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Meyer Lansky | |
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.jpg) Lansky in 1958 | |
| Born | Maier Suchowljansky (1902-07-04)July 4, 1902 Grodno,Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | January 15, 1983(1983-01-15) (aged 80) Miami Beach,Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Nebo Cemetery, Miami, Florida |
| Other names | "Little Man" |
| Known for | Mafia associate, Mafia financier |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Signature | |
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Meyer Lansky (bornMaier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983) was a Russian-born American organized crime figure associated with gambling operations and illicit finance in the United States, Cuba, and the Caribbean during the mid-20th century. He was closely linked toCharles "Lucky" Luciano and is frequently described by historians and law-enforcement sources as a key figure in the formation of interethnic criminal cooperation in the United States, including the network later referred to as theNational Crime Syndicate.[1][2][3]
Lansky emerged from New York City’s Jewish underworld in the 1910s and 1920s and became primarily associated with gambling enterprises rather thannarcotics trafficking. Contemporary investigations and later historical studies describe him as a financial organizer and intermediary who facilitated cooperation between Jewish and Italian-American crime figures, particularly in gambling and casino operations in Florida, Cuba, and Las Vegas. The extent of Lansky’s direct ownership interests and managerial control has been the subject of debate, with scholars cautioning that his role has often been exaggerated in popular accounts.[4][5]
Despite decades of scrutiny by federal and state authorities, including nearly fifty years of investigation by theFederal Bureau of Investigation, Lansky was convicted only of illegal gambling offenses and was never found guilty of major financial or violent crimes.[6] Estimates of his wealth during his lifetime varied widely in law-enforcement and journalistic accounts, but no substantial hidden fortune was recovered, and his estate at the time of his death was modest. Historians generally regard claims of extraordinary personal wealth as unproven and reflective of organized-crime mythology rather than documented financial control.[7]
Maier Suchowljansky was born on July 4, 1902, inGrodno,[8]Russian Empire (nowBelarus), to aPolish-Jewish family.[9] When asked his native country, Lansky always responded "Poland".[10] In 1911, Lansky emigrated to theUnited States through the port ofOdessa[11] with his mother and brother Jacob, and joined his father (who had immigrated in 1909) living on theLower East Side ofManhattan, New York.[12]
Lansky metBenjamin "Bugsy" Siegel when they were children. They became lifelong friends, as well as partners in thebootlegging trade, and together managed theBugs and Meyer Mob, with its reputation as one of the most violentProhibition gangs. Lansky was also close friends withCharles "Lucky" Luciano; the two met as teenagers when Luciano attempted to extort Lansky for protection money on his walk home from school. Luciano respected the younger boy's defiant responses to his threats, and the two formed a lasting partnership.[13] They later associated with veteran gangsterArnold Rothstein until his murder in 1928.[14]
Luciano had a vision to form anational crime syndicate in which the Italian, Jewish, and Irish gangs could pool their resources and turnorganized crime into a lucrative business for all—an organization he founded after aconference in Atlantic City organized by himself, Lansky,Johnny Torrio, andFrank Costello, in May 1929.[15][16][17]
Also, as early as 1932, Lansky shifted money from illegal activities inNew Orleans to Swissoffshore accounts. TheSwiss secrecy law from 1934 sanctioned the money laundering by "banks whose officials knew very well they were working for criminals".[18] By 1936, Lansky had establishedgambling operations in Florida[19] and Cuba.[20] These gambling operations were founded upon two innovations:
There was also an absolute rule of integrity concerning the games and wagers made within their establishments. Lansky's "carpet joints" in Florida and elsewhere were never "clip joints", where gamblers were unsure whether the games were rigged. Lansky ensured that the staff administering the games were of high integrity.
