Abe Bernstein
Listed in a 1932 Bureau of Investigation letter among Detroit men 'known to be ring leaders of the Purple Gang', and called 'the original head of the Purple Gang' in the Detroit FBI office's survey of 1939.
- Aliases
- Abe Burnstein (1932 Bureau letter)
- Family
- Purple Gang (Bureau of Investigation letter, 1932; FBI Detroit letter, 1939)
- Role
- "The original head of the Purple Gang" (FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge, letter of 17 June 1939)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records and the filed newspaper pages state.
On the record
- 1932-03-25 — Bureau of Investigation, Detroit: "Abe Burnstein," Detroit Police No. 14861, is among the thirteen men whose photographs were sent to New York; "With the exception of Tocco, all of the persons whose photographs are transmitted are known to be ring leaders of the Purple Gang."
- 1939-06-17 — FBI Detroit letter (John S. Bugas): "The original head of the Purple Gang, ABE BERNSTEIN, presently resides at the Book Cadillac Hotel, Detroit, Michigan, and receives a very substantial income from the race track wire service in Detroit." It names his brothers Joe and Izzie and a fourth brother, Raymond.
The family and role lines quote the Bureau’s own letters, which draw on Detroit police and informants. The 1932 letter spells the name “Burnstein.” No court record about him is filed here, and no filed record gives his birth or death.
Records
itemDetroit Special Agent in Charge's letter on organized crime conditions in Detroit (17 June 1939)John S. Bugas, Special Agent in Charge at Detroit, answers a Bureau request for current organized crime conditions. Under 'Gangs in Detroit' he calls Abe Bernstein 'the original head of the Purple Gang' and names his brothers Joe, Izzie and Raymond.
itemDetroit Bureau of Investigation letter sending Purple Gang photographs to New York (25 March 1932)A three-page Bureau of Investigation letter from Detroit, written during the Lindbergh kidnapping inquiry, lists thirteen Detroit police photographs and states that all the men pictured except Joe Tocco 'are known to be ring leaders of the Purple Gang'.
itemFBI Vault file on the Purple Gang (aka Sugar House Gang)The FBI Vault's four-part release of Bureau file 62-HQ-29632 on the Detroit Purple Gang: 1932 to 1959 letters and memoranda from the Detroit, New York and Miami offices, mixed with newspaper clippings the Bureau pasted into the file.