Burton Turkus

Burton B. Turkus (December 2, 1902 – November 22, 1982) was an attorney and arbitrator best known for prosecuting members of the Brooklyn gang known as "Murder, Inc.". He served as Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Homicide Division in the Office of the District Attorney, Kings County (Brooklyn).

Career

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 prosecutions. Turkus prosecuted Murder Inc. and sent seven of its members to the electric chair. He was later an arbitrator and a member of the State Board of Mediation.

Turkus later wrote about his experiences in a book entitled Murder Inc., published in 1951. In the early 1950s, Turkus became host of the TV series Mr. Arsenic. He was portrayed in the 1960 movie about Murder Inc. by Henry Morgan, while Peter Falk portrayed Reles.