Recently released FBI Documents in regard to The Purple Gang

[Henry Whalley]

[QUOTE=Richard;641222]The coffers of the gang swelled./QUOTE]

I see how you could mistake the Wholesale Cleaners and Dyers Association for a labor union. But it was a cartel. Cartel business owners paid dues to the Purple Gang, and cleaners who tried to remain independent were beaten, murdered, bombed, put out of business, etc. It wasn't a labor union AFAIK.

If I'm wrong, you can suck my Richard.

PS. Harry Rosman [1891–1958] was president and owner of Famous Cleaners & Dyers in Detroit, Michigan. He gained public notoriety for being the key witness testifying against the Purple Gang in a trial that lasted from 1928 to 1929. The prosecution alleged extortion activities against Detroit area businesses during the sometime violent showdown known as the Cleaners & Dyers Wars. Rosman testified that the Purple Gang asked for $1000 per week from his and other area cleaners & dyers' businesses for their "protection" against violence.