National Crime Syndicate
Encyclopedia
The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to a loosely-organized multi-ethnic organized crime
syndicate
. Its origins are uncertain.
According to writers on organized crime, the Syndicate was founded or established at a May 1929 conference
in Atlantic City, attended by leading underworld figures throughout the country, including Lucky Luciano
, Al Capone
, Meyer Lansky
, Johnny "The Fox" Torrio
, Frank Costello
, Joe Adonis
, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Dutch Schultz
, Abner "Longy" Zwillman
, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, Vince Mangano, gambler Frank Erickson
, Frank Scalice
and Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia
. Others describe the Atlantic City meeting as a coordination and strategy conference for bootleggers.
As revealed by the findings of U.S. Senate Special Committee
in the 1950s chaired by Estes Kefauver
, it was described as a confederation of mainly Italian
and Jewish organized crime groups throughout the U.S.
The supposed enforcement arm of the Syndicate was what the media dubbed Murder, Inc.
, a gang of Brooklyn thugs who carried out murders in the 1930s and 1940s for various crime bosses. It was headed by Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro and Anastasia, who reported to commission members Lepke and Adonis. It included many infamous mobsters such as Bugsy Siegel
.
In his 1991 biography of Meyer Lansky, Little Man, journalist Robert Lacey
argues that no National Crime Syndicate ever existed. " The idea of a National Crime Syndicate is often confused with the mafia
. Yet they are not the same thing."
The demise of the organization is as uncertain as its origins. By the late 1940s, Murder Inc. and most of its non-Italian components were defunct. Some individuals, such as Meyer Lansky, continued to operate as affiliantes of Italian groups.
, which described the real-life takeover of a southern town by organized crime, and 711 Ocean Drive
, which focused on the nationwide gambling syndicate.
The National Crime Syndicate features heavily in Thomas Steadman's book "The Flames of the West".
A variation on the National Crime Syndicate (simply called 'The Syndicate') is the main antagonist in most of the later seasons of Mission: Impossible
.
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
syndicate
Syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies or entities formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest or in the case of criminals, to engage in organized crime...
. Its origins are uncertain.
According to writers on organized crime, the Syndicate was founded or established at a May 1929 conference
Atlantic City Conference
The Atlantic City Conference held in 1929 was a historic summit of leaders of organized crime in the United States. It is considered by most crime historians to be the earliest organized crime summit held in the US...
in Atlantic City, attended by leading underworld figures throughout the country, including Lucky Luciano
Lucky Luciano
Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
, Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
, Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
, Johnny "The Fox" Torrio
Johnny Torrio
John "Papa Johnny" Torrio , also known as "The Fox", was an Italian-American mobster who helped build the criminal empire known as the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s that was later inherited by his protege, Al Capone...
, Frank Costello
Frank Costello
Frank Costello was an Italian New York City gangster who rose to the top of America's underworld, controlled a vast gambling empire across the United States and enjoyed political influence.Nicknamed the "Prime Minister of the Underworld", he became one of the most powerful and influential Mafia...
, Joe Adonis
Joe Adonis
Joe Adonis , also known as "Joey A", "Joe Adone", "Joe Arosa", "James Arosa", and "Joe DiMeo", was a New York mobster who was an important participant in the formation of the modern Cosa Nostra crime families.-Early years:Adonis was born Giuseppe Antonio Doto in the small town of Montemarano,...
, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket...
, Abner "Longy" Zwillman
Abner Zwillman
Abner "Longie" Zwillman , known as the "Al Capone of New Jersey," was an early Prohibition gangster, founding member of the "Big Seven" Ruling Commission and a member of the National Crime Syndicate, who was also associated with Murder Incorporated.-Biography:According to the Social Security Death...
, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, Vince Mangano, gambler Frank Erickson
Frank Erickson
Frank Erickson was born in New York in to parents of Swedish and Irish descent. After the death of his father, he grew up in an orphanage....
, Frank Scalice
Frank Scalice
Francesco "Frank" Scalice also known as Don Cheech and Wacky, was an Italian-American mobster active in New York City, who led the future Gambino crime family from 1930 to 1931, and was underboss from 1951 to 1957.-Boss:Scalice was born in Palermo, Sicily in 1893, and later emigrated to the US,...
and Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
. Others describe the Atlantic City meeting as a coordination and strategy conference for bootleggers.
As revealed by the findings of U.S. Senate Special Committee
Kefauver hearings
The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was a special committee of the United States Senate which existed from 1950 to 1951 and which investigated organized crime which crossed state borders in the United States...
in the 1950s chaired by Estes Kefauver
Estes Kefauver
Carey Estes Kefauver July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S...
, it was described as a confederation of mainly Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
and Jewish organized crime groups throughout the U.S.
The supposed enforcement arm of the Syndicate was what the media dubbed Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
, a gang of Brooklyn thugs who carried out murders in the 1930s and 1940s for various crime bosses. It was headed by Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro and Anastasia, who reported to commission members Lepke and Adonis. It included many infamous mobsters such as Bugsy Siegel
Bugsy Siegel
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was an American gangster who was involved with the Genovese crime family...
.
In his 1991 biography of Meyer Lansky, Little Man, journalist Robert Lacey
Robert Lacey
Robert Lacey is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of bestselling biographies, including those of Henry Ford and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as works of popular history....
argues that no National Crime Syndicate ever existed. " The idea of a National Crime Syndicate is often confused with the mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. Yet they are not the same thing."
The demise of the organization is as uncertain as its origins. By the late 1940s, Murder Inc. and most of its non-Italian components were defunct. Some individuals, such as Meyer Lansky, continued to operate as affiliantes of Italian groups.
The National Crime Syndicate in popular culture
The National Crime Syndicate was the subject of numerous movies, mostly in the 1950s, some of which were inspired by the Kefauver hearings. Among them were The Phenix City StoryThe Phenix City Story
The Phenix City Story is a film noir directed by Phil Karlson and written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur. The drama features John McIntire, Richard Kiley, among others.-Plot:...
, which described the real-life takeover of a southern town by organized crime, and 711 Ocean Drive
711 Ocean Drive
711 Ocean Drive is an American crime film noir directed by Joseph M. Newman. The drama features Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru and Otto Kruger.-Plot:...
, which focused on the nationwide gambling syndicate.
The National Crime Syndicate features heavily in Thomas Steadman's book "The Flames of the West".
A variation on the National Crime Syndicate (simply called 'The Syndicate') is the main antagonist in most of the later seasons of Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
.
See also
- Albert AnastasiaAlbert AnastasiaAlbert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
- American MafiaAmerican MafiaThe American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
- Chicago OutfitChicago OutfitThe Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
- The Commission (mafia)The Commission (mafia)The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia. Formed in 1931, the Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title, with a ruling committee, consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the boss of the Chicago Outfit...
- FBI
- Five FamiliesFive FamiliesThe Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
- Lucky LucianoLucky LucianoCharlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
- MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
- Meyer LanskyMeyer LanskyMeyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
- Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
- Organized CrimeOrganized crimeOrganized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
- American gangsters during the 1920sAmerican gangsters during the 1920sThe terms "gangster" and "mobster" are mostly used in the United States to refer to members of criminal organizations who became prominent and are largely associated with Prohibition era in the 1920s.-Origins:...