The Murder of Albert Anastasia

[chin_gigante]

The Murder


Albert Anastasia, 55, arrived at the barber shop of the Park-Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan at 10:18am on Friday 25 October 1957. Anastasia was greeted by owner Arthur Grasso before sitting down in Chair 4 and ordering a haircut and shave. His grey hat, blue topcoat and brown suit jacket hung nearby. The only other customers there were Anastasia’s godson Vincent Squillante and a doctor. Squillante sat in Chair 5 and the doctor was seated next to him. A manicurist, a brusher, two bootblacks and five barbers (including Grasso) filled out the rest of the shop. There were two entrances: the first from a corridor off the 55th Street side of the hotel connected by a small foyer, and the second from the hotel lobby.

Two men wearing fedoras, gloves and aviator-style sunglasses entered from the lobby. According to Jean Wineberger, the manicurist, the first man was about 40 years old, 5’10” to 5’11”, slim, 175- to 180lbs with blondish pompadour hair and a fair complexion. The second man looked to be about 45 years old, 5’7”, stocky, medium complexion, and could have been Italian or Jewish. The pair walked around a partition screening the chairs and approached Chair 4 from behind. The first man was on Anastasia’s left and pushed the barber away with his gun, a .38 calibre Colt that he held in his right hand. The second man was on Anastasia’s right and aimed a .32 Smith & Wesson.

A total of 10 shots were fired with five hitting their mark. The first gunman shot Anastasia four times: two rounds were fired into his left hand at close enough range to leave powder burns, one bullet entered the back of his head and lodged in the left side of the brain, and another entered his back at a downward angle, rupturing a kidney, a lung and his spleen. The second gunman hit Anastasia in the right side of his hip and grazed the back of his neck with another shot. Anastasia staggered from his seat and collapsed on the floor between Chair 3 and Chair 2. An autopsy determined that it was either the headshot or the bullet in the back that killed him.

The gunmen exited through the lobby entrance. Wineberger screamed, Squillante leapt from his chair, yelled, ‘Let me out of here’, and fled the scene. The manager of an adjoining florist’s shop recalled hearing about six shots and saw several men running away, leaving by both entrances. The owner of a luggage shop by the 55th Street corridor entrance recalled three flurries of shots: one, then two or three, and then another two or three. He was entering the hotel at the time and saw a man fall on the floor while running away before yelling, ‘They’re going crazy in there, they’re shooting’. One of the barbers ran into a nearby dress shop and asked the owner, who had also heard the shots, to phone the police.

Investigators found the .38 Colt abandoned in the corridor outside the barber shop with one shell remaining. The .32 Smith & Wesson was found in the bottom of a baling machine used to collect refuse from waste baskets in the 57th Street BMT station (detectives had delayed the baling, correctly suspecting that there might be evidence in the waste). The station had an entrance on 55th Street, indicating that the shooters fled on the subway after dropping their guns. Police were unable to obtain any fingerprints from the weapons and could not trace them to any other crimes.
Anthony Coppola, Anastasia’s usual bodyguard and driver, was nowhere to be found at the scene, with reporters eventually catching up to him at his home in Fairview, New Jersey. Coppola admitted being friends with Anastasia but denied working as his bodyguard and claimed he had been home all day. Coppola changed his story several times, with it being found he was in the vicinity of the Park-Sheraton around the time that Anastasia was killed. Coppola was interrogated on multiple occasions but proved uncooperative.

Andrew Alberti was also found to be in the vicinity around the time of the killing. Alberti was the former manager of fighter Johnny Busso (who was also the nephew of mobster John ‘Johnny Connecticut’ Busso) and met with him in a room at the Park-Sheraton at approximately 9am that morning. Alberti was then observed meeting Anastasia at about 10am, only 20 minutes before he was killed. Alberti claimed he and Anastasia talked briefly about Busso’s fight that was scheduled to happen at Madison Square Garden that night before being interrupted by two men. Alberti was not introduced to these individuals, so he ended his conversation, met back up with Busso in the lobby and left with him. Busso did not initially mention to the police his meeting with Alberti but admitted it when pressed on the issue.

No-one was ever charged in connection to the Anastasia slaying, though several suspects have been identified over the years. What follows is a breakdown of every major source of information on the motive(s) behind the assassination and the individuals responsible.


