Major Benjamin Coxson (June 20, 1930 – June 8, 1973), also known as The Maj, was an American

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Coxson was a flamboyant

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and civil rights activist who co-owned a Philadelphia

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

with activist

Stanley Branche Stanley Everett Branche (July 31, 1933 – December 22, 1992) was an American civil rights leader from Pennsylvania who worked as executive secretary in the Chester, Pennsylvania, branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored P ...

, was close friends and neighbor to

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, in 1972. Coxson was a powerful

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

and power broker in Philadelphia who served as an intermediary between

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

and

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

organized crime groups. Coxson was murdered at his home in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...

, in 1973 which the police theorized that the Philadelphia Black Mafia killed him for his failure to broker a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

deal with the New York Mafia.

Early life and education

Major Benjamin Coxson was born in 1929 in Fairbank, Pennsylvania, to Israel and Maybell Coxson. He attended Benjamin Franklin High School in

. As a teenager he worked at shoeshine stands and

car wash A car wash, or auto wash, is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior, of motor vehicle, cars. Car washes can be #Self-serve car wash, self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or #Autom ...

es, investing the money in used car lots, car dealerships and other enterprises. Coxson was drafted into the military in 1946.

Career

Coxson co-owned a

named the Rolls Royce Lounge in

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

with civil rights activist

. While running the nightclub, Coxson was deeply involved in

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

and operated as a

drug kingpin A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion ...

. Coxson was arrested 17 times and convicted 10 times on

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

and

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

charges. He served 22 months in a federal prison in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Williamsport and north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The population was 5,158 as of the United States Census 202 ...

, for his involvement in an interstate

car theft Motor vehicle theft or car theft (also known as a grand theft auto in the United States) is the Crime, criminal act of Theft, stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. In 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reported stolen in the United ...

ring. Coxson was involved in the establishment of

dummy corporation A dummy corporation, dummy company, or false company is an entity created to serve as a Front organization, front or cover for one or more companies. It can have the appearance of being real (logo, website, and sometimes employing actual staff), bu ...

s for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

credit card fraud Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The P ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

. Companies such as Crescent Furniture Company, Pyramid Enterprises, Barry Goldstein Agency and Fairmount Foods drew checks that were made payable to

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1933 until his death in 197 ...

's Mosque No. 12 in Philadelphia. Coxson was a close friend and neighbor of

when he lived in

. They met in 1968 when Ali spoke at a fundraiser for a neighborhood organization called the Black Coalition of which Coxson was a board member. In 1970, after Muhammad Ali defeated

Jerry Quarry Jerry Quarry (May 15, 1945 – January 3, 1999), nicknamed "Irish" or "The Bellflower Bomber", was an American professional boxer. During the peak of his career from 1968 to 1971, Quarry was a popular figure in boxing, featured on the cover ' ...

in the ring, he grabbed the microphone from

Howard Cosell Howard William Cosell (; né Cohen; March 25, 1918 – April 23, 1995) was an American sports journalist, broadcaster and author. Cosell became prominent and influential during his tenure with ABC Sports from 1953 until 1985. Cosell was widel ...

and declared: "I dedicate this win to Major Coxson, the future mayor of

." In 1972, Coxson ran for mayor of Camden, but lost to

Angelo Errichetti Angelo Joseph Errichetti (September 29, 1928 – May 16, 2013) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, and in the New Jersey Senate before being indicted during Abscam. Early life Angelo Joseph Err ...

. When questioned during the campaign about his criminal record, Coxson replied: Coxson was an associate of

Angelo Bruno Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro, ; May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian-American mobster who was boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "The Docile Don" due to his prefere ...

, the boss of the

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Bruno–Scarfo crime family,< ...

, and acted as a broker between African-American and Italian-American crime syndicates in Philadelphia. Coxson was the Black Mafia's narcotic connection, he received high grade heroin from the notorious East Coast drug trafficker Frank Matthews.

Murder

On June 8, 1973, Coxson was murdered in his home at 1146A Barbara Drive in Cherry Hill. Coxson, along with his companion, her daughter, and her oldest son, were bound and shot. Her younger son also was bound but was able to escape and alert a neighbor. One of the victims told police that four black men in a

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

arrived at the house at 4:00 AM. He stated that they honked the car horn and were let into the house by Coxson; therefore, he assumed they were friends. The five men spoke for a while before the violence began. It was theorized that the Black Mafia ordered Coxson killed for failing to broker a major

deal between the

Five Families The Five Families refer to five American Mafia, Italian American Mafia Crime family, crime families that operate in New York City. In 1931, the five families were Organized crime, organized by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the C ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the Philadelphia Black Mafia. The two lead suspects in the murders were Black Mafia members Ronald Harvey and Samuel Christian. Harvey was a Philadelphia crime figure that was the 320th person placed on the

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William ...

list for his suspected involvement in the Coxson murder. He was arrested and indicted on 11 counts regarding the Coxson murder with bail set at $3 million. He was eventually convicted of the 1973 Hanafi Muslim massacre of two men and five children in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in January 1973. Harvey was never charged with the Coxson murder and died in prison. Christian was the 321st person placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for his suspected involvement with the Coxson murder. Christian was not convicted of the Coxson murder since no witnesses were willing to come forward. Coxson was interred at Mount Lawn Cemetery in

Darby, Pennsylvania Darby is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is located along Darby Creek southwest of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. The borough of Darby is distinct from the ne ...

References

Citations Sources *

External links

Allah Behind Bars
Brendan McGarvey, CityPaper, November 7–13, 2002

Time Magazine, Monday, May. 29, 1972 {{DEFAULTSORT:Coxson, Major 1930 births 1973 deaths People murdered in 1973 20th-century African-American businesspeople African-American gangsters American drug traffickers Black Mafia Businesspeople from Camden County, New Jersey Businesspeople from Philadelphia Deaths by firearm in New Jersey Gangsters from Philadelphia Murdered African-American people Murdered American gangsters Nightclub owners People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey People from Fayette County, Pennsylvania People murdered by African-American organized crime Unsolved murders in New Jersey

Early life and education

Career

Murder

See also

References

External links