Friedel-Crafts condensation of 2-phenylpropionyl chloride (I) with ethylene in the presence of AlCl3 furnished 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-one (II) (1). Subsequent alkylation of the sodium enolate of (II) with N-(2-chloroethyl)piperidine (III) gave rise to the title compound.