The Mystery of Meyer Lansky (Mafia's Greatest Hits)

The story of Meyer Lansky, an associate of Lucky Luciano who was linked to criminal financial operations, but the FBI struggled to pin anything on him - or find his riches.

[@joninpgh]

I have the Lansky biography "Little Man". One fascinating part is about the fact that he knew that an honest casino with good food would make more money than a crooked one because people would keep coming back.

[@James-n2t4w]

LITTLE MAN, 1991, is a good, solid biography. It takes some criticism because the author, Robert Lacey, has written several biographies about royals, presidents, CEO's. It's a much better biography than MEYER LANSKY: MOGUL OF THE MOB. 1979, by Eisenberg, Landau & Dan - which is mostly fiction (and I believe it was inspired by the fake [but very lucrative] _autobiography_ of Lucky Luciano, titled "THE LAST TEMPTATION OF LUCKY LUCIANO. I own a copy but I'd never recommend anyone to buy a copy. It's been totally debunked as fake since just months after it was first published. WE ONLY KILL EACH OTHER: THE LIFE AND BAD TIMES OF BUGSY SIEGEL, 1967 [?] Dean Jennings is a really fantastic true crime, non-fiction book. It's only about 250 pages, I read every word in about 6 hours, then immediately started reading it from the very beginning, again.

[@007JNR]

Crazy how we celebrate certain criminals in todays culture yet condemn everyday criminals who kill and sell illicit narcotics etc.

[@KeWhite-u2j]

Same way you celebrate the military and your country

[@stuartjohnson5686]

@@KeWhite-u2j "People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf" -- Richard Grenier, Washington Times 1993 (he attributed the concept to George Orwell but did not claim it was a direct quote) “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” ― G.K. Chesterton

[@Ira88881]

This was fantastic. Really summed up the guy’s life. As a kid in Brooklyn (I’m 67 now), my Italian buddies…and I had a lot of them…would give a wink-wink and kind of brag about how tough the Italian mafia was. As a Jew, I would always bring up Lansky being the SMART one. (As it turns out, many early Jewish gangsters WERE brutal, including Murder Incorporated, who La Cosa Nostra often hired to do hits.) Little did I know about the final chapter in Lansky’s life, the myth being much bigger than the reality, until I watched this just now!

[@pedenmk]

They the government couldn't leave him alone. Great presentation thanks for sharing.

[@Thousandpointsoflight]

He's not Italian He's...😮

[@Thousandpointsoflight]

38:45 don't they always

[@rudyqualls75]

Meyer's step-son (Gussaroff) told me stories of growing up in NY and how Uncle Meyer had his knuckles hammered as a lesson for taking too much off the top of his daily runs. An effective lesson from the appearance of his hands.

[@James-n2t4w]

Yeah. He had his knuckles smashed to grit and dust with a hammer BUT, decades later, he could still use his hands, rather than them swinging by his sides, at the end of his arms like joints of meat, with the pulverised bits of his hammered bones looking like the arthritic talons of a giant albatross, poking from the slabs of meat that were left of his hands. I recall that Lansky lacked the power to save his wives son from being killed over a relatively minor unpaid debt. The idea that old man Meyer, in Miami around 1981, secretly had a $300M criminal fortune hidden away was obviously a media fiction.

[@philipjubileo.omonoji8151]

I love how you did the documentary. I didn’t see you pressing a viewpoint, just stated the facts and really gave a well balanced view (leaving the viewers to make whatever conclusions they deem fit). We don’t see stuffs like this enough lately hence I soundly commend you. Nice work! Splendid!!

[@SHOOTDASHIT1]

same recycled sht

[@john-draftanimal]

That was fantastic. Thank you for rehabing this old show

[@karengarrison3666]

Enjoyed it, worth the watch!

[@GeorgiaJones-g4e]

Enjoyed. GJ

[@bms9144]

KZbin sucks. I can watch this on television without every fake violence scene being pixelated. Or over on Rumble. Not everyone is 5 years old. Off to a platform where I can see the documentary.

[@joshkeeling1382]

What a great documentary!

[@transitbreeze]

They ripped it off someone else’s channel.

[@Артём-б3ъ1ц]

😮😮😮

[@joshkeeling1382]

@@transitbreeze oh, well whoever made it, it was brilliant

[@transitbreeze]

@@joshkeeling1382 it’s stolen from biography channel.

