Season 5, Episode 5- The Michigan Democratic Social Club Triple Beheading

The Detroit History Podcast

It was horrific, even by the low standards of the urban drug trade. Three dead bodies found in a van on Detroit's east side one night in 1979. All three had been decapitated. We explore the street politics that led to the massacre. And we tell the story of Frank "Nitti" Usher, a crime lord of the era. Former Detroit Free Press reporter Joe Swickard says people were forced to pay attention to details of the crime, as "this was just too much, and I think a triple beheading and bodies found because of blood leaking out of a van was just you know, it was totally in-your-face. And you got to do something about it." Caution: explicit language and extreme violence.

Interviews: Joe Swickard, former Detroit Free Press Reporter; Ric Bohy, former Detroit News reporter; Scott Burnstein, author and co-founder of https://gangsterreport.com/.