Career of Evil Trivia Quiz

Answer: Poland

Meyer Lansky was born Meier Suchowlański in Grodno, Russia (it was part of Poland from 1919 to 1939). His family left Russia after the violent pogroms against the Jews in the early 20th century. His father had already left for the USA in 1909 and Meyer Lansky followed suit in 1911. He came along with his mother and his brother Jacob and they all settled down in Manhattan.

Answer: Benny "Bugsy" Siegel

Benny "Bugsy" Siegel was a Brooklyn kid that Meyer Lansky took a liking to. One day on the Lower East Side, Lansky came across a street craps game that was being run by Siegel. The cops showed up and Siegel had a gun. Lansky convinced Siegel to drop the gun and they escaped, but Siegel was upset that he had lost the piece. Nevertheless, the two took a liking to one another and would hang out.

This was the beginning of a life-long friendship. They realized that they both had a penchant for breaking the law and began the Bugs and Meyer Mob.

Answer: Bootlegging

With the passing of Prohibition on January 16, 1920, the Bugs and Meyer Mob turned to bootlegging. It was their mentor, Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein, who realized that bootlegging could be a big business and he was the first gangster who actually put the "organized" into "organized crime". Rothstein recruited Meyer Lansky and Benny Siegel, who were working at the time for Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, one of the heads of the "Five Families" of New York City crime.

Answer: Murder, Inc.

Murder, Inc. was essentially a hitman for hire. A well-connected person could order someone's demise for the right price. It was based out of New York City but had connections elsewhere in the United States. The group was started when the Bugs and Meyer Mob was disbanded in order to try and nationalize organized crime.

They needed an enforcement arm and Lansky was able to provide the model. It was originally run by Albert "The Lord High Executioner" Anastasia and Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, but Lansky stayed connected to the group.

Answer: His honeymoon

Meyer Lansky married Anna Citron in 1929 and the two went on their honeymoon to Atlantic City. This was deliberately meant to coincide with a meeting of Mob bosses from around the country. Lansky and his good friend Charles "Lucky" Luciano had a dream to nationalize organize crime and make it even more profitable, and they got Johnny Torrio and Frank Costello to help organize the attendees. At the conference were representatives from the Italian, Irish, and Jewish Mobs. The details about the conference are murky, but, this marked the start of the National Crime Syndicate.

Needless to say, this marriage, though it produced three children, was doomed from the start. Meyer and Anna divorced in 1946.

Answer: Mob's Accountant

Meyer Lansky became known as "Mob's Accountant" for his role administering the finances of the newly-formed National Crime Syndicate. He was able to show, meticulously, how the different organized crime syndicates could turn an even bigger profit if they pooled their resources and cut down on competition between themselves.

He would also sic Murder Inc. on the poor souls who were unable to pay their dues. However, Lansky was also known as a man of his word and his "handshake was worth more than any contract" - a good reputation to have when dealing with the Mob's money.

Answer: Las Vegas, NV, USA

In the mid-1930s, Meyer Lansky was involved in gambling operations all over the USA as well as in Cuba. In Cuba, Lansky helped support Fulgencio Batista, the dictator, by paying him off with bribes to look the other way at Lansky's operations. Back in the States, Bugsy Siegel had an idea - to transform Las Vegas into a gambling mecca. Siegel had a stake in the Flamingo hotel and wanted to use it to lure people to spend money. Lansky supported this.

However, when the Flamingo began to suck up obscene amounts of money, Siegel became the object of scrutiny for the national Mob bosses. Lansky defended his friend until he could no more, and he, himself, eventually called for Siegel's execution. Ultimately, Lansky's investments in Vegas gambling eventually paid out for him and became a steady source of income he could rely on.

Answer: False

While Meyer Lansky was a significant Mob boss who held considerable sway in the world of organized crime, he was not an imposing figure physically. Even as a child he was smaller than his peers and often got picked on because of this. However, he was ruthless and calculated, and often came out on top against odds that were stacked against him.

As an adult, Lansky measured up (by most accounts) as 5'4" (1.62m) and weighed 135 lbs (61kg). As a result of this, and due to his age, he was rejected for military service during World War II, even though he did try and enlist into the US Army.

Answer: He provided protection for the Navy docks

Meyer Lansky was Jewish. When he got word of the Nazi atrocities that were happening in Eastern Europe, his first instinct was to try and enlist. However, he was rejected because he was 40 years old and he was small in height and weight. However, the US Navy was concerned that the Nazis would attempt sabotage at their docks and turned to Lansky to provide security.

His people patrolled the harbours for submarine-landed infiltrators and secured the area for the duration of the war. For his efforts, Lansky was able to negotiate a deal that would gain his friend and associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano a 'get out of jail free' card.

Answer: Israel

Meyer Lansky had significant holdings in Cuba and was a supporter of dictator Fulgencio Batista, but this all came crashing down in 1959 when Fidel Castro led the revolution and seized or closed all of the Mob-held casinos that were operating in Cuba. Lansky returned to the United States and continued to run gambling operations there.

However, in 1970, Lansky fled to Israel because he was worried that he would face tax evasion charges. He sought asylum under the Israeli 'Law of Return' that grants all Jews citizenships.

However, the government rejected his petition because of his past and sent him back to the USA. He did face those charges but was acquitted in 1974. He lived out the rest of his years in Miami Beach and passed away from lung cancer in 1983 at the age of 80.