East Harlem Purple Gang
| Founded | Early 1970s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | African American organized crime groups |
| Rivals | At times the Five Families, especially the Bonanno crime family; various street gangs and drug dealers |
The East Harlem Purple Gang was a
Origins
They allegedly named their group the 'Purple Gang' as a tribute to a Prohibition Era gang (
History
The Purple Gang originated in Italian Harlem as an Italian-American youth street gang and were involved in various
Throughout the 1970s, Italian-American and
The Purple Gang became increasingly involved with murder, sometimes acting independently and sometimes as contract killers for the Mafia, and they became renowned for their "enormous capacity for violence."[1][7][8] By 1977, law enforcement claimed that the Purple Gang had committed at least 17 homicides, with many of these murders committed on behalf of 'organized crime principals' (i.e., Italian-American Mafia families.) [1] Many of the murders attributed to the Purple Gang were exceedingly grisly, with some involving decapitation, dismemberment, or multiple stab wounds. The gang is also suspected to be involved in a rash of killings during the 1970s of various mobsters and people with organized crime connections, with the murders notably involving .22 caliber firearms.[6] Dismemberment and .22 caliber killings subsequently became known in the underworld as the trademark of the Purple Gang.
According to police reports, at the peak of its strength in 1977 the Purple Gang consisted of approximately 30 members and over 80 associates, with higher numbers placing the gang's membership as over 100 (though this may include associates). Most of the gang's members were younger men in their 20s or 30s, many of whom were considered by the Mafia to be too reckless or "uncontrollable" for membership in the Mafia. [1][5]
Although an independent gang that operated largely outside the constraints and structure of the established "Five Families" of the New York Italian-American Mafia, the Purple Gang was closely tied to the Italian-American Mafia and would often freelance as "muscle" or hit-men for the larger New York families. Many Purple Gang members were in fact relatives of established Italian-American Mafia members.[1] However, it remains unclear what activities the gang performed independently and what activities the gang carried out for certain Mafia families. For instance, several members were notably arrested in Monroe, New York in Upstate New York for assaulting private sanitation workers, suggesting the gang may have been involved in labor corruption or extortion within the sanitation business, either independently or as enforcers for the New York Mafia.[2] Though the gang often worked for the Five Families and frequently acted as drug distributors for the Five Families, they were also noted for their "lack of respect for other members of organized crime," and they just as often competed with the Mafia or disregarded the Mafia's turf claims and orders, sometimes moving in on Mafia drug territory. In fact, law enforcement at one point feared that a mob war would break out between the Purple Gang and certain Mafia families, specifically Carmine Galante's Bonanno Crime Family, and the gang became so powerful and feared that it was sometimes referred to as New York City's "Sixth Family."[5][1]
Law enforcement speculated that during the late 1970s, the Purple Gang developed a relationship with
The Purple Gang disintegrated during the late 1970s and early 1980s and was absorbed into the current
Pleasant Avenue
 |
Pleasant Avenue, a six-block stretch in East Harlem, is one of the incubators of the Italian Mafia in New York City.[citation needed] Anthony 'Fat Tony' Salerno ran the Genovese crime family from Pleasant Avenue.[citation needed]
The Purple Gang's longtime association with Pleasant Avenue is shown in the 1993 film Carlito's Way. In the film, the titular character (Al Pacino) refers to the gang as "The Pleasant Avenue bunch" when its members come to kill him.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Blum 1977.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Younger Thugs Surpass Elders: Manhattan's new Purple Gang deals with deceit, drugs, death". Eugene Register-Guard. New York Times News Servie. Dec 8, 1977. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Kappersetter 2007.
- ^ Kilgannon & Malliozzi 2004.
- ^ ISBN 9780816069897. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ a b Schorr, Mark (May 7, 1979). "The .22 Caliber Killings". New York Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Conley, Kristan (March 7, 2011). "Untouchable Bronx hitman faces life in jail after '40 murders'". New York Post.
- ^ Paddock, Barry; Trapasso, Clare; Ransom, Jan; Schapiro, Rich (Nov 17, 2013). "Notorious gangster who led Purple Gang found shot to death in car in Bronx". NY Daily News. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Capeci 2006.
- ^ Capeci 2007.
- ^ Marzulli, John (June 30, 2005). "The Nose is Pick of the Mob. Called new top Bonanno". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
- ^ Whitehouse, Kaja (February 13, 2017). "Lucchese crime family members busted in murder of relative". New York Post. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
- ^ Feuerherd, Ben (July 27, 2020). "'Veal shank' mobster and two other Luccheses get life in prison". nypost.com.
References
- Blum, Howard (Dec 16, 1977). "Gang's Former Errand Boys Form Their Own Gang, Police Say". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- Capeci, Jerry (November 30, 2006). "Meet the Genovese Crime Family's New Boss". New York Sun. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
- Capeci, Jerry (May 31, 2007). "Delight at Mob Deaths Dogs Lawmen". New York Sun. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- Kappersetter, Bob (September 24, 2007). "Bronx detectives pounce on junkie wanted in shooting slay". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- Kilgannon, Corey; Malliozzi, Vincent M. (Jan 5, 2004). "On Pleasant Avenue, a Mobbed-Up History Is Hard to Live Down". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
