Joe Bernstein & The Purple Gang

[An Uptown Dandy]

I recently added a post on my blog about gang leader Joe Bernstein of Detroit's Purple Gang - during Prohibition and up until the late 1930s, the Purple Gang controlled much of the illegal activity in Detroit. I recently came across a book with some excellent photos of Bernstein all decked out while attending his brother's trial for first degree murder in a triple homicide case. He's certainly got the classic gangster look down, and its easy to see where the gangster pictures of the era drew their inspiration from.

http://uptowndandy.blogspot.com/2011/05/purple-gang-like-color-of-rotten-meat.html