The 3 Main Mobsters: Anastasia, Luciano, and Mangano

The Changing of the Guard in Organized Crime

• The Gambino Crime Family’s origins trace back to the Mangano era, marking a brutal shift in organized crime history.
• Lucky Luciano reshaped organized crime in the 1930s, moving from traditional Sicilian methods to a modern business-first approach.
• Key figures in this transition include Vincent Mangano (the first official boss), Albert Anastasia (Luciano’s top enforcer and head of Murder Incorporated), and Lucky Luciano (the architect behind the changes).

Luciano’s Vision for a Modern Criminal Enterprise

• Luciano sought to dismantle the old system after the extremely violent Castellammarese War (1930-1931), where he himself barely survived an attack.
• The older, traditional “Mustache Petes” prioritized Sicilian heritage over business, focusing on old feuds and refusing to work with non-Italians, even if it meant less profit.
• Luciano viewed this traditional mindset as backward, aiming for a corporation built on stability, profit, and efficiency.
• He implemented three major changes: abolishing the “boss of bosses” title to prevent endless wars, creating the Commission as a board of directors for the five families and others to settle disputes, and most radically, insisting on working with non-Italians like Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel to expand operations beyond local rackets into national gambling, narcotics, and unions for bigger profits.

Murder Incorporated: The HR and “Termination Services” Department

• Luciano delegated the setup and running of Murder Incorporated to Albert Anastasia and Louis Lepke Buchalter, structuring it as a professional contract-killing operation for the Commission.
• Murder Incorporated employed specialized “hitters,” often outside the formal Mafia structure, which insulated the bosses and provided plausible deniability.

Vincent Mangano: The Quiet Traditionalist

• Vincent Mangano, born Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano around 1888 in Sicily, was chosen by Luciano in 1931 as one of the original Five Family bosses and led his family successfully for 20 years.
• Mangano possessed an old-world sensibility but was adaptable enough to thrive under Luciano’s new rules, prioritizing quiet control over flashiness.
• His real power stemmed from controlling the Brooklyn waterfront, specifically key locals of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA).
• This control allowed him to squeeze shipping companies, dictate who worked, and manage cargo movement.
• His main ally in the ILA was Anthony Anastasio, Albert Anastasia’s younger brother, which created an inherent conflict of interest.
• Mangano was known for a mix of brutality and joviality with his own crew, similar to Peter Clemenza from “The Godfather,” and made money while maintaining a low profile.
• He earned the early nickname “the Executioner” due to his ruthlessness in enforcing rules, such as dealing with Puggy Feinstein who was skimming money in Mangano’s territory.

Albert Anastasia: The Violent Enforcer

• Albert Anastasia, born Umberto Anastasio in 1902, arrived in the US as a stowaway in 1917 and learned his trade on the same Brooklyn docks Mangano controlled.
• Anastasia’s early career included a murder conviction in 1920 for killing a longshoreman named Joe Turino, for which he was sentenced to death.
• He was released after his conviction was overturned on appeal because key witnesses either couldn’t remember or disappeared, a lesson he took to heart.
• Anastasia was recommended to Luciano by Jimmy “The Shiv” DeStefano while they were both in prison.
• In 1931, Anastasia famously led the hit squad that assassinated Joe Masseria, the old “boss of bosses,” solidifying his reputation as reliable and fearless.
• He earned nicknames like “the Mad Hatter” and “the Lord High Executioner” and was considered the professional enforcer across the entire Commission due to Murder Incorporated.

The Ideological Clash: Mangano vs. Anastasia

• A core conflict existed between Mangano, who valued stability and Luciano’s new system, and Anastasia, who was more reckless.
• This clash was evident in the 1935 Dutch Schultz situation, where Schultz wanted to kill prosecutor Thomas Dewey, who was “getting too close”.
• Anastasia aggressively supported killing Dewey, even conducting surveillance, but Mangano intervened, warning the Commission that killing a prosecutor would bring down the entire organization.
• The Commission sided with Mangano, recognizing the institutional risk, and instead ordered Schultz’s assassination.
• Mangano was seen as the stabilizer, while Anastasia was the “loose cannon,” foreshadowing the later Castellano-Gotti dynamic.
• Sources indicate Anastasia looked down on Mangano’s “clean-fingernail” approach, while Mangano viewed Anastasia as dangerous and unpredictable.

The Downfall of Mangano and Rise of the Gambino Family

• The tension culminated around 1950 when Frank Costello (who was running things while Luciano was deported) was briefly jailed and asked Anastasia, not Mangano, to look after his interests, signaling a shift in alliances.
• In April 1951, Vincent Mangano’s decline began with a brutal double hit. His brother, Philip Mangano, was found dead, shot multiple times and dumped in a marsh. Vincent Mangano subsequently vanished and was never found.
• It was widely believed Anastasia was behind the murders, an “assumed murdered” situation.
• Killing a boss without permission was an ultimate sin, forcing Anastasia to face the Commission, but with Costello’s backing, his “kill or be killed” defense was accepted.
• The Commission sanctioned Anastasia as the new boss, and the family was briefly renamed the Anastasia Crime Family.

Anastasia’s Reckless Reign and Gambino’s Takeover

• Anastasia’s six-year reign as boss was marked by recklessness and constant headlines, proving Mangano’s concerns about him being a destabilizing force.
• The most egregious act was the murder of Arnold Schuster in 1952, a civilian who helped police catch bank robber Willie Sutton.
• Anastasia saw Schuster on TV, called him a “rat,” and ordered his killing purely out of ego and misplaced principle; this was a massive violation of Mafia rules against killing civilians and attracting unwanted attention.
• The media went “insane,” and other bosses were horrified, recognizing the scrutiny it brought upon the entire enterprise, just as Mangano had warned.
• Anastasia’s uncontrollability and liability ultimately sealed his fate.
• By 1957, Vito Genovese, seeking more power, teamed up with Anastasia’s underboss, Carlo Gambino.
• Gambino, known for his patience and calculating nature, plotted with Genovese, leading to the infamous “barber chair” hit.
• In October 1957, two gunmen with scarves over their faces walked into the Park Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan, where Anastasia was getting a shave, and opened fire, ending his brutal and public reign.
• Carlo Gambino smoothly took over, renaming the family after himself, and ruled quietly and effectively for the next 19 years.

The Blueprint for Modern Mafia Leadership

• The power struggle from Mangano to Anastasia to Gambino illustrates the shaping of the modern Mafia, reflecting Luciano’s vision.
• The stark contrast between Mangano (the quiet, profit-focused traditionalist) and Anastasia (the hyper-violent, action-craving enforcer) perfectly exemplifies the shift from old-world ways to Luciano’s corporate, profit-driven syndicate enforced by Murder Incorporated.
• Mangano’s leadership is seen by some as superior due to his 20 years without prison time as boss, focus on money, relative quietness, respect for core rules (no civilians, no cop-killing), and protection of the institution.
• In contrast, Anastasia’s six years were filled with headlines, breaking major rules, terrifying other bosses, and ultimately leading to his demise due to his volatility and nearly burning down the foundation built by Luciano.
• This saga serves as the original blueprint for such power coups and their outcomes, demonstrating that once ego and headlines supersede rules and stability, a leader’s days are numbered in Luciano’s new order.