The Purple Gang: Organized Crime in Detroit, 1910-1945 (12 page)

Van
Coppenolle's account was supported by the detective's partner, who
claimed that he had waited inside the door of the hotel suite but did
not actually attend the meeting. They explained their presence at the
meeting by claiming to have been negotiating a kidnap victim's
release, but that they were too late and the victim was already dead.
When the victim's body was found Van Coppenolle's claim was further
validated.

The
gangster to whom Van Copeolle attributed the statements was called
before the Police Trial Board. He took the Fifth. The gangster's
refusal to deny meeting with Van Coppenolle really made the story
stick. Trial board testimony also revealed Garvin's exploits to have
been protected on high, as far up as the mayor. But the most damaging
report came from Detectives William Delisle and Roy Pendergrass. They
worked for Garvin in the Crime and Bomb Squad and had quite a story
to tell.

The
detectives saw five Purple gangsters come out of the Addison Hotel
and climb into a Cadillac sedan. Delisle recognized one of the
Bernstein bothers and decided to question the men, as it was at the
height of the Cleaners and Dyers War.

As
the detectives approached, Delisle saw Ray Bernstein shove a pistol
under the seat. Startled, both officers pulled their guns and ordered
the men out of the car. All armed, the five were arrested and booked.

Delisle
and Pendergrass were thrilled. Four were caught with weapons, and Ray
Bernstein was seen throwing his gun under the seat. It looked as
though
the
detectives had finally arrested the most powerful Purple Gang leaders
on a charge that might stick. The Cadillac was traced to Charles
Jacoby, brother-in-law of the Bernstein brothers and Cleaners and
Dyers War magnate.

Inspector
Garvin called Detective Delisle at home after he got off of work—it
was 2 A.M. He informed the detective that it was on the orders of the
Mayor that no warrants be issued for these men. Delisle said that
they were already planning to obtain a warrant on their report later
that day,

Garvin
waited until five a.m. to call Delisle's partner, Pendergrass, and
repeated the mayor's orders. He explained that he'd already had a
second report written stating the detectives found the guns on the
ground rather than on the Purple gangsters. Later that day Garvin
called Pendergrass in and ordered him to go to the prosecutor for an
arrest warrant, basing the concealed weapons charge on the erroneous
second report.

Pendergrass
was refused the warrant and the Purples were released. But it was not
over for the detectives. It actually got worse.

Delisle
received a call from Chief of Detectives Fox, who wanted Delisle and
Pendergrass to make a written statement explaining the discrepancies
in the two reports. Fox had somehow gotten hold of their true
reports, despite Garvin's promise that he'd destroyed them. Delisle
and Pendergrass went to Garvin's home.

Again
Garvin told the detectives that the release of the Purples was on the
mayor's orders and it must stand. He agreed to clarify the
discrepancies between their reports and his with the proviso that
they never talk about the incident.

After
this damaging testimony, the mayor appeared before the Police Board
to disclaim allegations that he had the Purple gangsters released,
calling the story a "black lie." Garvin avoided testifying
at the Police Board trial based on Doctors' claims of illness. After
the usual setbacks, three of the original five were re-arrested and
Garvin was forced to tell his story during their pretrial
examination.

He
claimed he changed the reports because the detectives told him they'd
found the guns on the ground. According to Garvin, "It was . . .
not probable that the two officers should corral five men in an
automobile and after ordering them out find pistols on all of them.
Gangsters in such circumstances are usually quick to ditch pistols. I
called the officers to congratulate them... providing the search and
seizure had been properly made. They then admitted that the pistols
were not on the men when found." The intimidated Delisle and
Pendergrass did not dispute Garvin's testimony.

Defense
attorney Kennedy argued that the detectives had no probable cause to
stop and search the men as no felony had been committed. The Judge
ruled that the arrest was based on an unreasonable search and
seizure, and the Purples were released.

