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Gangland Wire

Murder Incorporated – Part 1

Gangland Wire

Gary Jenkins: Mafia Detective

True Crime, History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6645 Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2016

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Long before Albert Anastasia  forms Murder Incorporated in 1919, he and his brothers arrived in New York City, working on a freighter. Jumping ship, the brothers stayed in the United States, working as longshoremen on the Brooklyn waterfront. It was not long before Anastasia was convicted of murdering a brother longshoreman, George Turino, as the result of a quarrel. Anastasia was sentenced to death and sent to Sing Sing State Prison in Ossining, New York to await execution. Due to a legal technicality, however, Anastasia won a retrial in 1922. Because four of the original prosecution witnesses had disappeared in the meantime, Anastasia was released from custody in 1922. Anastasia was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and sentenced to two years in prison in 1923. During the 1920s, Anastasia had become a top leader of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), controlling six union local chapters in Brooklyn. Anastasia allied himself with Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria, a powerful gang leader in Brooklyn. Anastasia soon became close associates with future Cosa Nostra bosses Joe Adonis, Charles “Lucky” Luciano, Vito Genovese, and Frank Costello. In what would become a pattern, in 1928, Anastasia was charged with a murder in Brooklyn, but the witnesses either disappeared or refused to testify in court. In 1930, Lucky Luciano finalized his plans to take over the organized crime rackets and form a National Crime Syndicate in New York. Luciano plotted to kill the two old-line Mafia factions headed by Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. Luciano joined with Anastasia, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel in the plot. Anastasia reportedly assured Luciano that he would kill everyone for Luciano to reach the top. Anastasia knew his future as a mobster was assured if Luciano’s plans were completed and he created  the National Crime Syndicate. Luciano then secretly gave his support to Maranzano. Luciano lured Masseria to a meeting at a Coney Island, Brooklyn restaurant. During their meal, Luciano excused himself to go to the restroom. As soon as Luciano was gone, Anastasia, Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis, and Bugsy Siegel rushed into the dining room and shot Masseria to death. No one was ever indicted in the Masseria murder. In Maranzano’s subsequent reorganization of New York’s mafia into its current Five Families, Anastasia was appointed underboss of the Vincent Mangano, crime family which will become the modern Gambino crime family. In September 1931, Maranzano was himself murdered and Luciano became the preeminent mobster in America or Boss of Bosses. To avoid future power struggles and turf disputes, Luciano established the National Crime Syndicate,

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Former Kansas City Police Department Intelligence Detective and now attorney Gary Jenkins produced four documentary films, most recently Gangland Wire, creator of smartphone app entitled Kansas City Mob Tours. Download it now.

0:24.1

If you like what you hear, go to ganglandwire.com. Navigate to the shop page. We need you to put a hit out on our donate button.

0:35.2

Gangland Wire True Crime Stories is produced at the Big Dumb Fun Show Studio 4.

0:42.5

And now here's Gary Jenkins.

0:46.5

Well, good evening, folks.

0:48.0

It's good to be back here in the Studio 4 in the basement of the beautiful ice house building in the midtown Kansas City.

0:56.2

You know, there's a lot of crimes that happened close by around here, Aaron.

0:59.4

Did you know that? Say hello, Aaron.

1:01.6

Hello, Aaron.

1:02.9

Did you know that we're sitting right in the middle of where a lot of crimes happen,

1:06.2

especially back in the 30s and 40s?

1:08.7

We've got an upcoming we're going to do another one of our dramatic readings about a guy

1:12.8

named John Lazia who was killed of us, just a few blocks from here.

1:17.2

And there were several other of those mob hits.

1:19.7

And actually, even closer at Armor and Broadway, which is what, two blocks from here,

1:25.8

three blocks from here, was Mr. O'Brien's where Sonny Bowen was killed in the 1970s.

1:31.3

That was one of the last, wasn't the last mob hit,

1:35.2

but it was one of the later mob hits before they quit having mob hits in Kansas City.

1:41.6

Did you ever go, you weren't old enough, you weren't around here.

1:44.1

I wasn't really, right. I wasn't around here. I wasn't really, I wasn't really, I wasn't born in

1:46.0

Brian's. I used to drink at Mr. O'Brien's once in a while.

1:48.0

On Broadway?

...

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