Shultz, whose real name was Arthur Flegenheimer, was born in the Bronx, New York City. He had a minor record until the 1920's when he emerged as one of the many proteges of early criminal mastermind Arnold Rosthstein. Shultz soon ran a gang that took over much of the beer trade in the Bronx. Dutch was also the first one to realize the potential of the numbers game in Harlem. He moved aggressively on the independent black operators there. Shultz had figured out a way to manipulate the outcomes of the numbers to make sure that he always came out on top. Many of his fellow mobsters didn't like Shultz and in fact looked down on him. Shultz fought a war with Vincent Coll. Coll was a former underling who sought take over part of Shultz's empire. On February 8, 1932, Coll found himself trapped in a telephone booth by men some of Shultz's men. The defeat of Coll gave Dutch a measure of prestige with his peers. Although nobody else really tried to knock him off,
Luciano and
Lansky wanted to take over his beer and policy rackets. Also they knew that Shultz was erratic, and sooner or later would put them in jeopardy. Just before they could make a move on Shultz, the Government indicted Shultz on tax evasion charges. While Dutch was out of the picture avoiding trial, Lanksy and others tried to take over his operation, but Dutch beat the rap and reclaimed his property. War would have certainly broke out had it not been for Thomas E. Dewey. Dewey was the special prosecutor who had set his sights on Shultz and his empire. Because of this, Shultz demanded that Dewey be killed. His request was denied by the national board of the syndicate, this prompted Shultz to proclaim that he would indeed carry out the hit with or without approval. On October 23, 1935, Shultz and two of his men were having a meeting in Palace ChopHouse and Tavern in Newark, New Jersey. When Dutch went into the bathroom, two gunmen entered the Tavern and shot Shultz, then killed Shultz's men who were sitting at the table. Dutch managed to walk back to the table where he fell unconscious. Dutch died at the hospital, never saying who it was that shot him.
