[align=center:o5ljznrx]Meyer Lansky




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Meyer Lansky in 1958




Born   Meyer Suchowljansky




July 4, 1902Grodno, Russian Empire




Died   January 15, 1983 (aged 80)Miami Beach, Florida




Cause of death   Lung cancer




Resting place   Mount Nebo Cemetery, Miami, Florida




Nationality   United States




Known for   Mob activity[/align:o5ljznrx]




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Meyer Lansky (born Meyer Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 âââ‰â¬Å January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Russian-born, Jewish American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States. For decades he was thought to be one of the most powerful people in the country.




Lansky developed a gambling empire which stretched from Saratoga, New York to Miami to Council Bluffs and Las Vegas; it is also said that he oversaw gambling concessions in Cuba. Although a member of the Jewish Mafia, Lansky undoubtedly had strong influence with the Italian Mafia and played a large role in the consolidation of the criminal underworld (although the full extent of this role has been the subject of some debate).


 




Early life




Lansky was born Meyer Suchowljansky in Grodno (then in Russia, now in Belarus), to a Polish-Jewish family who experienced pogroms incited by the Russian authorities. In 1911, he emigrated to the United States through the port of Odessa with his mother and brother and joined his father, who had previously emigrated to the United States in 1909, and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York.




Lansky met Bugsy Siegel when he was a teenager. They became lifelong friends, as well as partners in the bootlegging trade, and together with Lucky Luciano, formed a lasting partnership. Lansky was instrumental in Luciano's rise to power by organizing the 1931 murder of Mafia powerhouse Salvatore Maranzano. As a youngster, Siegel saved Lansky's life several times, a fact which Lansky always appreciated. The two adroitly managed the Bug and Meyer Mob despite its reputation as one of the most violent Prohibition gangs.




Lansky was the brother of Jacob "Jake" Lansky, who in 1959 was the manager of the Nacional Hotel in Havana, Cuba.


 




Gambling operations




By 1936, Lansky had established gambling operations in Florida, New Orleans, and Cuba. These gambling operations were very successful as they were founded upon two innovations:




First, in Lansky and his connections there existed the technical expertise to effectively manage them based upon Lanskyâââ‰â¢s knowledge of the true mathematical odds of most popular wagering games.




Second, mob connections were used to ensure legal and physical security of their establishments from other crime figures, and law enforcement (through bribes).




But there was also an absolute rule of integrity concerning the games and wagers made within their establishments. Lanskyâââ‰â¢s âââ¬Ãâcarpet jointsâââ¬