Though detectives denied it, the Italian mafia was operating in Detroit as early as 1900, and the city was forever changed. Bootleggers controlled the Detroit River and created a national distribution network for illegal booze during Prohibition. Gangsters, cops and even celebrities fell victim to the violence. Some politicians and prominent businessmen like Henry Ford's right-hand man, Harry Bennett, collaborated closely with the mafia, while others, such as popular radio host Gerald Buckley, fought back and lost their lives. Social scientist and crime writer James A. Buccellato explores Detroit's struggle with gang violence, public corruption and the politics of vice during the tumultuous first half of the twentieth century. Book jacket.

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.

Though detectives denied it, the Italian mafia was operating in Detroit as early as 1900, and the city was forever changed. Bootleggers controlled the Detroit River and created a national distribution network for illegal booze during Prohibition. Gangsters, cops and even celebrities fell victim to the violence. Some politicians and prominent businessmen like Henry Ford's right-hand man, Harry Bennett, collaborated closely with the mafia, while others, such as popular radio host Gerald Buckley, fought back and lost their lives. Social scientist and crime writer James A. Buccellato explores Detroit's struggle with gang violence, public corruption and the politics of vice during the tumultuous first half of the twentieth century.

From the Author of Off Color: The Violent History of Detroit's Notorious Purple Gang It was the winter of 1919, and it was the height of a gang war the Motor City hadn't seen before. Detroit's Mafia family had split into two factions, both vying to not only avenge ancient wrongs but also gain control of the city's lucrative illegal alcohol trade at the dawn of Prohibition. In Vìnnitta, author Daniel Waugh offers an in-depth account of the formation of the Detroit Mafia and how they grew from a small band of Sicilian immigrants into one of the most powerful criminal sects. He shares how the mafia infiltrated the Detroit business community and established themselves in illegal rackets ranging from extortion, auto theft, bootlegging, burglary, and construction racketeering. The story is told through the eyes of not only the gangsters themselves, but also those of an undertaker forced to prepare many of his friends for burial after their murders.

Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang is a photographic history of one of the most notorious organized crime groups of the 20th century. The photographs chronologically follow the evolution of the Purples from their days as a juvenile street gang through their rise to power and eventual self-destruction. Using rare police department mug shots and group photographs, the book transports readers through the dark side of Prohibition-era Detroit history. 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 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.

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.