Hitmen

Scott M. Deitche

doi:10.5771/9781538153574

Hitmen

The Mafia, Drugs, and the East Harlem Purple Gang

Published 2022

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doi.org/10.5771/9781538153574
ISBN print: 978-1-5381-5356-7
ISBN online: 978-1-5381-5357-4
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham

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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

Chapter Expand | CollapsePage
Preface
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
1–10 Ch01. Origins 1–10
11–22 Ch02. What’s in a Name? 11–22
23–32 Ch03. A Capacity for Violence 23–32
33–42 Ch04. The Drug Game 33–42
43–50 Ch05. Rockland County 43–50
51–58 Ch06. The Milgram Murder 51–58
59–74 Ch07. .22-Caliber Killers 59–74
75–80 Ch08. The Shopping Spree 75–80
81–86 Ch09. The Viserto Drug Trial 81–86
Photospread
87–94 Ch10. The Early 1980s 87–94
95–106 Ch11. A Killing on Thunderboat Row 95–106
107–112 Ch12. The Crackdown 107–112
113–120 Ch13. The Michael Meldish Murder 113–120
121–126 Ch14. The Leaders of the Families 121–126
127–150 Notes 127–150
151–170 Bibliography 151–170
171–178 Index 171–178
179–180 About the Author 179–180

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