The Accounts


Sidney Slater:
- About a week after the Anastasia murder, Slater was in a bar with Joseph Gallo and wondered aloud who had been responsible
- Gallo indicated that he, Ralph Mafrici, Joseph Gioelli, Frank Illiano and Sonny Camerone had participated in the slaying
- Gallo dubbed the above group ‘the barbershop quintet’
- In August 1963, based on Slater’s information, it was reported that Mafrici and Gioelli were believed to have been the shooters, with at least seven other backup triggermen positioned nearby
- Peter Diapoulos told author Steven Linakis that Joey and Lawrence Gallo carried out the murder on orders of Profaci, and that it facilitated their induction into the family
- Alfonso D’Arco recalled hearing about the rumour that the Gallo brothers were responsible for the Anastasia murder, but he did not talk about it and did not ask his friend Albert Gallo
- In 1986 it was reported that Carmine Persico told his cousin Fred DeChristopher that Joey Gallo lied about participating in the Anastasia murder and that the FBI knew who really did it, implying that he (Persico) was responsible

Guido de Phillips:
- A meeting took place in Florida prior to the Apalachin meeting to discuss the control of gambling in South Florida
- The main purpose of Apalachin was to consider the agreement that had been made in Florida
- It was decided at Apalachin that Meyer Lansky would be given control of all gambling and narcotics operations in South Florida and Cuba
- In mid-1957 Trafficante offered Fulgencio Batista a large sum of money for the casino in the Hotel Havana Hilton
- Trafficante then learned that Anastasia had made a larger offer for the casino
- Trafficante travelled to New York and convinced several high-ranking figures to apply pressure on Anastasia to stay out of Cuba
- Anastasia insisted that Cuba should be open to anyone who wanted to do business there
- By turning over control of the Brooklyn waterfront to his brother, Anastasia signalled his intention to move into Cuba
- Final conferences with Anastasia were held in October 1957 and when he failed to shift his position it was decided to kill him [Trafficante stayed with Anastasia the night before he was murdered]
- Five men were designated to do the job, with one of them being Salvatore Scalia
- After Apalachin, Anthony Anastasio let it be known he was going to kill those responsible for his brother’s death, including Trafficante
- After this, employees at the Sans Souci Night Club in Havana were required to be armed and take part in daily target practice
- Someone took a shot at Trafficante in Havana in February 1958 though he failed to ascertain who it was
- Scalia was sent down to the Sans Souci in February 1958 as his reward for participating in the murder and made a manager at a casino

Joseph Valachi:
- After taking over from Frank Costello, Vito Genovese expected retaliation from Anastasia
- Within days of Costello’s shooting, Anthony Strollo called his crew to a hotel in Manhattan and assigned them various areas around the city to cover in case of war
- Valachi was put in charge of East Harlem and given five men
- Genovese declared himself boss and summoned all the captains his Atlantic Highlands home with approximately 40 guys around for protection
- Genovese told the captains he had been forced to act because Costello was planning to kill him and that Costello’s disinterest in the membership meant he should no longer have any influence in the family
- Anyone caught with Costello would have to answer personally to Genovese
- Anastasia was secretly meeting with Costello, using codes assigned to hotels and the digits of the rooms to arrange meets
- Genovese told Anastasia to mind his own business and say out of the affairs of his family
- Genovese contacted Carlo Gambino and convinced him they would both benefit from Anastasia’s death
- Gambino did not want to go for it until Anastasia broke his promise to Joseph Scalise
- Anastasia had killed Frank Scalise for selling memberships in the family, with Joe Scalise then vowing revenge
- Anastasia assured Joe Scalise that everything would be forgiven if he handed himself in
- Scalise then went missing, presumably being killed at Vincent Squillante’s house and then being disposed of
- Another charge against Anastasia was that he had conspired with Frank Scalise to sell memberships and killed him as a coverup
- Anastasia was also losing badly at the track and abusing people
- Valachi believed that Gambino, Genovese and Joseph Biondo were behind the Anastasia murder though he had no proof to back that up
- Gambino and Biondo had the right to kill Anastasia because he was doing so much wrong and it was ultimately up to his family to act
- Genovese’s involvement would have been harder to explain so they acted with his secret assurance
- Valachi spoke to John Robilotto after the murder and, knowing he was close to Anastasia, wanted to make sure he would not try to retaliate
- Genovese and Strollo had previously spoken to Robilotto and convinced him not to try anything
- Robilotto had made an agreement to take the family back with Armand Rava and other Anastasia loyalists but was killed for trying to back out of it
- Knowing he was close to Robilotto, Paul Gambino then met with Valachi and asked him what they should do about Robilotto’s killers
- Valachi believed they found out themselves that Rava had been behind Robilotto’s murder
- Valachi advised Gambino to act quickly before Rava pounced, and Rava was killed shortly after
- Genovese called the national conference and wanted it held in Chicago, but Stefano Magaddino suggested Apalachin
- Genovese later beefed about how Magaddino was responsible for the Apalachin raid
- The meeting was to justify the murder of Anastasia, recognise Genovese’s leadership, outlaw narcotics, close the books, and expel 200 new members who had bought their way in under Scalise
- The captains would be asked to come up with a list of all members under them and put a cross next to members who did not deserve their membership (these members would then be told that the family had disbanded)
- No-one really cared that Anastasia was dead, but they were concerned about the indiscriminate killing of bosses
- Squillante was willing to use his closeness to Anastasia to testify about his misdeeds at the meeting in a bid to justify the murder
- In September 1963 it was reported that Valachi identified Anthony Zangarra and other Gambino members as responsible for the murder of Anastasia, however Valachi did not mention Zangarra in relation to the hit in his testimony or in The Valachi Papers

