Albert Anastasia

Albert Anastasia
Anastasia's 1936 mugshot
Born
Umberto Anastasio

(1902-09-26)September 26, 1902
DiedOctober 25, 1957(1957-10-25) (aged 55)
Cause of deathGunshot wound
Resting placeGreen-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
NationalityItalian
Other namesThe One-Man Army
Mad Hatter
Lord High Executioner[1]
Don Umberto[2]
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationCrime boss
PredecessorVincent Mangano
SuccessorCarlo Gambino
Spouse
Elsa Bargnesi
(m. 1937)
Children4
RelativesAnthony Anastasio (brother)
Anthony Scotto (nephew-in-law)
AllegianceAnastasia crime family
Murder, Inc.
Conviction(s)Murder (1921)
Illegal possession of a firearm (1923)
Tax evasion (1955)
Criminal chargeMurder (1928, later dropped)
PenaltyDeath penalty (1921, but released in 1922 during retrial) 2 years' imprisonment (1923)
1 year imprisonment (1955)
Military career
AllegianceU.S.
Service / branchU.S. Army
Years of service1942–1944

Umberto "Albert" Anastasia[3] (/ˌænəˈstʒə/, Italian: [umˈbɛrto anastaˈziːa]; Anastasio [anaˈstaːzjo]; September 26, 1902 – October 25, 1957) was an Italian-American mobster, hitman and crime boss. One of the founders of the modern American Mafia, and a co-founder and later boss of the Murder, Inc. organization, he eventually rose to the position of boss in what became the modern Gambino crime family. He also controlled New York City's waterfront for most of his criminal career, mainly through the dockworker unions. Anastasia was murdered on October 25, 1957, on the orders of Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino; Gambino subsequently became boss of the family.

Anastasia was one of the most ruthless and feared organized crime figures in American history; his reputation earned him the nicknames The Earthquake, The One-Man Army, Mad Hatter and Lord High Executioner.

  1. ^ Lord High Executioner is the title given to the character Ko-Ko in The Mikado
  2. ^ Raab, Selwyn (2005). Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. p. 72.
  3. ^ "Albert Anastasia Part 01 of 04". FBI Records: The Vault. Retrieved May 5, 2020.