He was a violent thug who terrorized The Bronx and Harlem for decades, doing the Mafia’s bidding as he held an iron grip on a lucrative drug trade.
But now, a man sources described as one of the city’s most dangerous criminals, is dead.
Mobster Michael Meldish was found in his Lincoln LS on Ellsworth Avenue in The Bronx at 10:30 p.m. Friday with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Meldish, 62, once led the notorious Purple Gang, running drugs in The Bronx and Harlem while also doing jobs for the Luchese and Genovese crime families.
His older brother Joe is believed to be responsible for up to 40 homicides.
“We always suspected him and his brother of numerous homicides; We could never pin it on him,” a law-enforcement source said of the younger Meldish.
Another police source said: “He was one of the most feared people in the city.”
Michael Meldish had a lengthy rap sheet including charges for assault, riot, smuggling and firearms possession, according to police.
Investigators believe Meldish may have been the target of a hit or may have finally suffered retribution for his years of violence.
“There’s a very long list of suspects,” a law-enforcement source said.
Joe Meldish is serving 12 years behind bars for a 1999 mob hit in Throggs Neck.