| Show gang cleaners clean up detroit olt after two years of profitable activity purple gang Is to retire detroit lo in the matter of cleaning cleaman 1 ard and dyeing detroit Is far in advance of chicago and perhaps every other metropolitan area in country al capone the chicago cavalier and ex brooklyn gangster bought an interest in a wholesale cleaning and dyeing plant and several press services considered the implications news of a national complexion but Is in detroit the purple gang the name came was not originally has bas been cleaning and dyeing the city tor for two years and now Is ready to retire eleven alleged member and a wealthy wholesale cleaner la in bacz fact cow abw await trial in the recorders court on charges of extortion detroit appears to be approaching the end of a cycle upon which chicago Is just embarking and which Is actually unknown in many other large cities how they stifle rivals the purple gang kept no book blohs but the police records credit them with the following methods of in cresing ert sing the area of their influence and stifling competition two murders of rebel wholesale esele cleaners and dyers ten bombings and of plants and retail branches causing property damage of one hundred stench clench bombings causing losses estimated at from to thetta thefts of cf clothing from retail stores and dell delivery verl trucks valued rained at fifty storefront store etore front windows broken damage many of the members of the gang were employed la in downtown gambling gambl lD establishments as cappers lookouts EtiCk men and retainers two years ago however the police rece received ired so many complaints from the wives wires and mothers of those who lost their pay pas envelopes regularly to in these magnetic establishments that they were closed and the purple gang found itself literally in the street soon after this the wholes wholesale ale cleaners and dyers attempted to organize in order to discipline the ret retailers allers wb win in irresponsible fashion bad been transferring their business from one ona wholesaler to another to avoid paine any at tills point the purple gang da dared itself in first as retainers tor for the organized group and later as masters maevers several wholesale plants collapsed as the owners recently have admittedly under onder the strain of the increasing weekly payments they were forced to 1 make tor for the patronage of the sang gang but the n number ember of those who sonant protection increased steadily there was a spurt in the members membership alp after samuel SI maa a wholesale cleaner was called from a party part in the addson hotel by several gentlemen who carried automatics in the pockets of their evening clothes and used them on SI sigman man half an hour later he was wag found boand dead in a secluded street to fo the outskirts murder leads to probe early this year rear one samuel Iola hoft attempted to open a cleaning and dyeing plant without protection one morning Ing two months later be was found slumped over the wheel of his automobile his body riddled with bullets then followed the present charges against the purple gang and charles jacoby vice president of the jacoby french cleaners and dyer inc the largest cleaning and daeing plant in detroit the headquarters of the purple gang a moving and trucking office was raided and police found sawed oil off shotguns machine guns and ammunition sufficient tor for several hours continuous firing the gang now dow Is at liberty awaiting trial on bonds that total close to a quarter of a million dollars and the city hopes to be truly cleaned up |
