Albert Anastasia and the US Army
Albert Anastasia was one of the founders of Murder, Incorporated, an organized crime enforcement group of Jewish and Italian killers for hire. It is believed to have committed between 400 and 1,000 murders over the decade of its existence, and Anastasia was known as its Lord High Executioner. He was personally responsible for ordering numerous murders and no doubt was the killer in more than a few, but he was never charged for any of the murders carried out by Murder, Inc.
The idea of obtaining a pardon or commutation of sentence for Lucky Luciano originated with Anastasia, who created the story of mob sabotage leading to the destruction of the Normandie, with the thinly veiled threat of more of the same being carried out in the same message. When the US Navy approached Meyer Lansky, he relayed the information to Anastasia, who promised to provide security for the waterfront and an absence of labor disputes for the duration of the war, both of which he delivered.
Meanwhile government pressure on Murder, Inc caused Anastasia to decide to detach himself from its proceedings before it became too late. In 1942 Anastasia enlisted in the United States Army. This action took place just as prosecutors were moving to obtain indictments of him for his involvement in several murders carried out by Murder, Inc, including those of government witnesses in other cases.
Anastasia entered the Army as a Technical Sergeant and the former master of the docks and warehouses in the Port of New York was assigned to a new job as a trainer of longshoremen. Anastasia was assigned as an instructor at the Army training facility in Indiana Gap, Pennsylvania. Anastasia’s age and his several arrests over the years seemed to be no impediment to his enlistment or his immediate employment by the army. The following year Anastasia used a regulation allowing for a sped-up process obtaining US citizenship for those serving in the military to become a US citizen.
Once he had citizenship in hand, the former Mafia ruler of the docks found his age (he was 43) to be an issue having an adverse effect on the performance of his military duties, and he was discharged in 1944, with the nation’s war effort at its height. Anastasia would have many more run-ins with the law over the remainder of his life, including problems with the INS and the IRS, but for a time still not fully explained during the Second World War he was a welcomed addition to the United States Army.