Organized Crime Figure. He was one of the most prominent members of the Purple Gang of Detroit, Michigan. He was born and raised in Williamburg, Brooklyn, along with future Purple Gang members Eddie Fletcher, Irving Milberg, Sam Abramson, and Isadore Cantor. In the fall of 1921, Axler and his brother Simon were convicted on burglary charges and did 4 years in Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. By 1926 the two Axler brothers had joined their comrades in Detroit, throwing themselves into the Cleaners and Dyers War. In March 1927 he, Eddie Fletcher, and Honey Boy Miller machine gunned three gangsters to death in the "Milaflores Massacre." Thereafter he was known as one of the most dangerous hit men the Purple Gang, and would participate in many murders. In the summer of 1929, he and three cohorts went to prison in Leavenworth, Kansas on bootlegging charges for a two-year sentence. He and his life-long best friend, Eddie Fletcher, attempted to take control of the Purple Gang in the early 1930's. After they angered the Italians by trying to take over the Detroit narcotics trade at the end of Prohibition, they were marked for death. Abe Axler and Eddie Fletcher were shot to death on November 26, 1933. Their killers were suspected to be members of the Purple Gang, acting on orders from the Mafia.
Organized Crime Figure. He was one of the most prominent members of the Purple Gang of Detroit, Michigan. He was born and raised in Williamburg, Brooklyn, along with future Purple Gang members Eddie Fletcher, Irving Milberg, Sam Abramson, and Isadore Cantor. In the fall of 1921, Axler and his brother Simon were convicted on burglary charges and did 4 years in Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. By 1926 the two Axler brothers had joined their comrades in Detroit, throwing themselves into the Cleaners and Dyers War. In March 1927 he, Eddie Fletcher, and Honey Boy Miller machine gunned three gangsters to death in the "Milaflores Massacre." Thereafter he was known as one of the most dangerous hit men the Purple Gang, and would participate in many murders. In the summer of 1929, he and three cohorts went to prison in Leavenworth, Kansas on bootlegging charges for a two-year sentence. He and his life-long best friend, Eddie Fletcher, attempted to take control of the Purple Gang in the early 1930's. After they angered the Italians by trying to take over the Detroit narcotics trade at the end of Prohibition, they were marked for death. Abe Axler and Eddie Fletcher were shot to death on November 26, 1933. Their killers were suspected to be members of the Purple Gang, acting on orders from the Mafia.
Bio by: Dennis Rice
Inscription
Avraham ben Dov
Gravesite Details
Abe Axler's burial at Beth David Cemetery has been confirmed by the office staff at Beth David.
Family Members
Advertisement
