March 16, 1937 – Dent writes a letter on Tuesday to other professional writers inviting them to a luncheon on Friday. The luncheon will be held at Rosoff’s located at 147 West 43rd Street. Dent is trying to reinvigorate the local chapter of the New York Fiction Guild. Interestingly, Rossof’s was the subject of several newspaper articles involving racketeering that appeared between February 3 and March 10. Dent lists his address as New York City.
Source: WHMC Folder C3701_f5
Rosoff’s Hotel and Restaurant opened in 1918. The location was previously known as the Hotel Metropole. Max Rosoff came the to United States as an orphan at the age of twelve. He died in 1962 and was 82 years old. Rosoff was known for his charity. During the depression he would give away the leftover food from the restaurant after it closed.
Rosoff’s was in the news only a few weeks before Dent’s letter. Louis Beitcher, a confessed criminal associate of the recently deceased Dutch Schultz was named during trial involving restaurant racketeering. Max Rosoff testified that he paid Beitcher $1,500 with an agreement to pay an additional $500 per month over the next four months.
Daily News, Wednesday, February 3, 1937