Meyer Lansky Biography

Meyer Lansky

Best known as Charles “Lucky” Luciano's right hand man and the financial mastermind behind the mob, Lansky was the most powerful Jewish mobster of this century. Lansky immigrated with his parents to New York City in 1911, and by 1918 was already teamed up with Bugsy Siegel. During the 1920s their gang was involved with gambling, burglaries, and smuggling, and together they formed Murder Inc., a band of assassins for hire who worked closely with Luciano. Meyer assisted Luciano in his takeover of the New York mob, and was charged with handling the finances and money laundering for Luciano's national crime syndicate. Later Lansky built hotels and casinos in the Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean, and delved into prostitution, labor racketeering, and extortion. Lansky, with financial holdings between $300–$400 million, died of lung cancer in Miami in 1982 having never spent time in prison. His life is portrayed in movies such as Mobsters (1991) and Billy Bathgate (1991).