Break-up of Empire
At his death, Prohibition was in full swing, various street gangs were battling for control of the liquor distribution, and the carefully constructed political boss structure of the late 19th century was in total collapse. Frank Erickson, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, and other former associates split up Rothstein's various "enterprises" after his death. With the break-up of his empire, the corrupt and already weakened Tammany Hall was critically injured as it relied on Rothstein to rein in the street gangs thereby giving a facade to Tammany's importance with the legitimate interests of the city. Consequently, with the death of Rothstein the break up of Tammany begin in earnest which contributed to the rise of the reformer Fiorello La Guardia, elected as mayor.
Ten years after his death, Arnold Rothstein's brother declared Rothstein's estate bankrupt and Arnold's wealth disappeared.
Read more about this topic: Arnold Rothstein
Famous quotes containing the word empire:
“I date the end of the old republic and the birth of the empire to the invention, in the late thirties, of air conditioning. Before air conditioning, Washington was deserted from mid-June to September.... But after air conditioning and the Second World War arrived, more or less at the same time, Congress sits and sits while the presidents—or at least their staffs—never stop making mischief.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)