Meyer Lansky

Meyer Lansky was born in Poland or Russia in 1902. His parents were Jewish . He grew up on the Lower East Side of New York. When Lansky was a teen, he was a toolmaker. One day he heard a woman screaming from a deserted building. He went to see what the problem was. He saw Benjamin Siegel fighting young Charles Luciano over free services of Luciano's prostitutes. It was the screaming woman. Lansky didn't know either person. Lansky grabbed a monkey wrench and beat Luciano over the head.

The men became close friends ans business partners. Lansky decided there was more money making in gambling than in toolmaking. Luciano asked him to join in on his plans for a national crime syndicate. By now, Lansky's mob of enforces had grown to much strength, they were known as the Bug & Meyer Mob. Luciano steered much business Lansky's way. During the 1920's, Lansky and many other's grew wealthy from the rackets. Luciano's syndicate became reality and Lansky was appointed a position on the board of directors. He was in charge of financial matters, arranging the millions in income to be laundred, also headed gambling rackets. Luciano was sent to prison ans Lansky arranged for his cooperation in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and got Luciano an early parole. Lansky was left in charge of the every day affairs of Luciano's empire when deported to Italy. Siegel was in trouble by using syndicate money in Las Vegas. Lansky considered Siegel his closest friend, but agreed to have him killed.

In the 1960's, Lansky's gambling rackets had went across the globe. There were departments in South America and Hong Kong. In 1970, Lansky fled to Israel and lived in Tel Aviv. The federal government was planning on getting Lansky for tax evasion. Eventually, Lansky settled in Miami, Florida. That is were he died of lung cancer on January 16, 1983. He was 81 years old with his fortune worth over $400 million!