

to crush organized crime and set his sights

on Dutch Schultz.

- And the Dutch says, "Look, you tell Dewey

I'm running this."

- [Man] Listen to what he has to say.

- Quiet.

And the Dutch had to find a way to get rid of Dewey.

Because he's the one that's gonna, yeah, yeah.

And that's how it started.

- Schultz actually went through two different tax trials.

First trial is in Syracuse, New York

in early 1935 and lo and behold,

no one really wants to testify against him.

Go figure.

So, all these witnesses don't testify.

The jury says they can't reach a verdict.

- [Narrator] Dutch's first trial ended in a hung jury,

but a retrial was promptly ordered

to be held within three months.

As the threat of jail time crept ever closer, the need

for Dutch to protect his riches became urgent.

(dramatic music)