The wee hours of October 27, 1929 saw the demise of Detroit gangster John "Ziggy" Selbin. The Detroit News described him as a petty gangster and hanger-on of the Purple Gang with a list of arrests, mostly for robbery. He was also a confederate of Irving Shapiro. Purple Gang historian Paul Kavieff fills informs us that Selbin robbed many nightclubs and blind pigs that belonged to gangsters in the area of Hamtramck. Since these gangsters bought their booze from the Purples, it was their responsibility to get rid of Selbin. Another thought is that as a pal of the late Irving Shapiro, Selbin was living on borrowed time anyways.
On Saturday night, October 26, Selbin told his parents, (the 22-year old youth still lived at home) that he was going to a Halloween party. At about half past midnight he was standing in a doorway speaking with a man who pulled out a .38 and fired five shots at the young gangster. Three of them found their mark and Selbin crumpled to the ground. The hoodlum expired while being loaded into a patrol wagon to be transported to the hospital.
John "Ziggy" Selbin
No comments:
Post a Comment