Originally Posted By: Dwalin2011
Originally Posted By: Turnbull

Lepke Bucholter was probably the most powerful and richest individual gangster of the Thirties.

Originally Posted By: BarrettM
I also wholeheartedly agree about Buchalter. Most powerful in the 1930's, as Rothstein was the most powerful in the 20's.

But do you think he was more powerful than any individual Cosa Nostra boss? Nobody bothered to kill Abe Reles to get Lepke off the hook, yet when Anastasia who wasn't even boss, was about to go to the chair with Reles's testimony, they used their connections to have him thrown out of the window. Doesn't this imply that Anastasia was more powerful than Lepke?


Lepke was still alive when Reles died. Lepke was trying to negotiate his own backroom deal to get off death row, but it was rejected.