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Jeri Pajor of River Rouge watches as Greg Young is handed a found item by
Brenna Moloney. Lying on her stomach is Shawn Fields, looking for artifacts
in a hole dug under the pavers behind the bar.
"Ethnic Layers of Detroit:' which will
act as a "geo-storyteller" for the city.
"We're learning that a lot of groups
get tagged with ethnic or religious
identity but have inner workings
with others in order to succeed:' she
said, "especially this place. It changed
hands with Italian and then Russian
folks a couple of times. At the end
of the Prohibition era, it was owned
by a Russian Jew named Harry
Weitzman:'
After a lot of research, the WSU
team believes that Weitzman is the
"Little Harry" mentioned on the
guest pass, and possible owner of
Little Harry's restaurant on Jefferson,
which opened around the same time.
Students are still doing research to
make a definite connection.
What is known about Weitzman
was that he was a loan agent who
took over the bar from an Italian
man named Louis Gianetti when he
couldn't pay back his loan. He ran
the bar from 1927-1933, during the
peak of the Purple Gang activity.
It's also known that Weitzman
financed and owned the Grande
Ballroom in Detroit, which became
a hub of the Jewish community and
a hangout for the Purples. His chil-
dren's initials can be found carved
under a windowsill at the venue.
"Weitzman has no known criminal
history:' Ryzewski said, "but it does
seem that he was the host at a lot of
venues where the Purple Gang were
known to hang out."
Lead researcher Fields said it seems
as if the Purple Gang was at least
cooperating in its illicit activities
with Sicilian gangsters. According to
Raskin, Al Capone was afraid of the
Purple Gang, which was known to be
particularly ruthless, so he hired them
to bring liquor to him in Chicago.
What's strange, though, is that in
1931, after the infamous Collingwood
Massacre, in which members of the
Purple Gang killed three members of
the rival Third Street Gang, Weitzman
can be found in the historical record
brokering deals and doing business
under the alias Harry Saderno, an
Italian last name.
"If you're going to cover your tracks,
especially your relationship to the
Purple Gang, you should change your
name," Ryzewski said. "Shifting identi-
ties and alliances add a cool layer to
this story:'
The team will continue to do
research for the next several months.
Fields and Moloney plan to present
their findings at the Annual Society
for Historical Archaeology Conference
in January in Quebec City. And
Preservation Detroit is organizing a
public reveal of the team's findings at
Tommy's Bar on Dec. 5, the 80th anni-
versary of the repeal of Prohibition.
So, is there a smoking gun that con-
nects the "not so nice Jewish boys" to
Tommy's Bar?
"The evidence that there was a
speakeasy in the basement is over-
whelming:' Ryzewski said. "The con-
nection to the Purple Gang is still
fuzzy, but it seems pretty likely:'
I IN
JOSH
SMITH
vs. ISRAELI LEAGUE CHAMPION
MACCABI HAIFA
❑
Want to learn more about
Detroit's bootlegging
history? You can book a tour
with Preservation Detroit. Call
(313) 577-3559 or email info@
preservationdetroit.org .
TUES, OCT. 8 • 7:30 PM
PISTONS. CO M/J EWISHCOMMUNITY
OFFER CODE = PISTONS
Groups of 10 or more receive a
special discount
1866890
September 26 • 2013 11