Although
they escaped conviction, much had been exposed of the gang's police
connections and operating procedures. The failed execution of Henry
Garvin was an ominous sign of organized crime's new vulnerability.
Previously untouchable, the Purple Gang was getting sloppy.

§
§ §

Corrupt
police and freelancing gang lieutenants were not the only destructive
forces, with the gang's booming prosperity had come luxuries that by
now started to divide them. In May of 1930 Joe Bernstein drove to the
home of his close friend and business partner, Harry Kirschenbaum.
Harry, ex-convict and Purple gangster, was an opium addict who'd
promised to kick his narcotics habit once and for all.

Kirschenbaum's
filling pad company was a good front for Joey Bernstein's end of the
Purple Gang's lucrative wire service operation. It provided Detroit's
700 handbooks with indispensable daily horse racing information.
Subscribing to the Purple Gang's wire service was not an option for
handbook operators—those who went elsewhere or objected to
paying for protection went out of business, permanently.

Bernstein
depended on Kirschenbaum. He was one of the Purples' most capable
lieutenants. Lately, however, Harry's use of opium had been creating
serious problems.

The
responsibility to oversee the Purple Gang's handbooks was a job which
required daily monitoring, but Kirschenbaum would disappear for days
at a time. Bernstein had begun to lose his famous hair trigger
temper. He was known in the underworld for moodi-ness and for being
the most physically dangerous Bernstein brother.

Several
days earlier, Bernstein stopped by Kirschenbaum's home but was told
by his wife that Harry was out. Joe noticed the pungent smell of
opium in the house and suspected Kirschenbaum was back on the pipe.
On this day he went to the house unarmed but had already decided that
if he found Kirschenbaum smoking he would beat him within an inch of
his life.

He
burst into the house and asked where Harry was. Mrs. Kirschenbaum
cried that her husband had been on a six week binge and was laying
practically
motionless
in an upstairs bedroom.

"I'll
take care of that baby!" Joe yelled as he pulled off his coat,
and bounded up the stairs. He lunged at Kirschenbaum, who,
anticipating the brutal beating, promptly pulled a pistol. Bernstein
doubled back but Kirschenbaum shot him. The bullet tore through
Bernstein's spleen as he stumbled down the steps and crashed through
a locked door into the street.

Kirschenbaum
then continued after Bernstein, firing as he ran. Joe staggered up
Courtland Avenue and finally collapsed in front of a grocery store.
Assuming that Joe Bernstein was dead, Kirschenbaum tossed the Mauser
pistol into some bushes and ran back to his home for another pistol
before racing off in his car.

A
construction worker named George Barrett heard the commotion and saw
Kirschenbaum throw away his pistol. He picked up the gun and fired at
Kirschenbaum, who returned fire as he roared away in his car.
Bernstein was rushed to the hospital with little hope for survival.

These
were fellow gang members, who'd survived the street and gotten rich.
Now they were turning on each other like common thugs. In view of
their pasts, their lack of conscience was not surprizing. But during
the strong years of the Purple gang, partners would never have sunk
to this and it was rather a pathetic ending to their long careers.

§
§ §

Joe
Bernstein had come a long way in thirty years. Right before the
shooting he had built a beautiful Tudor style mansion in an exclusive
neighborhood. He appeared in public as a prosperous businessman. He
wintered in Florida, drove luxury automobiles, and seemed to have
unlimited amounts of money.

Unlike
legitimate businessman, Joey Bernstein was
chauffeured
by a bodyguard in a custom built Cadillac limousine. The luxury sedan
was really an armored car. Its inside was lined with bulletproof
steel and the windows were made of bulletproof glass.

Police
Department records and underworld rumor painted the true picture of
the suave thug. He'd been arrested fifteen times in ten years, but
was convicted only once. He pled guilty and was given probation
because of his youth. Other arrests included assault, extortion,
gambling and murder.

By
the time Joe was in his late twenties, he had become a Purple mob
boss, respected and feared. He had muscled the Detroit handbook
operators into line and started the first wire service. 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.