And in that respect, they weren't a "gang" in the traditional sense. [/quote]....... They were named as, many crime syndicates have been, by a journalist who was reminded of the violent Detroit bootlegging mob of the 1920's called the Purple Gang, after the purple polo shirts they wore. Many of these young men were related to prominent organized crime figures, members of older, more traditional syndicates dealing in heroin, and had worked with the older generation doing many of the menial jobs associated with the trade. However, the younger group had become "so uncontrollable that the older traffickers would attempt to avoid them socially in an effort to evade the attention of law enforcement."
By the mid-1970s, the Purple Gang was noted for having "an enormous capacity for violence, and involvement in numerous homicides." Some were also notable for a decided "lack of respect for other members of organized crime," considering many of the old-timers to have grown fat and soft.