All too often the materials dealing with organized crime groups in the United States deal with the Italian Families of the Mafia. There were, however, other ethnic groups that had an impact on organized crime and rose to positions of power in the under world. The Irish had their gangs and competed in many cases with the rising tide of Italian immigrants who came to dominate organized crime by the 1930's. One group that is seldom mentioned and yet for awhile had a major impact and held a position of power in the hierarchy of crime, the Purple Gang. Consisting primarily of Jewish gang members they were able to dominate areas of distribution during the period of prohibition. The area surrounding the Detroit River was their territory and their control of the region went unchallenged for a number of years. The proximity of Detroit to the border of Canada made it a perfect location for the importation of illegal booze to be distributed throughout the central and eastern sections of the United States. From the 1920's to the early 30's the Purple Gang controlled the area and no movement of booze could pass through their region without their permission and in most cases without a protection payment to make sure no problem arose. While Capone controlled most of the Central part of the country he found it in his best interest to deal with the Purple Gang rather than fight them. He had found out that the gang would meet violence with violence if he attempted to question their control of the area.
The state of Michigan had passed a prohibition law in 1917 and created a situation in which the Gang was able to make contacts and gain experience in rum running before any of the other rival gangs began their entrance into what would prove to be a very lucrative business. The tricks of the trade in relation to transport of illegal booze were put into practice and skills were developed and honed over a period of time. The law was unpopular in the state and if captured and taken to court in most cases the fines and punishment were lenient. The law itself was declared unconstitutional in 1919 and it looked like the Gang would have problems finding a new source of income. But Ohio saved the day by passing it's own prohibition law that same year. The flow of illegal booze simply began to move to the East and the enterprise was saved. When the federal government passed the Volstead Act outlawing the production or transporting of liquor within the United States, the Gang was tanned, rested, and ready to put their skills to use. Soon the business of providing liquor to a thirsty population began to rival the automobile industry in relation to profits. The Gang was in the perfect place at the perfect time to cash in on meeting the needs of all those people who wanted a drink.
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