[@normankato]

@@transitbreeze mafias greatest hits is on numerous channels not only one

[@judithcampbell1705]

Meyer retired in Miami Beach Florida. I know this for a fact. He used to bring my mother gifts at Christmas and other holidays. He was a gentleman. Everyone respected him. 💯. Thank you 💛 for this excellent documentary about him. He was really close friends with Lucky Luciano.

[@asullivan4047]

The kindly gentleman was just a front to fool people He was a diabolically evil criminal street thug😈. Clawing his way up the syndicate crime ladder. At everyone else's expense-!!! Also nonchalantly involved with the narcotics trade ( heroin ). Murder incorporated & other criminal syndicate activities. A genuine master mind @ book keeping & defrauding the government out of tax money.

[@sinatra222]

He wasn't a gentleman. He was a murderer and a thief.

[@laserprop]

@@sinatra222 EXACTLY!!!

[@Ira88881]

@@sinatra222 How was he a thief?

[@brian3174]

@@Ira88881 that's someone who skims casinos and run with own gang as kid AND STOLE AND EXTORTED FROM SHOPS PUBS ROLL DRUNKS TAKE VALUABLES AND RUN LOL HOW WAS HE A THIEF A GANGSTER CAN I ASK AGE WHERE YOU FROM

[@waterkaren3636]

why censor the black white gun scenes? KZbin censorship sux

[@luke-e2e6y]

DAMN GOOD QUESTION.DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO DO THAT

[@robwray7842]

One must agree!🤔 WHY WHY WHY??🧐🧐

[@pauldefazio3480]

All the censorship is not the video makers. Fault fault, everyone is shell, shocked and scared of KZbin and there b. S censorship. KZbin is the problem here

[@sheilamacdougal4874]

It's an election year. Silicon Valley closes rank. Next year they'll apologise.

[@yannick245]

KZbin or Reddit even censor the dick of Adam by Michelangelo's fresco at the Sistine Chapel, at the Vatican. Americans are more prudish than the Catholic Church. They also censor female nipples on TV. But not men's! It's the same with cursing. They "beep" over words

[@andrewandres148]

@@sheilamacdougal4874 Oh the Silicon Valley Shakers... They are huddled around any comment of progressive liberal disenchantment... Ready to pounce on any and all who do not comply with The Beast.....

[@stephenedgecock]

No mention of Arnold Rothstein? He taught Lansky and Luciano everything they knew.

[@willberb1106]

He mentions it in the Costello episode. Maybe he just doesn't want to be repetitive.

[@frankmilitary4121]

You are not allowed to mention that Jews controlled the American mafia.

[@TerrellPayne-my1jm]

Jew thugs 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@deniseb-h8u]

This series is SO good! Thank you

[@evefromstrangeohio]

Clearly the ppl who put this documentary did not really do your homework. Meyer Lansky was a class act.

[@stuartjohnson5686]

He was a criminal. No class.

[@GeeBree]

They really had an agenda with this documentary. I am buying it!!

[@benitodee3274]

Finally! Been waiting for this one!

[@KageNoTora74]

Prohibition was a ban on the production and distribution of alcohol, not possession or consumption.

[@asensibleyoungman2978]

Same thing really. Without one you can't have the other.

[@javoncrosstv]

@@asensibleyoungman2978 exactly !

[@Daniel-Cruz]

​@asensibleyoungman2978 yes it is. If you had it before the Volstead Act, had a prescription, or a certain pass from the government, you could possess or consume it.

[@lawrencehansen8731]

Not really. depended on who you paid off

[@dennisbedard9850]

@@lawrencehansen8731 Good point. The more things change, the more they remain the same

[@P-G-77]

Grandi video, complimenti, grandi storie veramente ben descritte. Certo dire che il gioco d'azzardo, che veniva gestito, da lui, era sempre "pulito" mi pare una esagerazione, non trasformava l'acqua in whiskey, neanche lui. Di certo non ne modifica la personalità.

[@chrisfusco1108]

There needs to be a movie about Lansky and Lucky.

[@That90sShow]

Gotta protect the image of joos

[@charlessmith7867]

Boardwalk Empire...try watching that if u haven't already

[@giveme_10]

There is a couple of films about them or including them..sadly the biography ones of Lansky aren't that good. A real good one is Bugsy, which focuses more on Ben Siegel, but Lansky and Luciano play a big role in his life story. Also, Mobsters (1991) shows their rise to power. And then there are two Lansky movies, one w Richard Dreyfus and one with Harvey Keitel. Sadly, they both aren't great. Luciano has an Italian film made about him from 73.

