Myer's real name was Mair Suchowljansky, but everyone called him Myer Lansky. He was a Jew from Poland and because of this would never be a made man in La Cosa Nostra. Yet everyone listened to him because he was a money making machine. He stayed out of the spotlight the majority of his L.C.N. career, and although
Luciano had the title, Lanksy was considered equal to Lucky as organized crime rose out of the 1930's. In the 1920's Lansky and Bugsy Siegel formed a gang that was described as the most violent of the Prohibition Mobs of the East. The combination of Lansky and Luciano proved to be more successful. Together they survived the crime wars of the 1920's by cunning alliances and eliminating foe after foe. They reached the pinnacle of power in the underworld by killing the two men who at the time ran
New York,
Masseria and
Maranzano. As their power grew, Luciano would receive the title and power; Lansky stayed in the shadows and continued to make money for the organization. As the years went on Lansky was revealed as the brains behind the organization. He was the moneyman who was trusted to hide or invest millions for the Syndicate, and he saw that Luciano got his share of the profit even after Lucky was deported to Italy. Myer was the one who opened gambling in Havana and was said to have personally deposited 3 million dollars in a bank for Batista and paid Batista 50 percent of the profits thereafter. Myer never had any problems with the government except in 1970 when he was brought up on tax charges. Lansky maintained his position in the syndicate right until the very end, his personal wealth was estimated at around 300 million dollars. Lansky's legacy was that of money and power. Had he been born Italian he would have ran his own family in La Cosa Nostra.