Vincent Teresa:
- Teresa misidentifies Anastasia as a Sicilian
- Genovese arranged the murder and assigned it to Strollo with help from Gambino as an ‘inside man’
- Gambino was to arrange the absence of bodyguard Michael Coppola and win the support of Thomas Lucchese [Teresa misidentified Anthony Coppola as Genovese member Mike Coppola]
- Joseph Gallo, Lawrence Gallo and Carmine Lombardozzi all played a role in the murder
- Strollo sent the Gallo brothers to Providence to meet with Raymond Patriarca
- The New York families wanted a gunman Anastasia would not recognise, so Patriarca assigned Nicholas Bianco as a liaison between the Gallos and John Nazarian, who would be the lead shooter
- Bianco knew what Anastasia looked like, so he pointed him out in the barbershop to Nazarian and a Gallo associate known as ‘the Syrian’
- The Gallos were positioned nearby to ensure everything went well
- Nazarian then bragged about the hit and was killed for threatening Patriarca

Joseph Bonanno:
- Early in the 1950s, the cold war between Costello/ Anastasia and Genovese/ Lucchese resulted in conspiracies to kill both Anastasia and Lucchese that were averted at a Commission meeting
- Following the attempt on Costello’s life, the Commission decided against interfering because the family rallied around Genovese
- Anastasia was enraged and wanted to wage war on Genovese to return Costello to power
- At a meeting with Bonanno, Magaddino and Joseph Profaci, Anastasia pleaded his case and wanted a guarantee of their neutrality when he decided to act
- At the behest of the other bosses Anastasia put a stop to his plan but made it clear they were now responsible for maintaining the peace
- Anastasia and Genovese then met at a dinner with the other New York bosses and exchanged accusations before renouncing any plans of going to war
- Before his trip to Italy, Bonanno met with Genovese and Lucchese and they asked who they should go to in case of a crisis, so Bonanno suggested Magaddino
- Bonanno was informed of Anastasia’s murder when he returned to the US and was also told of the national conference scheduled to take place at Joseph Barbara’s estate in Apalachin
- Bonanno did not want to participate because he was upset that the peace had been violated
- Anastasia clearly believed the peace was still in place otherwise he would not have made himself so vulnerable
- The indications were that men within his own family had been responsible for Anastasia’s murder
- The man being mentioned to take over was Gambino, who was close to Lucchese with their families being intermarried
- It was not necessarily the case that Genovese and Lucchese initiated the killing of Anastasia, but the timing would suggest that they condoned or did nothing to prevent it
- Bonanno felt that if he had not gone to Italy no-one would have been bold enough to make a move on Anastasia
- Genovese and Lucchese could not themselves call a national conference and had to go to Magaddino for approval
- Had Bonanno been in the country he would have been against it, but as speaker of the conservative faction, Magaddino approved
- The national conference would give Gambino an air of legitimacy and dissuade anyone else in the family from rising to challenge him for leadership
- A national conference would therefore benefit Genovese and Lucchese while allowing Magaddino to feel powerful
- The meeting was intended to introduce Gambino to important national figures and disavow traffic in narcotics
- Bonanno talked to Magaddino, who told him Lucchese came to him with the idea of the conference
- Lucchese had heard that men in Anastasia’s family were out for revenge and the Commission had to settle the issue quickly

