The Purple Gang: Organized Crime in Detroit, 1910-1945 by Paul R. Kavieff Page A

The Purple
Gang provided the bookmakers with race results, odds, scratch sheets,
and betting information, maintaining an iron grip on gambling with
control of the race wire.
    Throughout
the twenties, Bernstein maintained legitimate business fronts from
barber shops to clothing stores to auto parts companies. These
incomes supplemented his gangster earnings.
    His
partner Harry Kirschenbaum came to Detroit in 1924 from New York
City. Kirschenbaum was first arrested for burglary at the age of
sixteen. In 14 years he was arrested eighteen times, with four
convictions.
    He
had served terms in Elmira Reformatory and Sing Sing before arriving
in Detroit, and his three New York felony convictions made him
eligible for sentencing under the state's Baume Law statutes; a
fourth felony in New York could get Kirschenbaum a life sentence as
an habitual criminal. This probably helped motivate his move to
Detroit.
    His
underworld experience in betting made him an invaluable aid to Joe
Bernstein, but his addiction ruined him. Upon searching
Kirschenbaum's home after his assault on Bernstein, police found a
large store of narcotics worth several thousand dollars, a number of
shotguns and pistols, and a still hot opium pipe.
    After
two blood transfusions, Bernstein, still dangerously weak, was
questioned by Detective Lt. William Johnson.
    "How
do you feel, Joe?" Johnson asked.
    "Why,
I am feeling fine," whispered Bernstein.
    "Able
to talk about the shooting?"
    "You
know I am not going to talk about anything,"
    In
true underworld fashion Bernstein remained closemouthed. The refusal
to file a complaint against Kirschenbaum would have let him remain
free, but George Barrett, the construction worker who'd tried to stop
Kirschenbaum, had been shot in the abdomen while chasing him.
    Harry
Kirschenbaum was arrested in Los Angeles and sent back to stand trial
for assault with intent to kill George Barrett. Subpeona'd, Bernstein
continued to protect his partner, and lied to the court that on the
day of the shooting Kirschenbaum asked him to come to his house.
Bernstein claimed that he thought the couple were having a domestic
squabble, stating "I had straightened them out once before."
    Bernstein
said he walked into the room and was hit on the head. That was the
last thing he remembered. When a lieutenant had told him that
Kirschenbaum shot him, he couldn't believe it because he and Harry
Kirschenbaum were good friends.
    Harry
Kirschenbaum was found not guilty, but was later convicted for
violation of the Harrison Narcotics Act and sentenced to Federal
prison. George Barrett sued Joe Bernstein in civil court for his
medical bills. Both Abe and Joe Bernstein promised to take care of them.
    The
suit was settled out of court.
    As
a result of the shooting, Joe Bernstein began to distance himself
from the day-to-day operations of the Purple Gang to become a
legitimate businessman. Businesses that operate to this day could
have been founded in such a manner. Organized crime had succeeded in
penetrating the business world.
    The
summer of 1930 marked the beginning of significant changes in Detroit
society. The Purple Gang suffered the first successful conviction of
leaders in a murder case. It seemed that an organization too wild to
be civilized by society, was not able to survive itself.
    The
city also witnessed the beginning of the Great Depression and all of
its devastation. No jobs and no money meant the city was ruled by the
only power left, that of organized crime.

    Chapter
8
    Bloody
July
    "We
have eleven murders in 12 days — speaking
of crime — and
Mr. Bowles says, 'Scientists employ parasites to destroy one another.
Maybe this is an act of Providence in the killings of these
gangsters.' Bullets are not distinctive. Neither is the law when it
comes to defining the occupations of those who shall be accused of
murder."
    — Gerald
Buckley Radio Commentator, July 21, 1930
    1930
would prove to be an eventful year for Detroit as well as for the
nation.