Albert “The Executioner” Anastasia

Background Born in Tropea, Italy Lived in a fishing village Oldest son of a railroad worker Eight brothers and three sisters Came to the United states in 1917 by working a ship

with two of his brothers Anthony was the first to get involved in crime Anastasia killed his first victim in a fight He was convicted of the crime but beat it in a retrial

when the key witness fled the country He later spent time in jail for gun-possession charges

Crime Begins

During his time in prison he befriended other criminals and became active in the criminal underworld

Albert got the name the executioner when he became a hitman

It was said that he enjoyed watching his victims die He was also involved in loan-sharking and

gambling He later became part of Murder Inc. He was convicted of five crimes but never charged

Murder Inc. This organization handled contract killings for the five

crime families of New York, using its own team of hitmen Anastasia served as the "finger" or "fingerman" by

ordering the killings According to some reports, Murder Inc. was responsible for

the murder of at least 63 men with some estimates running much higher

The organization fell apart in the early 1940s after one of the hitmen turned against the group

The Gambino Family

After serving two years in the army, Albert became part of the Mangano Family which later became the Gambino family

He didn’t get along with Mangano so he had him killed and took control of the family

The US government was trying hard to bring him down

They revoked his citizenship in 1954 and he was brought up on tax charges the same year

The Downfall

October 25, 1957 Albert was headed to the barber He was shot five times in the chair by two masked

gunman It is said that Anastasia’s underboss orchestrated

the killing when he convinced the members of the organization that Albert was a liability

He had a small and simple funeral with only a few friends and family members His killers were never caught

Based on Albert

“On the Waterfront” was partially based on Anastasia

“My Brother Anastasia” “Albert Anastasia- His Life and Death”-

tv show There were also novels written about

the groups that he belonged to

Differential Association Theory I chose this theory because I believe that Anastasia’s deviant behavior was learned from those around him. There wasn’t much about his early life but there was nothing to suggest that he had any trouble at home or with his family. There was also nothing to suggest that deviance was a part of his upbringing. It wasn’t until he illegally came to the country that his brother got involved in these criminal acts. It could be suggested that that is what sparked Albert to do the same. But it wasn’t until he went to jail on a minor crime that he was acquainted with serious criminals. Once he met them he got involved in murder inc., became a hitman, and later the head of a major killing association. I think that that definitely points to differencial association because one could argue that these violent crimes would not have occurred without the outside influence of his brother and furthermore the criminals he met in prison.