Bill Bonanno:
- Genovese and Lucchese ordered Anastasia’s death and claimed to have ‘tactic’ approval from Magaddino
- A meeting was held on 9 November 1957 at the home of Ruggiero Boiardo in Livingston, New Jersey
- It was not a Commission meeting though the Anastasia family invited some Commission members to attend
- Magaddino, Lucchese, Bonanno and Angelo Bruno were among the Commission members who attended [Angelo Bruno was not boss of the Philadelphia family at this point and therefore not a Commission member]
- The Anastasia family had split into two groups, with each being allowed to state their case at the meeting
- Aniello Dellacroce and Armand Rava represented the Anastasia loyalists while Gambino represented the other faction
- Lucchese suggested that Bonanno, as Commission chairman, appoint a temporary leader of the family
- The opposing factions agreed to the solution and so did underboss Antonio Conte
- Although some suspected him, there was no hard evidence to suggest Gambino was involved in the murder so Bonanno appointed him the temporary leader for a three-year term
- As temporary leader, Gambino would have to occasionally report to Lucchese
- Without Commission approval, Gambino could not be removed or replaced and nor could any captains
- If everyone was happy at the end of the three-year term, Gambino would be appointed official boss
- Gambino was chosen because he had brains, could keep the factions together and would go out of his way to avoid conflict
- Gambino was appointed official boss at a meeting at the Democratic National Convention in Ontario, California in 1960
- Gambino and Lucchese conceived of the idea of the Apalachin meeting and won the support of Magaddino
- The real business had been done at the meeting at Boiardo’s home, and Apalachin was a social get-together designed to let other families know that peace had been established in the Anastasia family and to prohibit narcotics trafficking
- Bill Bonanno believed the Gallo brothers were the shooters in the Anastasia murder

Stefano Magaddino:
- The Commission appointed Gambino as boss provisionally, with the family later electing him
- Magaddino, Joseph Riccobono and Joe Bruno pushed for Gambino to take over because he was the consigliere and knew the situation
- Magaddino spoke to ‘Toto’ and ‘Catone’ who consented [it is possible that one of these individuals is Antonio Conte]
- Joseph Biondo was also involved
- The Commission went along to keep the family from disbanding and, once things were kept together, the family received permission to elect a boss

Alfredo Santantonio:
- Joseph Franco was close to Anastasia and found out he was going to kill Riccobono, Biondo and Charles Dongarra
- Riccobono, Biondo, Dongarra, Andrew Alberti, Joseph N Gallo, Stephen Grammauta and Joseph Cahill decided to kill Anastasia, with Grammauta and Cahill being given the contract
- The guns were hidden in the hotel room of Johnny Busso at the Park-Sheraton
- Cahill and Grammauta went to the hotel, got the guns, shot Anastasia, and took the subway home
- Riccobono telephoned the owner of a liquor store on 78th Street and told them that someone in his family had shot Anastasia
- The liquor store owner knew all the captains and was to pass the word along
- Santantonio knew the liquor store owner to go on to be the ‘collector of Gambino’s assessments’ [Arcuri Liquor Store, 302 East 78th Street, was owned by Domenico Arcuri and operated by Joseph Arcuri; Domenico collected money within the family for funerals and weddings in the 1960s]
- Riccobono also informed Lucchese and Genovese that someone had killed Anastasia, and he requested a meeting in New Jersey to explain
- Lucchese, Genovese, Riccobono, Biondo, Rava, Robilotto, Anthony Anastasio, Carmine Galante, ‘Charles Curry’ and others attended the meeting believed to be held at Boiardo’s farm
- Riccobono explained why Anastasia was killed without identifying the killers
- Riccobono offered himself to be held responsible if it was decided that the wrong thing had been done
- All involved were pardoned by the Commission and the Apalachin meeting was called because no representatives from the rest of the country had been present for the ‘trial’

