[9][10] Rothkopf is credited with the "erection and operation of the largest illegal distilleries ever found in the United States.
[2] 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.
[11][12] Rothkopf and Max Diamond were convicted of tax evasion over liquor sales and sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined $5,000 in 1937.
[1][18][19] In 1936, alongside Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman and Sam Tucker, Rothkopf invested in the River Downs and Thistledown racetracks in Ohio.
[21][22] 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.