Black Mafia
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[edit] Summary
The Black Mafia, a Philadelphia-based gang whose small beginnings started from holding up crap games and dealing in the illegal drug business, was formed in September 1968 by Samuel Christian, who later adopted the name Suleiman Bey under the Muslim religion, and was at its height of operation until about 1975. Other founding members included Ronald Harvey, Richard "Pork Chops" James, and Donald "Donnie" Day. They gained power in local neighborhoods by intimidating people to prevent anyone from reporting the group’s activities to the police. Because of this, police had incredible difficulty taking any action on the gang or any of its members for years after their conception. Over the course of their control, the mafia was responsible for over 40 murders and countless other crimes.
[edit] History
Mafia membership, linked to the Muslim religion, continued to increase within the following two years of its conception. Moving up in the mafia's hierarchy was near to impossible without being a member of the Muslim faith as most members chose this as their religion. Mafia members seemed to be involved in the religion because it was a symbol of their strength than a belief. Many even joined the faith as a form of protection, as local mosques were responsible for picking up protection money from members, and were taught in the criminal ways of the mafia. Jeremiah Shabazz, a local Muslim leader, often gave refuge to Black Mafia members and leaders of the mafia reported directly to him. He owned bakeries and food stores that were sanctioned by his mosque. These stores were used as fronts for mafia meetings.[1]
The mafia was an extremely well thought out network, operating meetings and imposing a hierarchy on its members. Members and associates were called "Part I" and low-ranking members were named "The Little Brothers." Members could move up in the chain of command according to certain established criteria. The meetings were organized at different locations between 1969 and 1975 based on this hierarchy. As the group gained local control, separate meetings were held for those holding positions of power and those that were general members. The average number of attendees ranged from 40-60 and minutes were taken during the course of the meetings. Many members were transported to and from meetings while blindfolded by more powerful members to avoid compromising the secrecy of the location.
As demonstrated by the manner in which meetings were run, oaths and rules were prevalent so that the group could avoid exposure. A secrecy oath was required to be taken by the members to ensure secrecy and that members would not disclose important information. The oath also swore to would report any violations of the oath under risk to family and other members. A strict set of written rules were created to govern these meetings, as well. For example, each member upon entry to meetings was required to be searched by authorized members. Only the presiding member at the meeting was allowed to appoint who could carry weapons.
The mafia organized three different community service projects as a front to their criminal activity during their control. Other gangs posed a threat to the power of the Black Mafia, so organizations were created to combat gang violence, though mafia violence was still encouraged. One organization included Black B. Inc. Their aim was to put an end to gang activity in the African-American community. City residents and local law enforcement who saw the gang war unfolding in the streets, though, knew that the Black Mafia was behind the council.
One of the mafia’s earliest well-known crimes included the Dubrow furniture store robbery. On January 4, 1971, eight Black Mafia members robbed DuBrow's on South Street in Philadelphia. They entered the store one by one posing as customers. Once all were inside, they pulled guns on the twenty employees present and forced them to lie on the floor in the back of the store were the bound them with tape and electrical cord. Thirteen employees were beaten while two others were shot. A janitor who walked in on the robbery while doing his job was shot and killed. One employee was doused with gasoline and set on fire. After their vicious treatment of the employees, they looted the offices in the store and set more fires to destroy evidence of the robbery. The eight criminals fled the scene as soon as the fire alarm went off, purposefully trampling on one of the victim's bodies as they left. This crime was so brutal that W.E.B. Griffin wrote a novel based on it entitled The Witness and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo was quoted as saying that the DuBrow crime was "the most vicious crime I have ever come across.[1]
The mafia also had their sights on high-up drug dealers and crime leaders. Tyrone Palmer, known as "Mr. Millionaire," was shot on Easter Sunday of 1972 in Atlantic City, New Jersey by associates of the Black Mafia. Palmer, a big-time cocaine and heroine dealer and the primary Philadelphia area contact for New York drug dealers, was shot right in the face in plain view of 600-900 people at the Club Harlem, by Black Mafia founding member, Sam Christian. Before Palmer's bodyguards could defend themselves, the mafia opened fire in the club wounding 20 people. In addition to Palmer, three women and one of Palmer's bodyguards were killed.
By far the most well-known act of crime that the Black Mafia carried out, the Hanafi Murders was what gained them national media attention. This conflict stemmed from a dispute between two sects of the Muslim faith, Black Muslims and Hanafi Muslims. The site of this crime was L.A. Lakers basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's, townhouse in Washington D.C. On January 18, 1973, the mafia murdered 7 Hanafi Muslims. Two adults and five children, aging 9 days to 10 years, were murdered. The adults and one child were shot while the other children were drowned. The intended target of this crime was Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, leader of Washington sect of the Hanafi Muslims, for a letter he had written to the Black Muslims claiming that Elijah Muhammad was a false prophet.
By 1973, the Mafia were beginning to lose anonymity due to the increasing scale of their crimes and the increase law enforcement and media attention. The Philadelphia Inquirer, as cited in Sean Griffin’s Philadelphia’s Black Mafia: a Social and Political History, reported, "The Black Mafia is real. It is not a cop fantasy, newspaperman’s pipe dream or movie myth. It is a black crime syndicate that has been growing unchecked in Philadelphia for the past five years. It has expanded and evolved into a powerful crime cartel with chains of command, enforcers, soldiers, financiers, regular business meetings and assigned territories. It specializes in narcotics, extortion and murder, with minor interests in loan sharking, numbers and prostitution. It has a war chest that bankrolls drugs and gambling and buys the best lawyers.[1]
The mafia’s power was beginning to break, though, by 1974. In September 1974, 21 members and group affiliates were arrested in an early morning raid by federal drug agents and the Justice Department’s crime strike force. The sweep was hailed as the demise of the Black Mafia. This was possible thanks to Charles Robinson, an informant who feared for the life of his family. Robinson was a brother-in-law to mafia member James Fox. Fox had been intimidating his family, more specifically his mother. Other evidence was gained from 21 days of wiretapping mafia member’s phone lines. Members were charged with different crimes including but not limited to heroin and cocaine distribution, rape, and murder.[1]
[edit] Junior Black Mafia
In the 1980s, younger relatives of the group created the "Junior Black Mafia" (JBM). The JBM formed to counter a wave of Jamaican gangsters who sought to control crack cocaine trafficking in Philadelphia. Like their older counterpart, the JBM was exceptionally violent and ruled through witness intimidation and murder. The leader of the JBM, Aaron Jones, is currently on death row in Pennsylvania
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Griffin, Sean. Philadelphia’s Black Mafia: A Social and Political History. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.
[edit] References
- Griffin, Sean. Philadelphia’s Black Mafia: A Social and Political History. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.
- Griffin, Sean Patrick. Black Brothers, Inc.: The Violent Rise and Fall of the Philadelphia Black Mafia Leicester, UK: Milo Books Ltd., 2005.