Carmine Lombardozzi:
- About two months before Apalachin there was a large meeting to discuss Anastasia’s murder at Boiardo’s estate in New Jersey, with the attendance being greater than Apalachin [this date must be wrong as Anastasia was only killed 20 days before Apalachin]
- Bonanno, Genovese, Gambino, Magaddino, Sam Giancana, Joseph Ida and Joseph Zerilli attended, representing the Commission
- The meeting occurred at 12pm and continued until 5am the next morning
- Lombardozzi drove to the meeting with multiple Gambino members from Brooklyn
- They drove to a restaurant in Newark believed to be owned by Gerardo Catena and were met by made guys from New Jersey who drove them to Boiardo’s farm two at a time
- The Commission members were feeling the pulse of the other attendees and there appeared to be confusion as to why Anastasia was killed
- The inquiry was completely in English and, from the way it was conducted, Lombardozzi believed some Commission members knew why Anastasia was killed while others did not
- Gambino was one of several who spoke, and he said that Anastasia had been killed for using people from other families to hit people, and that he had hit people he should not have
- It was decided to continue the meeting at another location
- The location for the next meeting was not decided then but Apalachin was eventually chosen

Pasquale Massi:
- Massi was caught on tape discussing a meeting attended by Anastasia, Giancana, Dominick Pollina, Dominick Oliveto, and Anthony Accardo
- The meeting was scheduled to take place at Boiardo’s farm, but Anastasia was hesitant to go there so it was relocated to a restaurant in Newark
- Anastasia and Giancana drove together to the restaurant, while Oliveto and Massi travelled together
- The subject of the meeting concerned Anastasia and he appeared fearful
- It was believed that Pollina’s presence at such a meeting meant it took place after he had taken over from Ida, however, Ida was still in power at the time of Apalachin and personally attended that meeting
- Edmond Vallin points out the overlap between Lombardozzi’s story and Massi’s (e.g., Boiardo’s farm, the restaurant in Newark and the presence of representatives from outside the New York area which conflicts with Santantonio’s information)
- It is possible therefore that Lombardozzi conflated the meetings described by Santantonio and Massi
- This could also explain why Lombardozzi believed the meeting took place a couple of months before Apalachin instead of a couple of weeks before it

Jerry Capeci:
- There was ‘no question’ that Gambino was behind the Anastasia murder
- Sources on both sides of the law said that Biondo selected a three-man hit team with Grammauta as the primary shooter
- Arnold Wittenberg was the second shooter and Stephen Armone the head of the team
- Joseph Armone was originally selected for the hit but was replaced by his brother when he was arrested on a drug case
- Capeci also reported on the information provided to the FBI by Santantonio about the guns being kept in a hotel room used by John Busso’s nephew, though Santantonio identified Cahill rather than Wittenberg as the second shooter and did not mention the Armones
- Michael DiLeonardo also learned from Grammauta that he had been one of the shooters in the Anastasia hit

Anastasia.jpg

Final Thoughts

The claims that the Gallo brothers or Carmine Persico participated in the murder appear to be nothing more than baseless boasts that were repeated enough to the point that they were considered true and picked up by other accounts, like that of Diapoulos and Teresa. The latter two accounts particularly fail to hold up under any analysis. Diapoulos would have you believe that Profaci was assigned the contract, while Teresa makes the absurd claim that Genovese assigned the hit to Strollo, who recruited shooters from Profaci to travel to Providence and obtain another shooter from Patriarca. De Phillips’ tale similarly appears to be off when considering the general consensus that has formed on the motive behind the murder stemming from problems in New York, not Cuba. Valachi, (Joe) Bonanno, DiLeonardo and Santantonio all point the finger at the hit team originating from within the Anastasia family and based on established LCN protocol that by far appears to be the most likely scenario. It is also important to take into account how details from Santantonio fit with the established evidence (i.e., Alberti’s involvement, Busso’s hotel room and the killers taking the subway). The only major inconsistency with this analysis is the disagreement on the second shooter, with Santantonio identifying Cahill and Capeci identifying Wittenberg. The Santantonio/ Capeci account therefore appears to most likely be what happened.