With the election of Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the influence and membership of the Nazi party grew. Soon after, the influence of the Nazi party spread to America, mostly among German immigrants, who formed the organization Friends of New Germany (FONG). In 1936, FONG was succeeded by the German American Bund, with increased Nazi activity including rallies, marches and demonstrations. At the request of the New York Judge and former CongressmanNathan Perlman, Lansky and his gang stepped outside their usual criminal activities to break up rallies held by the pro-NaziGerman-American Bund.[21] He recalled a particular rally inYorkville, a German neighborhood inManhattan, that he and 14 associates disrupted, on April 20, 1938:
The stage was decorated with a swastika and a picture of Adolf Hitler. The speakers started ranting. There were only fifteen of us, but we went into action. We threw some of them out the windows. Most of the Nazis panicked and ran out. We chased them and beat them up. We wanted to show them that Jews would not always sit back and accept insults.[22]
When JudgePerlman offered to pay Lansky for his services, he declined: "I am a Jew, and I feel for the Jews in Europe who are suffering. They are my brothers".[23]
DuringWorld War II, Lansky was instrumental in helping theOffice of Naval Intelligence (ONI)'sOperation Underworld, in which the government recruited criminals to watch out for German infiltrators and submarine-borne saboteurs. Lansky helped arrange a deal with the government via a high-rankingUnited States Navy official that secured Luciano's release from prison; in exchange, the Mafia provided security for the warships being built along the docks inNew York Harbor. German submarines were sinkingAllied ships in great numbers along the eastern seaboard and the Caribbean coast, and there was great fear of attack or sabotage by Nazi sympathizers. Lansky connected the ONI with Luciano, who reportedly instructedJoseph Lanza to prevent sabotage on the New York waterfront.[24][25] Lansky was given an ONI contact code number and introduced ONI toJohn M. Dunn and Jeremiah Sullivan of theInternational Longshoremen's Association.[26]
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In 1946, Lansky convinced theItalian-American Mafia to put Siegel in charge ofLas Vegas, and became a major investor in Siegel'sFlamingo Hotel. To protect himself from the type of prosecution that sentAl Capone to prison fortax evasion and prostitution, Lansky transferred his growing casino empire's illegal earnings to aSwiss bank account, where anonymity was assured by the1934 Swiss Banking Act. Lansky eventually bought anoffshore bank in Switzerland, which he used tolaunder money through a network ofshell and holding companies.[18]
In 1946, Lansky attended asecret meeting in Havana to discuss Siegel's management of the Flamingo Hotel, which was running far behind schedule and costing Siegel's Mafia investors a great deal of money. The other bosses wanted to kill Siegel, but Lansky begged them to give his friend a second chance.[27]: 36–38
Despite this reprieve, Siegel continued to lose money on the Flamingo. A second meeting was then called. By the time the meeting occurred, the casino had turned a small profit. With Luciano's support, Lansky convinced the other investors to give Siegel more time. When the hotel started losing money again, the other investors decided that Siegel was finished. It is widely believed that Lansky was compelled to give the final okay on eliminating Siegel due to his long relationship with him and his stature in the organization.
On June 20, 1947, Siegel was shot and killed inBeverly Hills,California. Twenty minutes later, Lansky's associates, includingGus Greenbaum andMoe Sedway, walked into the Flamingo and took control of it. According to theFBI, Lansky retained a substantial financial interest in the Flamingo for the next 20 years. Lansky said in several interviews later in his life that if it had been up to him, "Ben Siegel would be alive today".
Siegel's death marked a power transfer in Vegas from New York'sFive Families to theChicago Outfit. Although his role was considerably more restrained than in previous years, Lansky is believed to have both advised and aided Chicago bossTony Accardo in initially establishing his hold.
Lansky was part of a group of mobsters who came to Havana in the 1940s and 50s that involved themselves in the casino and hotel industry on the island of Cuba.[28] He established himself as the most powerful mobster in the country.[29]
As early as 1937 he controlled the casino at theHotel Nacional.[30] Batista and Lansky formed a renowned friendship and business relationship that lasted a decade. During a stay at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in the late 1940s, it was mutually agreed that, in exchange forkickbacks, Batista would offer Lansky and the Mafia control of the country's casinos and racetracks. Batista would openHavana to large-scale gambling, and his government would match, dollar for dollar, any hotel investment overUS$1 million, which would include a casino license. Lansky would put himself at the center of Cuba's gambling operations. He immediately called on his associates to hold a summit in Havana.
In 1946 Luciano's sentence was commuted as a thanks for his help during Operation Underworld. He was freed from US prison and deported, subsequently making his way to Cuba which he hoped would serve as a base of operations. In December 1946 Meyer Lansky co-hosted theHavana Conference with Luciano at the Hotel Nacional. It was attended by mafia families up and down the United States and set theNational Crime Syndicates policy, rules, and business interests in the new postwar era.[31] Lansky attempted to use his influence to keep Luciano in Cuba. He interceded personally with Batista and with his friend the Minister of the Interior, Alfred Pequeno. Eventually Luciano was deported under immense pressure from the US government who threatened an exports embargo on drugs going into Cuba should Luciano not be kicked out.[32]
