Burton Turkus
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Burton B. Turkus, (1902-November 22, 1982), was an attorney and author, best known for prosecuting members of the Brooklyn gang known as "Murder, Inc."
As an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn in 1940, Turkus interrogated mobster Abe Reles, who had been arrested for murder. Reles became a government informant who revealed the existence of a violent gang of racketeers in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. The group was named "Murder Inc." by the press.
Reles's revelations led to numerous other prosections.
Turkus later wrote a book about Murder Inc., and in the early 1950s became host of the TV series Mr. Arsenic.
He was portrayed in the 1960 movie about Murder Incorporated by Henry Morgan. Peter Falk portrayed Reles.
[edit] References
- Turkus, Burton, and Feder, Sid. Murder Inc. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992 (reprint edition).
