Was the Dixie Mafia real?

[ArisRose]

I'm watching Mob Wives Chicago. They don't seem as connected as the Mob Wives of NY are (dads and hubbies seem to be a bunch of low lifes & pawns instead of shot callers), but I don't know much about the mob.

I remember hearing rumors about the Dixie Mafia. Google doesn't give much details and I know someone wrote a book a few years ago and it didn't get that much coverage. I know of "good ol boy" outfits among various sheriff depts & judges in AL, and they are pretty well connected. What else is out there in the south?

[Hue Briss]

Yes, they were very much real. They mostly operated out of Biloxi. You can find more information if you google "The Sherry Murders" or read the book that you were referring to entitled "Mississippi Mud." Hope this helps-SG

[bladtinzu]

Kind of sort of. More of a roaming band of criminals with no exact leader or direction. A couple of colorful characters were associated with it that I became close friends with. One from the wiregrass area was quite a hoot but sadly died some years back. Google the "Politics of Death" by John Caylor. He wrote a little article on it also which is a pretty good read. And BTW if anyone knows where Caylor is message me...

[FK]

Phenix City has a pretty infamous past
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/articl...ity-Story.html

[Big Heretic]

I've heard some stories about how rough Phoenix City was, but in my family when the sordid history of things came up, the subject was quickly changed.

I grew up in eastern Etowah County Alabama. When I was younger you could not have convinced me that anything remotely interesting had ever happen there. A few years ago one of my uncles got to talking and come to find out there were 2 wild honky-tonks in Glencoe. One was a half mile from where they (and me) grew up. My uncle said they could hear the fighting, music, and cursing from there on Friday and Saturday nights.

On the other side of Glencoe there was another one they nicknamed The Bucket of Blood because there were so many stabbings there.

I was fascinated and wanted to know more but my Dad changed the subject as quickly as possible. That seems too be a constant with the folks that grew up in the 30's and 40's, they want the sordid histories of the places they grew up in to die out and be forgotten.

That seems sad to me.

[ArisRose]

Originally Posted by Fallon Kelly

Phenix City has a pretty infamous past
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/articl...ity-Story.html

DAMN Phenix city!

I was at the library and it totally slipped my mind to check out some literature on this.
I went to books-a-million today and couldn't remember the name of the book and the bookkeepers (whatever you call them) were not helpful. I ended up buying some uh...erotic lit instead (to replace what came up missing after renting rooms out to Talladega race fans).

It's been forever since I had time to do some recreational reading. But I'm going to have to order this Phenix city movie for sure!

[Hangtime]

Among other things, the Dixie Mafia operated a string of strip clubs along the coast in Biloxi. To call these places flea ridden dives makes them sound a million times better than they actually were, and does a tremendous injustice to dives everywhere.

Beer, Bud or Miller only, was $5.00 a can, and this was the early 80’s. If you were unfortunate enough to visit one of these places, the girls would line-up behind your table and one at a time they would ask you to buy them a drink, $20.00 was the entry level price. I refused each girl’s advance, and actually had one hit me in the back of my head, not a tap mind you, she slugged me. As I was shaking this off and about to return the favor, I noticed two rather large guys on my other side with billy clubs or batons in their hands, discretion and common sense prevailed and I finished my beer and left. The girls in these places were pathetic, a two on the one-to-ten scale would be the best you could hope to find, most actually owed points.

One exception was the Horseshoe Lounge, inland a bit from the coast. This was the only one of these clubs I ever went to more than once. The Horseshoe usually had some nice looking girls, and if you had the money, ANYTHING could be had in the club. The back area of the Horseshoe was slightly elevated and very dark, and you could buy whatever you wanted.

After years away I went back to the Horseshoe, this was years after the Sherry murders, and found that it had transformed to a gay club.

I always smile when I hear the Dixie Mafia name, brings back memories of the good ole’ days when I could drink, and smoke and hump all night, without any real worries in the whole world, but things change.