THE PURPLE GANG
by Frank Passic
Morning Star, December 1996

Part I

To preface this topic, over the course of studying Albion history, I’ve come across particular persons in Albion who had some "inside information," or personal recollections of walking in to the Purple Gang headquarters and seeing "the safe" or the armored car. Some know about things they feel they don’t dare talk about -- even 60 years later. An aura of mystery, intrigue, and folklore about the Purple Gang in Albion has developed over the years.

The Purple Gang was a group of notorious Detroit gangsters during the 1920s and 1930s. Brothers Louis, Sam, and Harry Fleisher were involved with the group. Harry Fleisher became a major leader of the Gang after its leaders Raymond Bernstein and Harry Keywell received life sentences for gangland slayings in 1931. Both Harry and Sam were convicted of conspiracy to murder Senator Warren G. Hooper in 1945. For space’s sake, I’m omitting a lot about their criminal activity and background. Refer to Three Bullets Sealed His Lips by Bruce A. Rubenstein and Lawrence E. Ziewacz, pages 51-52, and 71-72 for more information.

Louis Fleisher came to Albion in August 1935, and rented an apartment at 108 S. Monroe St., then owned by the Wilder family. The Gang’s "headquarters" was a junk yard that Louis Fleisher and Sam Bernstein (alias "Stone") purchased from M. Pryor. Bernstein lived at 803 E. Cass St. Sam Fleisher also lived in Albion, but was convicted of an income-tax evasion charge and was sent to Federal prison in April, 1936. Three Bullets authors state, (page 52), "Even though in the 1930s Sam and his brother Harry and Louis had operated a junkyard in Albion which served as a front for their criminal activity, they no longer resided there," referring to the year 1945. The business was called the Riverside Iron and Metal Company, and had operated since World War I. It was located in the southern edge of the Market Place along the river where the far eastern portion of Thompson’s Brake Service is now located.

One place Purple Gang members liked to hang out was at the Streetcar Tavern out on Austin Avenue, named so because it was constructed out of an old Interuban car. Purple Gang mobster Abe "Buffalo Harry" Rosenberg and his brother Louis, owned the apartment house attached to the tavern. Three Bullets authors described Rosenberg as a "slim, bushy eyebrowed, pug-nosed, 44-year old mobster" (pg. 52). Numerous meetings were held there between gang members. And of course, during the days of prohibition the Purple Gang liked to come to Albion to purchase home-made liquor on the "West End" in the vicinity of Austin Avenue, and it is "rumored" that the Parker Inn on Michigan Avenue (now Munger Place) was a favorite lodging spot for gangsters traveling between Chicago and Detroit.

Another meeting place was the Bohm Theatre. Local resident Helen Sharp, long-time ticket booth operator there, recalled that Sam Fleisher and his crew would always come to the Bohm on Sunday evenings. He would be accompanied by a woman whom they called "Flapper Susie," named so because of the way she dressed. They would have some strangers with them, and not all would stay for the entire movie. One time they stationed a look-out man, a small Italian named "Joe" outside the Bohm during the show. It is strongly suspected the Purple Gang used the moviehouse on Sunday evenings to conduct their gangster business. Helen stated that Fleisher would always have a large wad of bills with him to pay for his theatre tickets. Perhaps the New Bohm Theatre should hold a "gangster night," and show the 1932 classic "Little Caesar" starring Edward G. Robinson.

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Part II

The Fleishers also rented an auto stall in the "Frog Pond" building still standing in the Market Place [2001 update--building now houses the Leisure Hour Club]. Originally built by Allen J. Wilder, it contained several parking stalls, and a small auto-repair shop. The structure was acquired by the Albion Depositors Corporation (a group of local investors) during the 1930s, and later by George Bohm, owner of the Bohm Theatre. After Sam Fleisher was sent to prison in April, 1936, the stall lease was taken over by Clair Case, a junkyard employee.

During 1936 there had been numerous safe robberies and burglaries across Southern lower Michigan, including the local March 9 burglary of the Kroger grocery at 223 S. Superior Street, in which the store’s safe was removed. Local residents became particularly suspicious form that time onward.

The get-away car had been a specially armored gun-metal colored Graham-Paige sedan, that was secretly stored in the garage stall here in Albion. The car had been chased by various Southern Michigan police in some of the robberies. It was suspected as being part of the crimes when Albion police officer Walter Burns observed the car driving out on West Erie Street on a Saturday night in late May.

At 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday June 3, 1936, a massive raid by 25 law enforcement officials at the junkyard and the garage stall resulted in the capture of the car and the arrest of Louis and Nellie Fleisher, and Sam and Lillian Bernstein. Sam was well-known by Detroit police as being a "safe man." One of the east windows over the end stall where the car was stored was not completely covered, allowing an officer to peek in and identify it. A south window was covered with tar paper.

The car was "the most completely equipped burglar’s automobile we have ever seen," stated a Michigan State Police officer at the time. It had a 3/4 inch bullet-proof glass (the Gang would have their car serviced at what is now Bilicke’s on Austin Avenue, and workers there would wonder why the glass was so thick), a metal flap in the back window that could be pulled down to deflect bullets from the rear, metal shields on other car parts including the tires, holes to position firing guns, removable doors and seats so a large safe could be inserted. A two-wheeled hand cart was also stored inside, used for transporting the safe.

Articles found in the car included nitroglycerine, dynamite and electric caps, drill punches, a sledge hammer, chisels, tongs, rubber wire, soap, bank bags, screw drivers, other burglar’s tools, a .38 Colt army revolver, a .38 automatic pistol, a .45 army revolver and one regular one, a Winchester .30 rifle, a Marlan 30-30 rifle, a 12-guage Winchester pump-gun, and a Remington sawed-off shotgun, along with a bag of ammunition, and guns fully loaded. The gangsters had the car wired so that wires ran from the car to the safe which was blown up with nitroglycerine.

The front and back of the car had double revolving license plates, which could be quickly turned with the hand. The auto also had over a dozen bullet holes in it, evidence of running battles with Southern Michigan police. The sedan had been stolen from Ferndale in 1935, and Jackson police said it had attained a maximum speed of 120 miles per hour during their chase with it in late May, 1936.

Also arrested in the raid was Irving Schuman, 25, a junkyard employee who attempted to flee and was caught near Jackson. Schuman subsequently attempted to escape during a prisoner transfer, but was caught trying to leave by local fireman John Passick, uncle of yours truly.

Hundreds of persons thronged the police department end of City Hall following the raid, hoping to get a chance to see the "super auto," and the prisoners being transported away by State law enforcement officials. Did anyone ever get a photograph of the Purple Gang’s car?

As a result of the raid, the investigation and trials that followed, for example, Louis and his wife were subsequently found guilty of possession of unregistered firearms, and were sentenced to 36 years in prison.

As I mentioned in the first installment, there are numerous families here in town that have their own personalized stories about the Purple Gang which I am welcome to receive by mail. I hope these two articles have wet your appetite. If I get enough recollections sent to me, perhaps I can write another article about the Purple Gang in Albion, sharing some of the information sent by our readers.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of the Frog Pond [2001 update--now the location of the Leisure Hour Club] building, which served as the storage place for the Purple Gang’s armored car.

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