Anthony Anastasio (; born Antonio Anastasio, ; February 24, 1906 – March 1, 1963) was an Italian-American
mobster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
and labor
racketeer
Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit.
Originally and ...
for the
Gambino crime family who controlled the
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
dockyards for over thirty years. He controlled Brooklyn Local 1814, and became a vice president of the
International Longshoremen's Association
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA h ...
(ILA). Anastasio died on March 1, 1963.
Early life
Anastasio was born on February 24, 1906, in
Tropea
Tropea (; scn, label= Calabrian, Trupìa; la, Tropaea; grc, Τράπεια, Trápeia) is a municipality in the province of Vibo Valentia, in Calabria, Italy.
Tropea is a seaside resort with sandy beaches, located on the Gulf of Saint Euphe ...
, Calabria, Italy to Bartolomeo Anastasio and Marianna Polistena. Anastasio had seven brothers: Raffaele; Frank;
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
; Joseph; Gerardo; Luigi, who moved to Australia; and Salvatore Anastasio; and a sister, Maria.
In 1919, Anastasio, with his brothers Joseph, Albert, and Gerardo, arrived in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, working on a freighter. Deserting the ship, the brothers
illegally entered the United States. The boys soon started working as
longshoremen on the
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
waterfront.
Anastasio married Rose Lacqua and the couple had two daughters, Louise and Marion. In 1957, Marion eventually married
Gambino crime family mobster
Anthony Scotto, and Louise married
Colombo crime family
The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was duri ...
mob associate Joseph Cataldo, brother of
Dominick Cataldo.
Height of power
In 1932, Anastasio gained control of Brooklyn Local 1814 of the International Longshoremen's Association and eventually rose to become a vice president of the national ILA. In 1937, Anastasio gained control of six ILA local chapters on the Brooklyn waterfront, sealing his control of the facility. Over the years, Anastasio earned millions for the New York
Five Families
The Five Families refers to five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.
Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs ...
through
kickbacks from dues, stolen merchandise, and payoffs from rival shipping companies.
Anastasio always wore trademark, custom made wide-lapeled double breasted suits with white tie and white carnation which made up his expensive wardrobe, flashy cars, and Broadway showgirl companions which were all paid for by the ILA. When
Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Charles "Lucky" Luciano (, ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrument ...
was incarcerated in Dannemora, it made the Anastasio brothers nervous.
With his brother Albert's position in
Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...
, Anastasio ruled the Brooklyn waterfront with an iron hand. During this time, while helping establish Anastasia as a major force on the New York waterfront, Anastasio's power was at its height. It is said he would severely damage foreign shipping and sabotage ships as a means of intimidation (presumably on orders from Anastasio). He made no effort to hide that he was a connected mobster; he only had to say "my brother Albert" to get his point across.
Normandie fire
After Luciano was imprisoned for
pandering, Anastasio allegedly organized the
arson sabotage of the French luxury liner ''
SS Normandie''. Early in 1942, a few months after the U.S. entered World War II, the brothers hit upon a clever scheme. The U.S. Navy at the time was concerned about the dangers of possible acts of sabotage against warships berthed at Brooklyn and Manhattan docks.
The brothers made a deal with the Navy to release Luciano, and in return, the mob would guarantee the safety of the docks as far as the Navy's interests were concerned.
To get the Navy concerned, they created a maritime disaster: Anastasio had been aware that over the last few months agents of naval intelligence had been scouting the Brooklyn and Manhattan waterfront looking for Italians and Germans who might be involved in a plot to sabotage Navy shipping.
A French luxury liner, the ''SS Normandie'', was being hastily converted into a troop transport and was docked at a
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
pier. Anthony and his brother Albert claimed they decided to sabotage the ''Normandie''.
The fire that broke out the afternoon of February 9, 1942, became one of the most spectacular in New York City's history. For hours, the ''Normandie'' burned, until, listing heavily to port from all the water she had taken on, the ship finally capsized along the pier. The destruction of the ''Normandie'' prompted the Navy to approach the mob.
The Navy won a guarantee that there would be no sabotaging of shipping in New York Harbor.
As a reward for his "patriotic" support, Charles Luciano was transferred from the maximum-security prison at Dannemora to Great Meadow prison, a minimum-security facility.
A federal investigation in the wake of the sinking, in conflict with the later claims of the mobsters, concluded that sabotage was not a factor.
Later years
After Albert Anastasia's murder on October 25, 1957, Anthony Anastasio's influence began to fade. However, new boss
Carlo Gambino did allow Anastasio to retain control of the Brooklyn docks until his death. In 1962, Anastasio started suspecting that
Vito Genovese
Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and chi ...
(the main suspect in his brother's murder) meant to kill him and decided to meet with
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
agents. While discussing Gambino,
Peter DeFeo
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
, and
Thomas Eboli
Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli (June 13, 1911 Scisciano, Italy – July 16, 1972 Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York) was a New York City mobster who eventually became the acting boss of the Genovese crime family.
Early life
Born in Scisciano, in the P ...
with the agents, Anastasio reflected on his deceased brother: "I ate from the same table as Albert and came from the same womb but I know he killed many men and he deserved to die".
On March 1, 1963, Anastasio died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at
Long Island College Hospital
University Hospital of Brooklyn at Long Island College Hospital (or LICH) was a 506-bed teaching hospital located in the Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York. The hospital was founded in 1858 as Long Island Coll ...
in Brooklyn. He is buried in
Holy Cross Cemetery, New York City. On the day of the funeral, the Brooklyn docks halted all operations.
Anastasio's grandson, John Scotto, the son of successor New York waterfront racketeer
Anthony Scotto, later became an informant for the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
between 1993 and 1996. Anastasio's granddaughter,
Rosanna Scotto
Rosanna Scotto (born April 29, 1958) is an American news anchor. She is the Co-host of ''Good Day New York'', on Fox 5 NY WNYW in New York City. She formerly hosted with Greg Kelly. Previously, she anchored the 5 and 10 pm news with Ernie Ana ...
, is a longtime New York City
anchorwoman
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anastasio, Anthony
1906 births
1963 deaths
American gangsters of Italian descent
American trade unionists of Italian descent
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn
Gambino crime family
International Longshoremen's Association people
Italian emigrants to the United States
Italian gangsters
Gangsters from New York City
People from Catanzaro
People from the Province of Vibo Valentia