An old friend of his, Juanda Jones, ran a bordello there, and Nix became involved with Jones' adolescent daughter, Sheri LaRa. In December 1965, at the age of 22, Nix was caught carrying illegal automatic weapons in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Gillich was also patron and protector of Kirksey McCord Nix Jr., one of the gang's most notable members. In the words of one investigator of the Sherry murders, "Mr. He was known and trusted by almost every member of the Dixie Mafia, especially those who trusted no one else. He owned a string of motels and nightclubs that doubled as strip joints and gambling dens, as well as a bingo parlor. Of Croatian descent and from a large, poor family, he had raised himself in the city's Point Cadet section to become a wealthy entrepreneur along "The Strip". "The Strip" in Biloxi, Mississippi, was home base for the Dixie Mafia, and Mike Gillich, Jr., was the group's unofficial but de facto kingpin. Victims were most often murdered because they testified, or threatened to testify, against fellow members. During its peak, from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, dozens of people were murdered (usually shot) by its members. The gang became known for carrying out contract killings, particularly against former members. They were loosely connected individuals of many nationalities with a common goal-to make money and wield control over illegal moneymaking operations by any means, including influence peddling, bribery of public officials, and murder. Unlike members of the American Mafia, the members of the Dixie Mafia were not connected by family or country of origin. Despite the informal structure, the Dixie Mafia had one rule that members were expected to obey: "Thou shall not snitch to the cops". The gang did not function with a set chain of command, but was led by whoever had the most money. The group's activities include movement of stolen merchandise, illegal alcohol, and illegal drugs.īeginning in the late 1960s, the Dixie Mafia began working as a loosely knit group of traveling criminals performing residential burglary, robbery, and theft. The Dixie Mafia or Dixie Mob is an American criminal organization composed mainly of white Southerners and based in Biloxi, Mississippi, operating primarily throughout the Southern United States since at least the late 1960s. Illegal gambling, drug trafficking, prostitution, robbery, murder, arson, extortion, fraud, bootlegging, rumrunning, political corruption and contract killing ( May 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) You can help to improve it by introducing citations that are more precise, and providing page numbers for existing citations. This article cites its sources but does not provide page references.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |