31 Facts About Albert Anastasia

Albert Anastasia controlled New York City's waterfront for most of his criminal career, mainly through the dockworker unions.

Albert 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.

Albert Anastasia was born Umberto Anastasio on September 26,1902, in Parghelia, Calabria, Italy, to Bartolomeo Anastasio and Marianna Polistena.

Albert Anastasia's father was a railway worker who died after World War I, leaving behind nine children.

Albert Anastasia had seven brothers: Raffaele; Frank; Anthony; Joseph; Gerardo; Luigi and Salvatore Anastasio; and a sister, Maria.

On March 17,1921, Albert Anastasia was convicted of murdering longshoreman George Turino as the result of a quarrel.

Albert Anastasia was sentenced to death and sent to Sing Sing State Prison in Ossining, New York, to await execution.

On June 6,1923, Albert Anastasia was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and sentenced to two years in prison.

In 1937, Albert Anastasia married Elsa Bargnesi and they had two sons, Umberto and Richard; and two daughters, Joyana and Gloriana.

Albert Anastasia allied himself with Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, a powerful Sicilian-born mafia leader in Brooklyn.

Albert Anastasia soon became close associates with future Cosa Nostra bosses Joe Adonis, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello.

In 1932, Albert Anastasia was indicted on charges of murdering another man with an ice pick, but the case was dropped due to lack of witnesses.

Albert Anastasia approached Luciano with information that Schultz had asked him to stake out Dewey's apartment building on Fifth Avenue.

In May 1939, Albert Anastasia allegedly ordered the murder of Morris Diamond, a Teamsters Union official in Brooklyn who had opposed Buchalter's attempts to maintain control of the Garment District in Manhattan.

In 1942, Albert Anastasia joined the US Army, possibly motivated by a desire to escape the criminal investigations that were dismantling Murder Inc Attaining the rank of technical sergeant, he trained soldiers to be longshoremen at Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania.

In 1948, Albert Anastasia bought a dressmaking factory in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and left his waterfront activities in the control of his brother Anthony.

Albert Anastasia was supported by Joseph Bonanno, who simply wanted to avoid a gang war.

In March 1952, Albert Anastasia allegedly ordered the murder of Arnold Schuster, a New York man who successfully identified fugitive bank robber Willie Sutton, resulting in Sutton's arrest.

In 1963, government witness Joseph Valachi accused Albert Anastasia of ordering the murder, but many people in law enforcement were skeptical.

On December 9,1952, the federal government filed suit to denaturalize Albert Anastasia and deport him because he lied on his citizenship application.

Unable to do so without eliminating Albert Anastasia, Genovese looked for allies.

Albert Anastasia used Anastasia's brutal behavior against him in an effort to win supporters, portraying Anastasia as an unstable killer who threatened to bring law enforcement pressure on the Cosa Nostra.

On May 23,1955, Albert Anastasia pleaded guilty to tax evasion for underreporting his income during the late 1940s.

On June 3,1955, Albert Anastasia was sentenced to one year in federal prison and a $20,000 fine.

Albert Anastasia's driver parked the car in an underground garage and then took a walk outside, leaving him unprotected.

However, the stunned Albert Anastasia had actually attacked the gunmen's reflections in the wall mirror of the barber shop.

The gunmen continued firing until Albert Anastasia finally fell dead on the floor.

The Albert Anastasia homicide generated a tremendous amount of public interest and sparked a high-profile police investigation.

Speculation on who killed Albert Anastasia has centered on Profaci crime family mobster Joe Gallo, the Patriarca crime family of Providence, Rhode Island, and certain drug dealers within the Gambino family.

Albert Anastasia was interred in Green-Wood Cemetery in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, attended by a handful of friends and relatives.

Albert Anastasia lived in the 25-room, 6,529-square-foot, hilltop mansion located in Fort Lee, New Jersey from 1947 until his murder.