Beginning as a group of delinquents committing petty crimes, they became Detroit's infamous Purple Gang, of one of the most notorious organized crime groups of the 20th century. The photographs in this fascinating collection chronologically follow the evolution of the Purples from their days as a juvenile street gang through their rise to power and eventual self-destruction. Detroit had a gold rush atmosphere and a thriving black market during the 1920s that attracted gangsters and unsavory characters from all over the country. The gang's reputation for hijacking and terror spread far, and they became associates with Al Capone, their location a perfect midway point to smuggle Canadian whisky across the border and down into Chicago. Their reputation was such that they were even suspected by the FBI for being involved with the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Using rare police department mug shots and group photographs, the book transports readers through the dark side of Prohibition-era Detroit history.

The Purple Gang - Detroit's ruling organised crime syndicate - became one of the most notorious gangs during the Prohibition Era. The gang was comprised mostly of the offspring of recent immigrants - Eastern European Jews who were hardworking and honest. This vicious gang quickly rose to power by engaging in extortion, gambling and the illicit trade of drugs and alcohol. The book if graphically illustrated with 32 pages of photographs depicting the gangsters, from their lives on the street to their bloody demise.

Learn the story behind one of Detroit's most infamous mobs with rare photographs documenting their rise and fall. Motor City Mafia: A Century of Organized Crime in Detroit chronicles the storied and hallowed gangland history of the notorious Detroit underworld. Scott M. Burnstein takes the reader inside the belly of the beast, tracking the bloodshed, exploits, and leadership of the southeast Michigan crime syndicate as never before seen in print. Through a stunning array of rare archival photographs and images, Motor City Mafia captures Detroit's most infamous past, from its inception in the early part of the 20th century, through the years when the iconic Purple Gang ruled the city's streets during Prohibition, through the 1930s and the formation of the local Italian mafia, and the Detroit crime family's glory days in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, all the way to the downfall of the area's mob reign in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Prohibition Era allowed the sinister practices of the black market to gain a foothold in American commerce. When legal trade was no longer allowed to supply American consumers with the alcohol so desperately desired, the consumer turned to those who could supply that booty. And so in Detroit, a city perfectly positioned to receive contraband from neighboring Canada, a group of young men grew in power and profile to become one of the nation's most notorious gangs of organized crime. The Purple Gang, as they came to be called, quickly rose to power and wealth. Alcohol, gambling, drugs, and extortion were only some of the methods they used to make money in a hurry. Most of the men were the offspring of recent immigrants: Eastern European Jews who were hard-working and honest. But the desire for riches and a fast, easy way of life inspired ruthless and devious tactics to gain power and control of illicit ventures at a pivotal time in U.S. history. Nothing was beyond the young gang members. They extended their criminal reach to include kidnapping, arson, and racketeering. For twenty years they ruled Detroit's underworld with a vengeance. They fed off other criminal associations like ravenous parasites. When bootleggers smuggled liquor from Canada, The Purple Gang did not stop short of hijacking the contraband for their own profit. When necessary, they collaborated with other infamous crime groups like Al Capone's in Chicago and New York's Arnold Rothstein and Lucky Luciano. When they neared the end of their dynasty, the gang was so ruthless as to start murdering its own members. Among the legendary leaders of The Purple Gang were Abe Axler, the four Bernstein Brothers Abe, Joe, Ray, and Isadore, and the bloodthirsty thug Harry Millman. When the Gang put a contract out on Millman's life they imported killers from Murder Inc. Law enforcement was powerless against the high-profile tactics of the gang. The "Purples" were fearless, and with strongarm tactics and bribery stretching from the local to the federal level, they were truly untouchable. Here is the untold story of one of America's most powerful and infamous groups of thugs and mobsters. During the chaos of the Prohibition Era these men rose to the highest ranks of organized crime and then shattered it all with bloodthirsty greediness and murderous betrayal. The book is grapically illustrated with 32 pages of photographs depicting the gangsters from their life on the streets to their bloody demise. - Jacket flap.

"Those boys are tainted, off-color!" This lament from an early 20th century Detroit pushcart merchant was said to have given the Purple Gang their nickname. Off Color is the complete story of how a group of juvenile delinquents became one of the most notorious bootlegging mobs in history. Due to Detroits close proximity to Canada, the Purple Gang was in a prime position to strike it rich in the illegal alcohol trade. Not limiting themselves to the booze business, the Purples were violent jacks-of-all crimes. Members of the gang were suspected of participating in both the St. Valentines Day Massacre and the Lindbergh kidnapping. While the Purple Gang eventually dissolved under a storm of prison terms and violent infighting, they endure in American history as a colorfully named group of hoodlums who rose to prominence in the wild era when booze was illegal, men wore spats, women were flappers, and gangsters like the Purples enforced their will with the business end of a machine gun.

*AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL SEMIFINALIST* Shunned by his community... locked up for trying to help an innocent girl... ambushed by rivals and left for dead in the Detroit River: Joe Bernstein has a few scores to settle, and a bold plan to seize control of the Motor City in its booming 1920s heyday. With his faithful "agent" Abie, his brilliant but fragile brother Max, and an out-of-control enforcer named Grabowski (not to mention a couple of carnivorous creatures known as "the babies"), Bernstein gives rise to the infamous Purple Gang-so named by local merchants because the gang's members were said to be "tainted, like spoiled meat." Bernstein's boys set their sights on taking over the Detroit River, the pipeline connecting dry America to wet Canada. But Joe also must contend with having "a sweetheart in the nut house" and rising tensions within his gang. Worst of all, the D.A.'s office has brought in an amputee war hero named Riley--who seems to be one step ahead of Joe's big plans. A fast-paced thriller that builds to the climactic Collingwood Massacre (a seminal event that changed Detroit forever), THE PURPLES blends richly-detailed historical fiction with nonstop action, all narrated in the wry voice of the smart, self-deluding, and unforgettable Joe Bernstein. "Corruption in 1920s Detroit is brought to life in vivid detail in this accomplished book." -Publishers Weekly