On This Day in Mob History: May 15, 1957 – The Aftermath of Albert Anastasia‘s Assassination

May 15, 1957 marks a pivotal moment in organized crime history when the shockwaves from Albert Anastasia’s brutal assassination just days earlier continued to reshape the power structure of America’s five major crime families. While Anastasia himself was gunned down in a Manhattan barbershop on May 2nd, the reverberations of his death on May 15th saw the final pieces fall into place for one of the most significant power transitions in mob history.

The Barbershop Bloodbath

On the morning of May 2, 1957, Albert Anastasia, the fearsome “Lord High Executioner” and boss of what would become the Gambino family, sat in a barber chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan. Two gunmen, their faces obscured, approached from behind and opened fire, pumping bullets into the crime boss’s body. Anastasia, despite his reputation as one of organized crime’s most ruthless killers, died in a hail of gunfire with a warm lather on his face and scissors in his hand.

The execution was surgical in its precision, yet shocking in its audacity. A sitting boss of a major crime family had been eliminated in broad daylight in a Manhattan hotel, sending tremors throughout the underworld.

May 15: The Consolidation of Power

By May 15, 1957, thirteen days after Anastasia’s murder, the full implications of his death had become clear. Carlo Gambino, Anastasia’s underboss and a master strategist, had skillfully maneuvered himself into position as the new family boss. Unlike the violent transition that had just occurred, Gambino’s ascension was remarkably smooth—orchestrated with the kind of political acumen that would define his legendary leadership for the next two decades.

Gambino had carefully built alliances across the families, particularly with Meyer Lansky and other members of the Commission. While Anastasia had grown increasingly unstable and unpredictable—a dangerous combination in a man with his power—Gambino represented stability and careful business acumen. The underworld appreciated the change.

The Architects of Anastasia’s Downfall

The murder itself was believed to have been arranged by Vito Genovese, the boss of the Genovese family, and Meyer Lansky, the financial genius of organized crime. Genovese harbored deep resentment toward Anastasia, particularly over their disputes regarding heroin trafficking and territorial disputes. Lansky, meanwhile, saw Anastasia as a liability—his erratic behavior and violent tendencies threatened the sophisticated business operations that had made organized crime enormously profitable.

The timing of Anastasia’s removal and Gambino’s succession represented a crucial turning point. Rather than descending into a destructive war, the families had orchestrated a clean transition that benefited multiple powers simultaneously. Genovese gained respect for engineering the hit, Gambino acquired the prestigious family leadership, and Lansky could continue building his gambling empire without Anastasia’s interference.

A New Era of Mob Leadership

By May 15, the dust had settled enough for observers of organized crime to recognize a new era was dawning. Gambino’s accession marked the beginning of nearly two decades of unprecedented prosperity and stability for his family. Under his leadership, the Gambino family would become the most powerful and profitable in New York, eventually producing notorious successors like John Gotti.

The Anastasia assassination demonstrated a crucial principle of organized crime governance: the Commission, established during the era of Lucky Luciano, worked precisely because it could manage such transitions with ruthless efficiency while preventing all-out war. Rather than multiple families fighting over the Gambino family territory, the Commission had essentially anointed Gambino as the rightful successor.

The Broader Context

Anastasia’s elimination also signified the end of an era dominated by old-school “Murder Incorporated” style brutality. Murder Incorporated, the enforcement arm that Anastasia had once helped run, was becoming obsolete. The new generation of mob leaders like Gambino preferred sophisticated business operations, strategic alliances, and careful financial management over constant bloodshed.

The transformation from Anastasia’s regime to Gambino’s represented organized crime’s evolution from street-level brutality to corporate-style management. Money, not muscle, would increasingly define the hierarchy of power in the underworld.

Legacy of May 15, 1957

While May 15, 1957 may not be remembered with the dramatic impact of the assassination itself, it represents the day when the consequences of that murder fully crystallized. It was on this day that the underworld truly accepted the new order, that Carlo Gambino‘s legitimacy as boss was effectively sealed, and that organized crime entered a new chapter in its history.

For historians of the mob, May 15, 1957 represents the moment when the old guard definitively gave way to a new generation of organized crime leadership—one that would prove far more durable, profitable, and ultimately more dangerous than what came before.