Dutch Schultz's Hidden Fortune
A dying gangster's last words pointed to millions buried in the Catskills. Nobody has found them yet.
- Category
- buried
- Status
- lost
- Year lost
- 1935
- Region
- Catskill Mountains, New York
- Country
- United States
The dossier
Arthur Flegenheimer—better known as Dutch Schultz—was one of the most powerful and feared gangsters of Prohibition-era New York. By the mid-1930s, Schultz controlled the numbers racket in Harlem, ran bootlegging operations, and had amassed a fortune estimated at $7 million (roughly $150 million today). He was known for extreme violence and extreme paranoia about his money. In 1935, facing federal tax evasion charges that had already put Al Capone behind bars, Schultz became obsessed with hiding his assets. According to multiple associates who later spoke to investigators, Schultz packed a waterproof safe with cash, gold coins, negotiable bonds, and diamonds. He and his bodyguard, Lulu Rosenkrantz, drove to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where they buried the safe somewhere near the town of Phoenicia. On October 23, 1935, Schultz was shot by hitmen from Murder, Inc. at the Palace Chophouse in Newark, New Jersey. He lingered for 22 hours, delirious, speaking in fragments that police stenographers recorded. His dying words were famously incoherent—a surreal stream of references to money, hiding places, and a mysterious "box." He never gave a clear location. Since his death, treasure hunters have descended on the Phoenicia area with everything from shovels to ground-penetrating radar. Several organized expeditions have been mounted. The town has been dug up, scanned, and searched repeatedly. In 2019, a reality TV show devoted an entire season to the hunt. Nothing has been found.
Cargo and value
Cash, gold coins, negotiable bonds, diamonds
Legal status
Private land ownership complicates searching. New York state treasure trove laws apply. Any discovery would likely face claims from landowners and potentially Schultz estate heirs.