Albert Anastasia was an American gangster. It was born Umberto Anastasio in Tropea, in Calabria, 1902, and died assassinated in New York in 1957. It was called " Large lord exécuteur" ( Lord High Executioner ), because of its aptitude to be killed. He was the godfather of what became the Famille Gambino of 1951 to its death.

Youths

Anastasia arrived at New York towards 1919. He attended the docks of Brooklyn, and was essential authority in the Syndicat of the Docker S, International Longshoremen' S Association. He showed there his inclinations for the homicide with the least provocation. Thus, it killed a docker with the beginning of the year 1920, which made it condemn to eighteen months of enfermement with the prison of Sing Sing. However, it was slackened earlier after having obtained a new lawsuit, since four decisive witnesses retracted. At the beginning of its criminal career, Anastasia, although not Sicilian, worked for the family of Joe Masseria, with Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello, towards which it developed a solid friendship.

The rise

In 1930, Anastasia joined the plot of Lucky Luciano aiming at getting rid of both dominant godfathers of New York: Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranazano, which clashed during the Guerre of Castellammarese. It belonged to the team of killers which assassinated Masseria in a restaurant of Coney Island in April 1931. When Lucky Luciano became the leader of the Commission (or National union of the crime), gathering the main leaders of the American Mafia, Anastasia, reward some for its honesty, became a permanent member about it.

Murder Incorporated

Anastasia was placed in an important position of capacity, with the head of Murder Incorporated, the armed wing of the Syndicat of the crime, in company of Louis Lepke Buchalter, large racketeer of the trade unions. Contrary to Buchalter, Anastasia was never continued for its activities in this organization, person in charge of almost 300 to 700 assassinations until the beginning of the year 1940. It would have escaped with the court while making proceed to the disappearance of many witnesses. He promised a reward of 100.000 dollars for the elimination of Abe Reles, killer of Murder Incorporated and principal indicator, défenestré in November 1941. After the execution of Buchalter in 1944, Anastasia became the only owner of Murder Incorporated, but this organization disappeared quickly, the “contracts” being from now on with the load of each gangster family.

The Second world war

After the imprisonment of Luciano in 1936, Anastasia had a leading role in the operation aiming at releasing Luciano “to have taken part in the effort of war”, during the Second world war. To be done, Anastasia organized incidents, to convince the US Navy of the need for negotiating with the Maffia, in order to avoid any risk of enemy sabotage. Anastasia indeed controlled the docks of New York through the trade union of the dockers. The French steamer Normandy, which was to be transformed into transatlantic transport of troops, burned mysteriously in the wearing of New York in 1942. The newspapers evoked at the time a German act of sabotage, but it is currently usually allowed that Anastasia gave the order to his/her brother to put fire at the ship. While offering via Anastasia the protection of the docks, and in addition the support of the Maffia for the unloading in Sicily, Luciano thus managed to improve its detention conditions and the guarantee of one release at the end of the war.

The godfather

Extremely of the support of the two dominant chiefs of the organized crime (Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello), Anastasia could reach the head of one of the five families of New York, future the Famille Gambino, after having made disappear its godfather, Vincent Mangano, in 1951. A little later Costello defended, at a meeting of the Commission, the gesture of Anastasia, while pretexting, taking into account the conflict relationship between Mangano and Anastasia, it self-defense. Anastasia was thus confirmed with the head of its family. Frank Costello had interest so that Anastasia is an household head, to thwart its large rival Vito Genovese. This last wanted to take the control of the family of Luciano which, exiled in Italy, had entrusted it to Costello.

Become godfather, Anastasia became more brutal than ever. In 1952, it ordered the assassination of a young salesman of shoes of Brooklyn, Arnold Schuster, after having seen it on television telling how it had allowed the arrest of Willie Sutton, a hold-up man of banks. Anastasia would have said to its men: " I do not support the indics! Cut down this type! ". By doing this, he violated an essential rule of the Maffia American: " One commits suicide only between nous". The assassination of Schuster unnecessarily drew the attention to the gangster business.

Execution of the executor

Vito Genovese made use skilfully of the brutal behavior of Anastasia to court its men. Thus, with the passing of years, it gained secretly the co-operation of Carlo Gambino, assistant manager of Anastasia. However, Genovese could not act against Anastasia (and through him against its Costello enemy), because of an obstacle of size: Meyer Lansky, another enemy of Genovese and the administrative Almighty of the gangster empire of the casinos of Cuba, without which nothing could be done. Anastasia made an error by requiring a more significant part in the cuban operations, which put in Lansky anger, which consequently was not opposed any more to one confrontation between Genovese and Anastasia.

The manner with which Anastasia was killed, on October 25th 1957, points out the methods of Murder Incorporated, of which he was the chief. Whereas it was installed in the seat of one barber to the hotel Park Sheraton (today Park Central), two masked individuals entered abruptly, drew aside the barber and killed the godfather, who in a desperate gesture would have tried to face.

Officially, the assassination remained unsolved, but it is usually allowed that the contract was given to Joe Profaci (chief of future the Famille Colombo), which charged with them the three Gallo brothers (of which “Crazy” Joe Gallo) of Brooklyn. Certain sources designate however Joseph Biondo, who became the assistant manager of Carlo Gambino shortly after. ----