Albert Anastasia

Albert Anastasia was a New York mob boss whose murder in October 1957 destabilized a powerful criminal organization and helped set in motion the Apalachin meeting. The killing made him a central, if briefly seen, figure in a chain of events that brought organized crime into unprecedented public view.

Position in the underworld

The book identifies Anastasia as a godfather and as the New York waterfront boss. His standing is conveyed less through personal biography than through the consequences of his death: other powerful figures gathered to address the problems his killing might unleash, and Russell Bufalino was entrusted with temporarily leading Anastasia’s family.

Murder and succession

In October 1957, Anastasia was shot while seated in a barber’s chair at New York’s Park-Sheraton Hotel, a hot towel over his face. The account presents the killing as a threat to the existing balance among crime families, with the possibility of a gang war prompting intervention. Bufalino became acting head of Anastasia’s family until its leadership could be settled. This temporary succession demonstrates the reach of Bufalino’s influence, while marking Anastasia’s murder as more than a private act of violence: it created an immediate problem of power and order.

Apalachin and public exposure

The meeting at Apalachin, New York, in November 1957 was called to settle potential problems in the wake of Anastasia’s killing. Bufalino helped organize the gathering of godfathers from around the country. Instead of containing the consequences, the meeting drew police suspicion; officers raided the house, seizing 58 powerful mobsters while about 50 others escaped through the woods. The raid turned a behind-the-scenes effort to manage the aftermath of Anastasia’s death into a public scandal, and the book links the resulting publicity to the wider recognition of organized crime in America.

Narrative significance

Anastasia’s role in the account is defined by the political afterlife of his killing. His death prompted a leadership substitution, helped bring rival powers together, and became the occasion for a police raid that exposed their national connections. The narrative does not detail the killer or the circumstances behind the shooting beyond its setting; instead, it follows the effects outward, from a barber’s chair to a gathering that made secrecy harder to maintain.