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troit as “Abe Gold™ as ai di orderly person, discharged | auperinfendent. eee: Oct. $1, 1926, arrested: In trolt as “Abe Goldy. as #. poll witness, discharged by supar- intendent. .. Kee ES March 29, 1927, arrested in, Tee oie! troit as “Harry Levine” rabboty : p armed, discharged by supete 3; : intendent. CD Bae . 8 ‘May 9, 1927, robbery armed, @ t charged by superintendent, = Aug. 14 1927, robbery arraed, discharged by superintendent, “ride” to a Jone Oakland County road early yesterday, at this time faced pollce together as they faced their GANGSTERS, SLAIN TOGETHER, CAUGHT IN RECENT RAID . re Axter” (left) and Fletcher, dimfnutive Ing them, The gang pelr, slain on a eo Gang gunmen, are being taken to police itarters fer, questioning after = public enemy ~ - lp Detective Mike Flannegan is accompany. == murderer's y taterday, (This ls a Times picture.) ST OF P URPLES LEADERLESS a AYINGS LEAVE LA awesome news that Abe and Eddie Fletcher “were bumped off’ _ electrified ves of Detroit's gnderworid small, black hours. we ame: first before dawn yester- i§ a rumor which was soon ‘med via the grapevine of the t world. Tha previous chief In the hoodlums’ delicatessen \uarters—"they stuck up Gol- boyd want to see me in once.” . action just ‘He boxed Don ‘Burchard at Harry St Louis gang seems to have merged with the Detrojters, the combination belng strengthened by Harris’ Falrview Club, Mack and }the addition of a dozen or 20 of Fairview avenues, and the mob saw Jaccredited tough ones from New him get decisively outpointed in] York. a : os : elght rounds. The new gang proceeded to work It was from this fight, some say, [from the viewpoint that there fs that the name "Purple" gang origi-|{more profit in levying tribute than nated, popular New York prize ring cus- Fletcher followed the then |}in belng pald for bodyguard. In 1927 Axler and Fletcher oceu- and ‘Milberg’ were sentetice ‘ + a Federal Judge Charles C, Simons to’ Bh serve one year and 10 months in the Federal Penlientiary at Leaven- worth, Kan. and to pay, fines of =f oe athe $5,000 each, . COLLINGWOOD MASSACRE | They served their sentences and did not get into serious trouble + with the law again until Septem-j- ' ber, 1931. At that time the Purple gang was- accused of perpetrating: the “Collingwood massacre.” Joe (Nigger) Lebovitz, Herman (Hymley- Paul and Izzy Sutker, members of . the rival “Navy” gang, had been®.) - shot down and the Purples vere] 4 tom of dressing the fighter and his| pied a suite in the Miraflores Apart- seconds im colored jerseys. The | ments, 106 East Alexandria avenue, color of the jerseys, on this occa-|In this building they and their and ae es wintsived tough sion, was # bright purple, gang reputedly wiped out Frank and killers, were “biggies” of MORE VICIOUS KILLER Wright, Reuben Cohen and Joseph cational underworld. | Axler never was a pug. His nose Bloom. three opposing gangsters, 1a Detroit they had earned the had not been knocked askew as! at has become known as the ia reputationd of Public Ene-'wetchers was and his sizable ‘Miraflores massacre.” In disposing No. 1 and 2, respectively.|ears had never been “cauli- f the trio, reputedly Chicago gang- - wars sawed-off Napoleons of: agwerized,” but nonetheless his waa jsters, the Purples Introduced ma- infamous Purple Gang and. the more sinister face of the two, Herine guns In Detroit gangster war- _ its rise te power in 1526 until’ ye had an acquil ose, hi ; . " died with thelr shoes on, lead-| wneek bones, deop me none, wee FORCED DYERS’ TRIBUTE ictors In tts criminal history—| nis small eyes, auiken cheeks, and| j vee and ieteher, along with i . story vicious enough to cause/s thin tight mouth whith turned red “Killer”: Burke, were arrested| Milford Jones, a notorious. Btg sert Aabury, historian of Amer- at the corners. ciao. [8S suspects in Che mansacre. Police; Louis gunman, was murdered “ax, vrime. to eall it “the moat ef- PN vonuto he war ‘a pore wt hots" grilled them without result, and the/he stood at the bar of the swanky: ntly organized gang.of Riliers( ¢ jner azid w-rougher fighter “han thras “were .. eventually relenged. | Stork Club, +T Rowena street. } ne United States.” © feo fytetcher. Tt is aald that oncé. when (Burke is now ¥erving a ign, sen- | June, 1932, and again Fletcher and CH IN COMMON - > Tea hy Junior By ee, en tence for murder at “Mafquette| Axler were brought in for grilsog. aa" twe, Runmen hed much in) BStFC ouid do ri a ine eentoteter Prison.) ay OF nye Sd! i Both were releaseds) Th sews moa. Both were native sons of no ROW To frolice hee: During joe, the P exacted: murder temaln Fe wae Ge is. te WEN wey Mh ocean RS a Re tribute? 