In 1952 Batistastaged a coup that brought him back to power. He sought to clean-up and revitalize the gambling industry, so he brought in Lansky as an advisor on the gambling reform program.[33] In 1955 Batista altered the gambling laws so that any club or hotel worth an amount equal to or in excess of $1 million was permitted to host a casino. Following this there was a surge of investment in the hotel and club industry of Havana.[30] In 1956 Lansky began building theHavana Riviera hotel. He provided the majority of the $14 million used to build the hotel.[30][34] It opened on 10 December 1957, for tax purposes Lansky listed his position as "kitchen manager".[35] He ran the Montmartre Club, at which he set up a gambling school to teach young Cubans how to run games ofblackjack,roulette and other games.[30] Along with his associates he gained interests in theSevilla Biltmore, the Internacional, the Commodore, and theHavana Hilton.[30][36]
The 1959Cuban Revolution and the rise ofFidel Castro changed the climate for mob investment in Cuba. On New Year's Eve 1958, while Batista was preparing to flee to theDominican Republic before settling permanently inFrancoistSpain, where he died in exile in 1973, Lansky was celebrating the US$3 million he made in the first year of operations at his 440-room, US$8 million palace, the Habana Riviera. Many of the casinos, including several of Lansky's, were looted and destroyed that night. Lansky fled on January 7 to the Bahamas. In Nassau theBay Street Boys were ruling.[37]
A number of mafiosi were arrested and imprisoned by the new Cuban government but Lansky avoided arrest as he had already fled the country by then, leaving behind $17 million in cash, although his brotherJake Lansky was imprisoned in Triscornia.[38][39] Lansky's businesses were nationalized and shut down. He would later say "I crapped out" in Cuba and his brother Jake joked to Lansky's children "Don't expect a lot of money. If your father died today, he's broke".[40]
In 1975 American mercenaryFrank Sturgis testified under oath that he was approached by an associate of Lansky with an offer of $1 million to assassinate Castro. Sturgis said that he was willing to accept the offer but that he did not receive "the go-ahead from his contacts in the American embassy".[41] In August 1960 Lansky struck a deal in Miami with the former Prime Minister of CubaTony Varona. Varona would form agovernment-in-exile bankrolled by Lansky who would also help with the publicity side of things. Lansky promised millions of dollars in support in return for a re-opening of the hotels and casinos in a post-Castro Cuba. However the deal fell through.[42]
In 1970, Lansky fled toHerzliya Pituah,Israel, to escape federal tax evasion charges in the United States. He was a strong sympathizer with Israel.[43] In the 1940s he held a fundraiser for theHagannah at his establishment,The Colonial Inn, for which he made a donation. Overall $10,000 was raised.[44] He also sent a $25,000 cheque to theZionistAmerican League for a Free Palestine.[45] Israel fundraiserShepard Broad recalled that "You did not have to ask Meyer Lansky twice" for money and that Lansky "was always waiting for me in the lobby, ready with a check".[46] After theSix-Day War broke out in 1967, he made donations to the Emergency Fund for Israel, encouraging his friends to do so also.[47]
At the time Israeli law did not permit the extradition of Israeli citizens, and under theLaw of Return, any Jew could legally settle in Israel andnaturalize. The Israeli government reserved the right to exclude Jews with a criminal past from settling in the country. Two years after his arrival, Lansky was deported back to the U.S. The federal government brought Lansky to trial with the testimony of loan sharkVincent "Fat Vinnie" Teresa. Lansky was acquitted in 1973.[48]
In 1929 Lansky married Anna Citron, with whom he had three children, before divorcing in 1946. In 1948 he married Thelma Schwartz.[49] They were officially married in Havana, Cuba on 16 December 1948. The ceremony consisted of nothing more than a private signing of papers in the office of a lawyer. Lansky did not want his first wife or children to know he had remarried.[50]
Lansky retired in Miami and spent his last 10 years quietly at his home inMiami Beach, Florida.[20][51] He died oflung cancer on January 15, 1983, aged 80.[49]
At the time of his death in 1983, Lansky held few assets in his own name and left no substantial estate. While U.S. law-enforcement agencies long suspected that he retained access to undisclosed wealth, no verified cache of hidden assets was ever identified, and publicly released records do not establish a specific amount.[52]
Lansky’s biographer Robert Lacey describes the final decades of his life as financially constrained, noting his difficulty paying medical expenses for his disabled son and the absence of evidence supporting claims that he controlled large, recoverable fortunes late in life. Lacey concludes that Lansky’s wealth and influence were frequently exaggerated and that much of his reputation reflected law-enforcement suspicion and organized-crime mythology rather than documented financial control.[53] Family accounts cited by later journalists similarly describe Lansky as leaving a modest amount of liquid assets at his death, though such accounts are not independently corroborated.[54]
Journalists and investigators who followed Lansky have argued that his influence was exercised less through personal ownership of assets than through long-standing personal and business relationships, including informal partnerships and trusted intermediaries. However, the extent to which such arrangements translated into retained personal wealth remains uncertain, and no comprehensive financial reconstruction has demonstrated that Lansky successfully concealed large sums beyond the reach of taxation or prosecution.[55][56]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)Lansky recalled breaking up a Brown Shirt rally in the Yorkville section of Manhattan: "The stage was decorated with a swastika and a picture of Hitler. The speakers started ranting. There were only fifteen of us, but we went into action. We ... threw some of them out the windows ... Most of the Nazis panicked and ran out. We chased them and beat them up…We wanted to show them that Jews would not always sit back and accept insults."
