There never was a MURDER INC. This has been one of the most
persistent, hard to quash mob myths to come down the pike. The myth
arose and was perpetuated for several reasons, including the almost
complete ignorance that existed half a century ago about the inner
workings of Cosa Nostra, the political ambitions of law enforcement
officials, and good old-fashioned media sensationalism.

There were a number of murders committed by a motley group of mainly
Jewish gangsters based in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Most of
the killings had to do with battles over rackets of the garment
industry in Manhattan and had nothing to do with Cosa Nostra. When
gang leader Lepke Buchalter (right) came under great legal pressure,
like many mob bosses of the 1980's and 1990's, he lost his cool and
began rubbing out anyone who he thought might testify against him.
There never was a group of hired killers waiting for contracts from
the Bosses of Cosa Nostra. The main focus of all the convicted killers
was making money from the rackets.

The Cosa Nostra connection to some of these so-called MURDER INC. men
came from the fact that they were very loosely connected to Albert
Anastasia. If the Jewish guys were going to whack someone they would
check with Anastasia to make sure the murder wouldn't interfere with
any of his schemes. It was a political move and a smart one
considering the power that Cosa Nostra had. From this has come the
legend that Anastasia (left) headed MURDER INC.

The book MURDER INC. was written by Burton Turkus and Sid Feder. First
published in the early 1950's, it has been re-released by DaCapo
Press. Turkus was an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn who
prosecuted many of the killers. No one understood Cosa Nostra back
then and Turkus simply got some things wrong. He knew there was some
kind of national structure to organized crime but he overestimated its
organizational structure. Like many, Turkus was thinking along the
lines of a legitimate national company that had clearly defined roles
and job descriptions.

There is an excellent explanation of MURDER INC. in the book, "East
Side West Side," by Professor Alan Block.

Some of the colorful names of the many killers mentioned in the
Turkus/Feder book include:

Abe (Kid Twist) Reles
(Blue Moon) Magoon
Harry (Pittsburgh Phil) Strauss
Harry (Happy) Maione
Albert (Tick Tock) Tannenbaum
Frank (The Dasher) Abbandando
Motel (Bugsy) Goldstein