Fair enough. But most of the old Purple Gang members (the Meldishes notwithstanding) were very business minded and ended up moving up the criminal ladder by only using violence as a means to an end. Whereas most of the other guys mentioned in this thread would hurt you just for their own perverse pleasure.

What you have to realize about East Harlem back then is that guys Fat Tony, Buckaloo and Sammy Black were forever on top of the younger guys in the Purple Gang to be be earners first and thugs second. And in that respect, they weren't a "gang" in the traditional sense.