The Notorious Purple Gang and Their Connections

Whenever I mention the Purple Gang many people ask me who they were because they never heard of them, which surprises me, since they were one of the most ruthless and violent gangs in America. In 1916 Michigan adopted the Damon Act, which prohibited liquor effective in 1917, three years before national Prohibition, prompting bootleggers to smuggle booze from Canada to Detroit and the Purple Gang ( sometime refereed to as the Sugar House Gang) was the mob that monopolized the flow of alcohol in Detroit. After prohibition was the law of the land about 40% of the illegal liquor came into the U.S. From Canada and the Purples distributed it with Capone being one of their many customers. The Gang was one of the most violent in America and it is rumored that the Purple Gang had a hand in the St Valentines day Massacre. They were also suspects in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.
The part of the Purple Gangs history that always interested me is their connection to central Michigan.
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