Philadelphia Black Mafia – the origins

Gary interviews former Philadelphia Police officer turned college professor Sean Patrick Griffin on the Philadelphia Black Mafia. The Philadephia Black Mafia was one of the bloodiest crime syndicates in modern US history. From its roots in Philadelphia’s ghettos in the 1960s, it grew from a rabble of street toughs to a disciplined organization. They exerted their influence across the entire Eastern Seaboard via murders and other intimidation tactics. Known in its “legitimate” guise as Black Brothers, Inc., they held regular meetings. The Philadelphia black mafia maintained employees who were investigators, treasurers, and enforcers. They controlled Philadelphia drug dealing, loan-sharking, numbers rackets, armed robbery, and extortion.

The founder Sam Christian was the most feared man on the streets of Philadelphia. He was a thinker and a planner. He saw how influential the Nation of Islam was, he formed a partnership with them. Soon, this deadly combination executed rivals, extorted Mafia bookies, and eliminated all other local gangs. The Black Mafia was suspected in more than forty murders. In one crime, they sent a hit team to Washington DC in 1973 and murdered two adults and five children in Washington, D.C. This attack was because the occupants of the house were connected to the hanafi Muslin sect and they had been critical of Elijah Muhammed the leader of the Nation of Islam. After the DC police arrested the entire hit team, they continued domination of Philadelphia crime. they were known to exploit prominent lawyers and civil rights leaders. Even after the government arrested and convicted the older members, a younger Junior black mafia emerged to dominate the Crack Cocaine market.

Sean Patrick Griffin

Sean Patrick Griffin, Professor of Criminal Justice at The Citadel (Charleston, SC), received his Ph.D. in the Administration of Justice (Sociology) from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Griffin had written books and articles on police legitimacy, police abuse of force, the social construction of white-collar crime, securities frauds, professional sports gambling, international narcotics trafficking, money laundering, political corruption, labor racketeering, and organized crime.

Dr. Griffin also wrote the best-selling book, Black Brothers, Inc.: The Violent Rise and Fall of Philadelphia’s Black Mafia (Milo, 2005/2007).

Show notes by Gary Jenkins

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