Hitmen
The Mafia, Drugs, and the East Harlem Purple Gang
Zusammenfassung
From the author of the star reviewed Garden State Gangland comes an in-depth exposé on East Harlem's notorious Purple Gang whose murderous exploits became a media obsession and Mafia lynchpin.
In the late 1970s, a string of seemingly unconnected murders had Harlem police and federal authorities at their wits’ end until they realized several commonalities. The victims were all either Mafia members or potential witnesses of Mafia activity and they’d all been shot from .22 pistols traced back to a single private sale in Florida. From these details, the FBI and police were able to build a profile of a rogue sect of Mafia hitmen known as the East Harlem Purple Gang.
Starting on the fringes of Mafia families, the Purple Gang members became indispensable and installed members in the highest ranks of the Genovese, Bonanno, and Lucchese families. Often serving as freelance hitmen, kidnappers, and drug traffickers, the Purple Gang’s exploits quickly crossed into mythology as media outlets scrambled to keep up with new murders and the law’s crusade to bring the gang members to justice. Sifting through the mystery and mythos, author Scott M. Deitche brings readers into Harlem’s gritty streets to experience the Purple Gang’s reign of terror, the investigators who tried to bring them down, and the gang members who either suffered violent ends or are still at large today.
Schlagworte
the mob NYC Mafia NYC gangs The Bronx Purple Gang Michael Meldish Murder East Harlem Purple Bonanno family Genovese family Harlem Purple Gang the mafia Lucchese family Mafia Drug Dealing Mafia Hitmen gangland killings gangland murders- i–x Preface i–x
- 1–10 Ch01. Origins 1–10
- B–H Photospread B–H
- 107–112 Ch12. The Crackdown 107–112
- 127–150 Notes 127–150
- 151–170 Bibliography 151–170
- 171–178 Index 171–178
- 179–180 About the Author 179–180