Meyer Lansky

Lansky was tried in Miami for tax evasion and conspiracy, with prosecutors alleging that he had concealed income linked to London's Colony Club.

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Lansky settled in Israel and sought residence rights under the Law of Return. The government refused, citing his criminal past, and the Israeli Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decision to expel him.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

Following his forced return from Israel, Lansky faced an indictment accusing him and others of diverting millions of dollars from a Las Vegas casino.

Attribution

Accused

The Cuban revolution overthrew Batista, led to the closure or nationalisation of much of the casino sector linked to American and Mafia interests, and caused Lansky to lose substantial investments.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Lansky became one of Havana's principal gambling figures and maintained a business relationship with Fulgencio Batista's regime, within a system in which licences, casinos and political payments were closely intertwined.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Political responsibility

Following a lengthy investigation into illegal gambling in Saratoga Springs, Lansky pleaded guilty to five gambling and conspiracy counts, all misdemeanours. He was sentenced to three months in prison and fined.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

Lansky became one of the central financial figures in networks linking Italian Mafia groups and Jewish gangs. Historical studies and Senate investigations associate him with the organisation of gambling and coordination of several criminal enterprises.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Kefauver report describes companies controlled by Phil Kastel together with Frank Costello, Jake Lansky and local partners openly operating slot machines and illegal gambling activities in Louisiana.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Associate

Lansky played a central role in the meeting of organised crime leaders held at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, where Luciano reappeared despite his deportation from the United States.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Lansky established himself as a financial organiser and illegal gambling operator within criminal networks linked particularly to Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Siegel, during and after Prohibition.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated