But it's definitely one of the most impressive hits.
Yeah, I know it's been debated, but I don't really know why. It's long been believed by law enforcement that Vito Genovese conspired with Joe Profaci, who assigned the hit to Joe Gallo to carry out, who in turn carried out the hit with one or both of his brothers.
"Five Families," by Selwyn Raab gives a decent account of this, as does "Mafia Dynasty," by John H. Davis. I guess we'll never really know for sure, but like Sonny said, it was a very impressive hit.
According to Joe Valachi, the buzz among the soldiers was that Carlo Gambino and Profaci would never dare make a move like that without the backing of Vito Genovese.
It's also believed to be one of the causes behind the Profaci/Gallo war. The Gallo crew felt they should have been rewarded more for the Anastasia hit.
First of all, Gary mentioned the Anastasia hit in the very first post. I agree it was monumental.
We are pretty certain who planned it, we just are not sure who pulled the trigger. Early on, it was believed to have been committed by "Crazy Joe" Gallo.
Later, Colombo boss and Gallo foe, Carmine "Junior" Persico claimed credit.
However, Jerry Capeci in "Gangland" claims that the murder was committed by a three-man hit team organized by Joseph "Joe the Blonde" Biondo, on the orders of Carlo Gambino. The team consisted of Stephen Grammauta, Stephen Armone and Arnold Wittenburg, a crew of Lower East Side heroin dealers.
Jerry is not always right, but has better sources than almost anyone, including Raab and Davis. I bet Jerry is not far from the truth.