Perhaps the more interesting question is regarding the motive for the murder and the involvement of the conspirators. Again, De Phillips is an outlier and seems safe to discard when considering the overwhelming evidence in the other direction. Valachi, the Bonannos and Capeci all point the finger, to differing extents, at Genovese, Gambino and Lucchese. Certainly, it seems those three benefited the most from the removal of Anastasia though I find it interesting the extent to which they are credited with the assassination. Valachi describes Genovese as the prime mover, with him convincing Gambino and Biondo to carry it out with his secret assurance, though Valachi admits this is his belief rather than something backed by evidence. Bill Bonanno explicitly identifies Genovese and Lucchese and, to a lesser extent, Magaddino as the prime movers with Gambino’s involvement only suspected. However, Joe Bonanno is much more constrained and lines up closer to Lombardozzi and Santantonio. It is important to note that Gambino, Anastasia and Lucchese were all long dead by the time Bonanno wrote his book, so if he had wanted to explicitly identify them as participants in a conspiracy against Anastasia he could have (as indeed he did when discussing a plot by Lucchese and Genovese to kill Anastasia in the early 1950s). Instead, Bonanno argues that it appeared to come from within Anastasia’s family though the timing certainly suggested the secret involvement of Genovese and Lucchese. Santantonio meanwhile made no mention of Genovese, Gambino or Lucchese knowing in advance, with the hit being motivated by plans to kill Riccobono, Biondo and Dongarra. Lombardozzi’s description also makes it appear as though the hit came from within the Anastasia family, with Gambino acting as speaker of the anti-Anastasia faction to explain the murder. Lombardozzi also mentions how some unnamed Commission members appeared to already know why Anastasia was killed, which could imply a degree of knowledge or involvement.

After researching this issue myself, I wonder whether Genovese’s involvement (like Slater’s claim about Gallo) would have been so parroted in other accounts had Valachi not first stated it in 1963. I tend to think of the Anastasia murder now in the same way I think about the disappearance of Vincent Mangano. Mangano’s murder originated from problems within his family, with Anastasia being the one to initiate it. Anastasia did so knowing he could claim self-defence, that it was a matter only of concern to his family and that he could be vouched for by Costello. What seems most likely to me now is Santantonio’s account that Riccobono, Biondo and Dongarra acted knowing that they could argue self-defence and count on the support of Genovese and Lucchese, with Gambino being an acceptable choice as boss to both the conspirators and the Commission.

[thekiduknow]

Incredible job putting this together and great analysis. Thanks for putting in the work.

[Frank]

Great Chin, its nice to have all the different scenarios in one thread. I agree with your conclusion.

[Antiliar]

Great analysis, chin

[Chopper]

Great work Chin, I enyoyed it and your an asset to the forum.

[Cheech]

nicely done

[Eline2015]

Guys, is that true that Albert wanna to made ndrangheta members to a mafia members and allow them to create a families in Calabria?

[Benandjosh]

Who is the Joseph Cahill that is name as a conspirator/shooter in Alfredo Santantonios version of events

[Eline2015]

Who is the Joseph Cahill that is name as a conspirator/shooter in Alfredo Santantonios version of events

Very respectful associate in Biondo-Riccobono-Armone decina. Was a drug dealer and associate from younger days of Piney Armone

[JoeNGallo]

That was a great read. Thank you Chin.

I've always wondered how Aniello Dellacroce managed to survive post Anastasia, while Armand Rava wasn't so lucky.

[HairyKnuckles]

Considering how trigger happy Anastasia was, and his quickness to resolve problems with violence, it´s no surprise his men conspired against him, especially when some of the high ranking members found themselves being on his hit list. That Lower East Side crew, once led by Biondo, then Riccobono and Steven Armone was no crew to play around with. Very powerful. Big in narcotics. It´s almost like they were a Family within the Family.

I read in a FBI report in days leading up to Anastasia´s hit, different hit teams were in cars going around to spots where Anastasia usually hang out. If any of them spotted him, they would try to kill him. All teams rotated, so they would not be identified by people seeing them in same place over and over. For some reason, Carmine Persico and Joe Yacovelli, two Profaci soldiers, were part of one of the teams. Joe N. Gallo was also part of one of the teams and may have been on sight when Anastasia was hit. Also read that the planning was done in social clubs around 1st Avenue and East 14th Street, clubs that were frequented by members of both Gambino and Genovese Families.

Excellent post Chin!

[motorfab]

Nice read, thank you Chin

[Ed]

Great summary. Not to muddy the waters further…

According to Houston-based LCN member Biaggio Angelica (via FBI source Theodore DeRose), Pisano and Anastasia were battling for control over Cuba's casino rackets when Pisano orchestrated Anastasia's murder. This explanation is improbable and was directly denied by Pisano (before his murder) when asked about the rumor by Carl Fiorito, a friend of DeRose.

