Editing Albert Anastasia (section)

==Early Criminal Career and Rise to Power==
Anastasia’s criminal career began almost immediately. On March 17, 1921, at age 18, he was convicted of murdering longshoreman George Turino (also reported as Joseph Terella or George Turello) during a dispute over unloading rights. Witnesses described Anastasia’s brutal strength as he stabbed and strangled Turino in public. Sentenced to death, he was incarcerated at Sing Sing State Prison’s death row. However, a legal technicality led to a retrial in 1922, and by then, four key prosecution witnesses had vanished—likely due to intimidation or murder by Anastasia’s allies. The case collapsed, and Anastasia walked free, marking the first of many escapes from justice or protection.

In 1923, Anastasia was convicted of illegal firearm possession, serving two years in prison. By 1928, he faced another murder charge in Brooklyn, but witnesses either disappeared or refused to testify, cementing his reputation for silencing witnesses. During the late 1920s, Anastasia rose through the ranks of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), controlling six Brooklyn union chapters. This position gave him dominance over the Brooklyn waterfront, a lucrative hub for extortion, smuggling, and labor racketeering. He allied with Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria, a powerful Sicilian-born crime boss, and forged connections with future Mafia luminaries like [[Charles “Lucky” Luciano]], [[Vito Genovese]], [[Joe Adonis]], and [[Frank Costello]].

The Castellammarese War (1930–1931), a bloody conflict between Masseria and rival Salvatore Maranzano for control of New York’s underworld, was a turning point. Anastasia initially sided with Masseria but switched allegiances when Luciano, plotting to seize power, conspired with Maranzano. On April 15, 1931, Luciano lured Masseria to a Coney Island restaurant. As Luciano stepped away, Anastasia, Genovese, Adonis, and Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel stormed in, shooting Masseria dead. Anastasia reportedly delivered the coup de grâce, earning him a fearsome reputation. The murder ended the war, paving the way for Luciano’s vision of a structured American Mafia.