THE PURPLE GANG AT REST

Bars, Babes & Booze: A take-off of the 1930 Detroit mobsters

Mention The Purple Gang to metro Baby Boomer Detroiters, and almost everyone has something to say about them. They were the most notorious bootlegging mob in the nation's history. Friend or foe, to them "collecting" knew no difference.

Described as: 

"They're not someone you want to have tea with."
"They were so bad, like tainted meat, which is why they were nicknamed the Purple Gang."
"During Prohibition, they ran 75% of the nation's booze through Detroit."

And the list goes on.  They were known as the Sugar House gang. It was organized crime at its finest. The mob life offered a lot of perks they couldn't get in Eastern Europe: money, romance, mystery, intrigue and most of all, importance. Being somebody.  

Criteria to be a member of the Purple Gang, was tough:
1. Had to be Russian. But not necessarily born in Russia. As long as the parents were from the Russia was all that mattered. 
2. Must be Jewish
3. Men only were part of the gang
4. Had to be fearless

Yes, it was a club of it's own -- with a deep reputation for spreading terror.

Their members killed, tortured, kidnapped people who were later murdered and broke legs if gamblers didn't pay. And, yet in spite of all of the rogue behavior, they were allowed the dignity of a funeral and burial.  Some were killed and their bodies were never found. Others were laid to rest in Jewish cemeteries. Most died broke. Here's just a few:

Harry Millman, one of the most fearsome of the lot and known as a "loose cannon", was assassinated and shot 10 times at Boeskey's Restaurant as Hazelwood and 12th streets, Detroit. His marker is at Beth Isaac Cemetery.  His death signaled the end of the Purple Gang era.

Irving Shapiro, born 1906 and killed in 1929. A young man. A bad apple through and through. He went for a joy ride with a couple of "associates", which included two bullets to back of head. His body thrown from speeding car and was discovered on Taylor Street in Detroit. He is interned at Machpelah Cemetery, Ferndale, Michigan.

Irving Milberg, rotten to the core. A hit man. He killed the thugs who went to the Collingwood Manor to work out a truce among the various gangs.  He died on Sept. 29, 1938 at 35 years old. Sentenced to life for Collingwood Manor Massacre. Funny that he died of peritonitis during surgery at Marquette Prison, a disease of the gut probably caused by excessive drinking in his case. His grave is at Machpelah Cemetery, Ferndale, Michigan.

The mastermind and behind-the-scenes leader of most of the Purple Gang crimes was Sam Norber.  He was known for a huge wad of cash that even his mother always somehow thirsted over. Actually, he really was a showman, an emcee in prison and even wrote a book:  Prose From the Cons, which was produced by tough-guy comedian Jackie Kannon with the blessing of the prison chaplain, Rabbi Morris Shapiro. Imagine that. Norber died in 1995 and is interred in Detroit’s Hebrew Memorial Park.

The one thing that made the Purple Gang so different from other gangs in the world, was that they rarely if ever involved family members in their outfit. After all, when some teachers learned that their students at Schul were related to the ruffians, they were all but expelled for not doing something to stop them from causing grief and havoc.  THAT wasn't the purpose of the gang at all. And, they realized it.

Our Tour: Bars, Babes & Booze does a tongue in cheek half-day tour of the city with brief explanations, and visits to famous Purple Gang haunts.  

Meatface can tell you more:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHQLa0u0BZU