Alfredo Santantonio mentioned something else that backs up Valachi's statement that Anastasia talked to Costello about retaliation. After Vito Genovese messed up the Frank Costello shooting, Santantonio said Anastasia allegedly borrowed $250,000 from Costello to put together an assassination team to kill Genovese. If Santantonio's statement is accurate, it reinforces Genovese's incentive to eliminate Anastasia.

Building off the statements from the other informants highlighted in Chin Gigante's summary:

Anastasia may have intended to kill Biondo, Riccobono, and Dongarra for internal reasons unrelated to outside politics. Vito Genovese took advantage of the situation and encouraged them to eliminate Anastasia to protect himself against Anastasia's retaliation for going after his ally Frank Costello.

Or

Genovese wanted Anastasia dead because he feared that Anastasia was coming for him in retaliation for ordering Costello's shooting. Genovese reached out to allies in the Anastasia/Gambino crime family like Biondo, Gambino, and Riccobono, already upset with Anastasia for his erratic behavior. They agreed to help Genovese in exchange for supporting their plans to take over the family after Anastasia's elimination.

Anastasia found out that the Biondo/Riccobono faction was plotting against him, so Anastasia (in self-defense) ordered their murder. Biondo and Riccobono, in a Machiavellian move, used Anastasia's murder contract against them to justify their subsequent murder of Anastasia. Genovese whitewashed the real reasons and squared the murder with the other bosses who were happy to see Anastasia gone because he was crazy and unpredictable.

Whatever the real explanation, the conspirators almost certainly got tacit approval before Anastasia's murder from Vito Genovese and Tommy Lucchese. Even a rogue like John Gotti felt out some of the other crime families before killing Paul Castellano.

You can go down a rabbit hole and leave your head spinning, trying to figure out these mafia plots. Excellent summary. Great job putting together all threads.

[nash143]

Great stuff guys, really interesting

[chin_gigante]

Great summary. Not to muddy the waters further…

According to Houston-based LCN member Biaggio Angelica (via FBI source Theodore DeRose), Pisano and Anastasia were battling for control over Cuba's casino rackets when Pisano orchestrated Anastasia's murder. This explanation is improbable and was directly denied by Pisano (before his murder) when asked about the rumor by Carl Fiorito, a friend of DeRose.

Alfredo Santantonio mentioned something else that backs up Valachi's statement that Anastasia talked to Costello about retaliation. After Vito Genovese messed up the Frank Costello shooting, Santantonio said Anastasia allegedly borrowed $250,000 from Costello to put together an assassination team to kill Genovese. If Santantonio's statement is accurate, it reinforces Genovese's incentive to eliminate Anastasia.

Building off the statements from the other informants highlighted in Chin Gigante's summary:

Anastasia may have intended to kill Biondo, Riccobono, and Dongarra for internal reasons unrelated to outside politics. Vito Genovese took advantage of the situation and encouraged them to eliminate Anastasia to protect himself against Anastasia's retaliation for going after his ally Frank Costello.

Or

Genovese wanted Anastasia dead because he feared that Anastasia was coming for him in retaliation for ordering Costello's shooting. Genovese reached out to allies in the Anastasia/Gambino crime family like Biondo, Gambino, and Riccobono, already upset with Anastasia for his erratic behavior. They agreed to help Genovese in exchange for supporting their plans to take over the family after Anastasia's elimination.

Anastasia found out that the Biondo/Riccobono faction was plotting against him, so Anastasia (in self-defense) ordered their murder. Biondo and Riccobono, in a Machiavellian move, used Anastasia's murder contract against them to justify their subsequent murder of Anastasia. Genovese whitewashed the real reasons and squared the murder with the other bosses who were happy to see Anastasia gone because he was crazy and unpredictable.

Whatever the real explanation, the conspirators almost certainly got tacit approval before Anastasia's murder from Vito Genovese and Tommy Lucchese. Even a rogue like John Gotti felt out some of the other crime families before killing Paul Castellano.

You can go down a rabbit hole and leave your head spinning, trying to figure out these mafia plots. Excellent summary. Great job putting together all threads.

Excellent point, very worthy of consideration. Would also mirror the earlier 1950s plot where Anastasia and Costello wanted Lucchese gone so they could get a clean shot at Genovese, Genovese warns Lucchese, Lucchese puts a plan in motion to get Anastasia, Lucchese's underlings warn Costello, and Costello uses it as a reason to get the Commission to vote on Lucchese in the hopes that he'll implicate Genovese as his co-conspirator.