Hi I have 3 questions.

New here, so sorry if I am asking too much.

1. Lansky, I am mostly into older mafia, seems every reading or doc I watch he is mentioned but I cannot find much on him himself. Any recommendations? Also what are your opinions on how much of a gangster this man was, was he truly bigger than Lucky?

2. Did any Bosses do their own hits, not necessarily when they were soldiers but as bosses, did any boss pull the trigger themselves? I hear of the pre boss stories(Lucky in the bathroom, Gotti in his car, Carlo wherever when Anastasia got hit etc.)

3. Maybe a dumb question but did anyone pay proper taxes? I heard of a guy who had been put on a payroll as a regular avg earner, they found his mansion and realized he couldn't afford it inherited or not on his income, in true mafia fashion he had company's put him on payroll but again in true fashion he probably evaded taxes after anyways. I assume none but did anyone pay properly on their millions to the IRS, not tell them how they made it but at least paid on it?

Thanks.

I recommend "Meyer Lansky: The Thinking Man's Gangster" by Robert Lacey. I would say in the 1920s he was very much a gangster, but became more of an illegitimate businessman as time went on. Definitely not bigger than Lucky Luciano.



My mind might be blanking but I can't think of any instance when a sitting boss was involved in a hit. Definitely not a normal occurrence.



There's plenty of cases where mobsters have held no-show jobs to show how they can afford their lifestyle and others who have laundered their illegal income, but I'm sure none have declared all the money they made.

Then again, Jimmy Fratianno mentioned that guys like Moe Dalitz who used to run gambling houses in Cleveland used to declare a lot of the money they made which enabled them to invest in Las Vegas.

The best Lansky source (and the best gangster bio ever, IMO) is "Little Man - Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life" by Robert Lacey. Lansky was a violent thug when he was young, but operated behind the scenes later. He had plenty of allies, but didn't have an organization or a family per se.

One of the benefits of being a Don is that you can delegate your hits and other violence to your subordinates. Al Capone, although not a Don in the Mafia sense (the Chicago Outfit under Torrio and Capone wasn't a Mafia family) was nonetheless boss of a major crime family. After he became boss, he killed a man with his own hands who had slapped around Jake Guzik, his Chicago mentor and high-ranking member of his outfit. He also baseball-batted (but did not finish off) Anselmi, Scalise and Giunta (bodyguards, probably including Tony Accardo, finished the job). Albert A. probably was the most murderous of the Dons, and may have pulled a few triggers after he disposed of Vincent Mangano and took over his family.

No actual Mafia boss ever declared his real income because to do so would affirm his criminal activities. Columbo was a "real estate salesman," Gambino was a "labor consultant," Gotti was a "plumbing contractor," but the "legitimate" money they declared for tax purposes was a tiny fraction of their real income.

Thanks for the answers, I figure all mafia are tax evaders, so Capone and Anastasia both pulled triggers themselves?

What about Amuso when he was boss of the Lucchese family he never pulled a trigger? Just that sick underdog bastard Casso?

Edit: Thanks for the book, just watched docs about Gallo and Bugsy last night and I know Myer Lansky was big in the 30s and 40s.

I don't know if The Mad Hatter did or didn't kill anyone after he became Don--just seems to have been a likely candidate.

Lansky was big right through the Sixties.

Was Nicky Scarfo the boss when they went to the guys apartment and Crazy Phil shot him in the back of the head? If so that's pretty damn crazy. Hell, its crazy under any cicumstances, but a boss putting himself in that situation.

That's a good point. I'm sure I saw on the Manhattan Mob Rampage documentary that Amuso killed Buddy Luongo himself to squash any dispute about who the boss was. But I don't know how reliable that source is.

If you believe what was written in the Ganja Godfather, which is about Tommy Eboli's grandson, Tommy Eboli killed Sally Burns Granello himself after he became "boss" when Vito Genovese died. I put boss in quotes because it has been debated at length who became the actual boss when Genovese died, i.e. Tieri, Lombardo, Catena Eboli, etc. From the little that I read of that book I personally would not give that story much credence.

He was only a soldier at the time of the Falcone murder.

Actually a captain in Dec. of 1979.