Meyer Lansky

A financial organizer who facilitated interethnic criminal cooperation in gambling and illicit finance.

Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983) was an American organized crime figure whose career spanned gambling operations and illicit finance across the United States, Cuba, and the Caribbean. Emerging from New York City's Jewish underworld in the 1910s and 1920s, he became a primary architect of interethnic criminal cooperation. Closely linked to Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Lansky is frequently described by historians as a key figure in forming the National Crime Syndicate. Rather than narcotics trafficking, his focus remained on gambling enterprises, acting as a financial organizer who facilitated partnerships between Jewish and Italian-American crime figures in Florida, Cuba, and Las Vegas.

Quick Facts

Other names: "Little Man"
Birth name: Maier Suchowljansky
Born: 4 July 1902
Birthplace: Grodno, Russian Empire
Died: 15 January 1983
Place of death: Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Resting place: Mount Nebo Cemetery, Miami, Florida
Known for: Mafia associate, Mafia financier

Lore & Background

Lansky's rise began in the Lower East Side of Manhattan after his family emigrated from Grodno, Russian Empire (now Belarus) in 1911. He met Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel as children, forming a lifelong partnership that managed the violent Bugs and Meyer Mob during Prohibition. His relationship with Charles "Lucky" Luciano began when Luciano, attempting to extort Lansky for protection money on his walk home from school, was met with such defiance that they formed a lasting alliance. In May 1929, Lansky joined Luciano, Johnny Torrio, and Frank Costello at an Atlantic City conference to found a national crime syndicate pooling Italian, Jewish, and Irish resources. By 1936, he had established gambling operations in Florida and Cuba, relying on his mathematical knowledge of wagering odds and bribed law enforcement for security. His "carpet joints" maintained an absolute rule of integrity; games were never rigged, ensuring staff administered wagers with high honesty.

Reader's Guide

Lansky's financial strategies were groundbreaking; as early as 1932, he shifted illegal funds to Swiss offshore accounts protected by the 1934 Swiss Banking Act. He eventually purchased an offshore bank in Switzerland to launder money through shell companies. In 1946, he convinced the Mafia to put Siegel in charge of Las Vegas and invested heavily in the Flamingo Hotel. When the project ran behind schedule, Lansky begged bosses for a second chance for his friend. Despite later losses, he secured an extension with Luciano's support. However, when losses resumed, Lansky gave the final approval to eliminate Siegel on June 20, 1947. Twenty minutes after Siegel was shot in Beverly Hills, associates Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway took control of the Flamingo. Contrary to popular myth, estimates of his wealth varied widely, but no substantial hidden fortune was recovered; his estate at death was modest.

Did You Know?

Lansky was born Maier Suchowljansky in Grodno, Russian Empire, but always responded "Poland" when asked his native country.
During World War II, Lansky helped arrange a deal that secured Luciano's release from prison in exchange for Mafia protection of New York Harbor shipyards.
After Bugsy Siegel was killed on June 20, 1947, Lansky told associates in later interviews, "if it had been up to him, Ben Siegel would be alive today."
Despite decades of FBI investigation and claims of a hidden fortune, his estate at the time of his death in 1983 was modest.