1 _kBouas Of dolidrd | ords p. a puystery. rye that’s al!" fo Sola ‘Lon Detro eatizs aad [ Lasewinler Axier #a4 Fido) ° ; vers: Protection” money: 7 <F -) attemped to’ reenter professiong: . the chasers and dyere’ war, boxingag Managers, Their boxers {4+ ore ¥ me another stoty purport-| were te veteran Morrle Sherman, his brobver, Jackie, a novice, Louie jf. handbook and killed a guy”— mmediately superseded. blamed. ot vgs Axler and Fletcher were ques tloned and released. Ray Betn- stein, Harry Keywelf and Irving ¥ Milberg were prosecuted, found 9: guilty, and sent to Marquette Prison for life. sot oe ns “ws “he @ in'talfer than five feet, and Es - » tsessed the aggressive ten Agler purportedly came” here ck guy” which je zo often frgm New York a year or two after j tp raclel tte anand beady etcher’s fight against Burchard. | ing « B th abnormal ears, Axler's bg abe ons # of & teather” soon | gangs name. 20 4F ys Ga | Mays; ¢ Dea Moines middleweight, .. dine and overgrown by na- § ogether and began contribut-} . aocelled “purple gangs” were|and ather boxer who wag known j} ane Fletcher's flattened and mE male performances to the/ known tong ago, some historians, to theboxing fraternity as “the for- 5 imere [ elose ta his head by the} * UTPe lurid history. claim. ' Dyers, they say, have been|mer ight heavyweight champion: ychea of many pugilists during FORMED FOR DEFENSE associated always with the purple! of Jekson Prison.” Other “Mtewith | The time was 1928. Axler was 25,| dye because It was the first dis-|mae™ managers had better boxers ‘explain’ the’ érigin of the early ring career, And, above - both - tre larceny-minded | three years Fletcher's junior, but alcovered by the Phoenicians, whojanr Fletcher finally said, “there's semers, — ‘ kiters with anjMore experienced gangster, having | originated the art of dyeing. Purple, |no dough here for me,” and retired ; been a consort _of “mobs” while | therefore, has become the symbol! fom the managerial end. Fletcher Eddie was stil! a reputedly honest of the dyer. Thus. according to this; ‘as last seen in the ring at Arena prizefighter. oo explanation, the “purple” gang be-| Gardens as a second for Lauls andeance of what police and wspapermen call “crazy nerve.” Shortly after the elose of the orld War Fletcher was a popu- + 118-pound preliminary fighter at » old Military A. C. in Brooklyn, ‘ soon wax taker into the stable a well-known manager, Silvey rims, who satd: The Purple gang was organized [comes the “dyers’” gang, pposedly as a defensive organ! CONTINUED ACTIVITIES ation, employed by local gamblera to defend their establishments from The lucrative cleaners and dyers’ protection racket was broken up by being pilfered by a gang of In-ithe police with the arrest of 12 vaders from St. Louls known &3 \Purpies. Besides Axler and Fletcher, “Mays. 3 But shortly byfore he was ar- ‘ested as a pub%c enemy again, a few weeks ago, Fletcher began is sug ¢lreviars to promoters at not ‘cing himegelf as the manager of Merits Sherman and seeking bouts “Egan's Rats.” . . > ¢) those arrested were Abe Bernstein, The St. Louls Rats were blamed reputed leader; his brother, Ray; for the kidnaping in March, 1926,| Abe Kaminsky, Abe Miller, Harry “IT took the kid under my wing ecanse he’s willing to fight four ines a week if you'd Iet him— fir té fighter. He styled Rimselt} < “boulng manager” at the time of nd when he gets pald off he rings his dough home te his rather. - CIT RING IN 1933 . Around Brooklyn, where Fletcher as known as a shy youth, the oxing fraternity was tremendously irprised when he ¢ventually broke “9 print here as & notorious hoed- Fletcher finally reached, the main vent class ig New York, but was ever a great fighter, He quit in ag ay Yotroit. Ha becan fraternizing with re "mobs" and in 1925 he accepted nother baut because, he sald, “the * ne of Meyer (Fish) Bloomfield, then &| Keywell, Irving Milberg, “stick man” at Charles T. "Doe" | Cordell, Joe “Honeyboy” Georga Milter, tres Brady's gambling place, 326 Grand River avenue, abowe the store where Dr. Jullus C. Harris was shot and killed during an attempted holdup of “Goldie's handbook”. Saturday night. ‘ - TURNED TO RACHEF .: +The “snatching” of Bicomfieid was the first of a lucrative series of kidnapings of rich gamblers for ransom money, and it goon became and shortly after moved to! doubtful as to whether thd “Pur- |ples” were taking a defensive sor fan offensive part in the crlm:s. Pe A few traitorous members of the in 1029. Sam Axter {Abe's brother) Irving Shapiro. They were acquitte stormy trial. : mo Although the edge had been taken off the protection racket, the Purples continued ta operate as bootleggers, rum runners, hijackers, smugglers, handbook operators and dopa peddlers. . \ Prohibition agents finally brought Hquor violation charges against {four members of the gang and ‘made the charges atick.” This was Axler, Fletcher, Sutton a Re Loe we and ad after a hig arrest as an “enemy.” After. several members. of, gang has been convicted on the Public Enemy charge and were sentenced to the House of Correc- tion for #-day santences, Axler and Fletcher, awaiting trial and under & bond of $1,000 each to appear be- fore Judge John P. Scalien, jumped |, their bond. They were “lamsters” at the timy cf their sudden deaths. \) Maier and Fletcher, underworld. t#@3 say, were the militant person- tahities who held the remnants of “the Purpla gang together durin ‘the last half-year or so. With the Hho” sramtinued dts Lee, -4 eee on page %%) a