Born in Calabria, in southern Italy at the turn of the century, Albert Anastasia took to the sea in his teens with his brother Tony and by 15 had sneaked off his ship and into Brooklyn. Anastasia came to the US sometime shortly before WWI, in 1917, without shoes, and hiding with a relative until he could find work. Anastasia was given a job on the docks and was a longshoreman by age sixteen. Working alongside his brother Anthony, early on he decided to change his name from Anastasio to Anastasia to avoid bringing shame upon his family and being identified with them when he was mentioned in newspapers as a gangster , or so the story goes. But his brother Tony kept the original family name and went on to become one of the leading racketeers controlling the Brooklyn docks twenty years later, working under the direction of his bully boy brother Albert. Albert Anastasia was probably best known for his temper. This man was perhaps one of the most violent men to ever reign as a boss in a family. He was brought up with crime, and started out in bootlegging. He was a bodyguard for Joe Masseria and ended up under Vincent Mangano after the Castellamarese Wars. He worked on the docks and was the "man in control" of the New York Waterfront along side his brother Tough Tony Anastasio.
Anastasia was arrested in the early 20's for having killed a fellow longshoreman. One Joe Torino in 1920, in a dispute over the right to unload ships with precious cargoes. There were several witnesses to this killing where the powerful Anastasia stabbed and strangled his victim. He was convicted and sentenced to death. He spent 18 months in the death house of Sing Sing. Shortly before he was to be executed, he won a new trial when the witnesses reversed their statements. Anastasia was set free when his case was reopened and a new trial was never held. Four of the most important witnesses suddenly ended up missing. Anastasia was partly responsible for Lucky Luciano's rise to power. When, in 1930, Luciano approached him about his plot to do away with the old Mustache Petes that ran the Mafia, Anastasia declared that he'd been waiting for eight years for Luciano to be in charge and that he would "kill everybody" so that Luciano could be on top. Luciano wanted Anastasia to be a big part of his future plans. Anastasia was hungry for power and knew that if Luciano were head of the National Crime Syndicate, he would eventually get a piece of the action. Anastasia was part of the four men sent to kill Masseria in 1931 in a Coney Island Restaurant. His ruthless brutality made him legendary and helped him achieve leadership of one of the most powerful families. Anastasia was ambitious and he had become friends with Frank Costello, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano. When Prohibition ended, his friends, who had begun a national crime syndicate, had another job for Anastasia. He was offered the position of chief of Murder Inc., the syndicate's enforcement arm. This was a service where connected men could come to Albert Anastasia and ask Murder Inc. to take a contract on someone. Anastasia showed a certain ability early on for killing which helped him be promoted to operating head, along with Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, of Murder Inc. They would then assign the hits to one of their top killers. People like Abe (Kid Twist) Reles who was very cold hearted and ruthless. It was Kid Twist who brought down the service when he was busted and decided to talk instead of taking the electric chair. Reles claimed Murder, Inc. had been responsible for more than 63 murders on the orders of Anastasia. In the end Kid Twist found his way to the cemetery. Reles went out a window under mysterious circumstances, while in protective custody. Anastasia (The Lord High Executioner of Murder Inc.) was never convicted for being involved in Murder Inc. Buchalter, however, is the only wise guy to ever get the chair, and he got it for heading Murder Inc. Legend has it that Murder Inc. The organization of contract killers was reportedly responsible for up to eight hundred hits in their tenure. It was a service that provided for its customers and killed its opposition. With no criminal convictions Anastasia joined the Army and became a citizen of the United States. After his service, Anastasia moved to New Jersey. He controlled the waterfront as a capo under Mangano. Mangano was considered getting weak and in 1951 he disappeared. He was never seen again. Albert Anastasia was given the top seat in what was to become known as the Gambino family. He ruled the family with terror and violence and was known to be very ruthless. He once killed an informer whom had nothing to do with his family or any other connected family. He said that he just didn't like stool pigeons. (click here for related story)