[@codyelliott5821]

What a sweetheart of a man ! Product of his environment! Came from the streets fought his way out !

[@bigmike2464]

Meyer would not order the killing of his freind, but, I do not think he would have stopped it, since Bugsy had messed up many times and Meyer had saved him MANY times

[@lainefrajberg955]

Given that the real mob bosses,who had provided Siegal with the capital to build the Flamingo,wanted him dead,there was no way Lansky could have saved him.

[@leslievega8035]

i had no idea lansky lived until 1983.

[@Kenny-g4r]

He was under indictment at times, brought in for questioning. Pretty sure he was NOT @Appalacian. The man covered himself very well. Big difference between Greed and Ambition.

[@zackali1997]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@KCCardCo]

Meyer Lansky threatened to kill Huntington Harford if Hartford didn't sell Lansky his resort. Lansky wanted Hartford's resort on Paradise Island and Hartford was forced to sell at a huge loss.

[@normankato]

Colin Tierney makes these docs so much better to watch

[@charlesgithiri0017]

Couldn't agree more , you're right.

[@JM-lo9xk]

He was a good/bad guy. ❤ RIP Meyer Lansky

[@Calvin-ks9cr]

Think it's obvious he was rich and had some influence for a certain period of time but lost it all in Cuba and the passing of time. After that he was respected but had no influence.

[@lainefrajberg955]

All the evidence indicates that you are right. A pity the US government still believed he was Mr.Big in the mob-something he never was.

[@robertwilliams533]

Wonderful documentary and balanced. Well done.....🙂

[@RichWeigel]

I will use the line from usual suspects to describe Lansky: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist." Whether Meyer had millions when he died or not I think he was smart enough to keep his mob connections well hidden but just enough on the surface that every once in awhile the government would go fishing. This is why he was always smiling....

[@Channelscruf]

Why are we blocking out scenes in 1930s movies that would get a ‘G’rating today? Asking for a friend.

[@jaywp2343]

Copyright laws...

[@zelkoculibrk8863]

Good documentary, 👍

[@Quantum_Humanics]

I didn't expect his voice to be so deep

[@lindawoods7610]

Really good!! Thanks so much 😊

[@SeanONeill-mw4jc]

Jeez... Lansky never got a break even in old age

[@lawrencehansen8731]

He lived

[@peterreston6478]

A truly excellent documentary excellently narrated by Dr. Hannibal Lector. It's nice to hear the truth once in a while. I can't imagine Sir Anthony lending his voice to anything less than less than something excellent. Is it really possible that Jack and Bobby didn't know where the family money came from?

[@maureenobrien4807]

No.

[@lecoqjeannot3358]

Great docu, but WTF is all this blurring ...

[@mrearlygold]

ROUTH needs to be kept off the streets for many years

[@alexcarter8807]

If ROUTH had any real military experience he'd know the well-known and beloved "police call" in which you go out and pick up every bit of trash, not just cigarette butts but pieces of cigarette butts. So any Secret Service agent is probably going to have this experience or be influenced/trained by those that do. He didn't hide his damn gun barrel! And that's a lot bigger than a cigarette butt. Bet he didn't even read any of Harry McBride's books on sniping in WWI. If you're going to be a sniper you can't half-ass it.

[@JohnSmith-nn1yk]

Imagine living in a world where truth is sacrificed incase someone's feelings might be hurt.

[@grouchygrundle]

Smartest gangster of all time. Got italians to do his dirty work. Governememt wouldnt even look his way for the longest time.

[@planetclay]

yeah who needed old Meyer waving those kinky pics of J Edgar around? that's one Jewish tradition which remains strong today.....looking at Diddy's and Epstein's operations.

[@victorblock3421]

They got together when they could benefit from each other. Just business.

[@Bobbysixgun]

Great video

[@leroyraatz5650]

stop blurring it out, are we children?

[@Thepotatothatchokedamber]

Friggin KZbin thinks we all are. I pay for this shit and they still censor it.

[@fenian123]

@@Thepotatothatchokedamber That was the result of a TV broadcast, not YT

[@the_real_bin_chicken]

@@fenian123 the broadcast wasn't blurred. it was blurred by the uploader of this video because youtube would have an issue with it. Then this channel would be in deep crap because you tube would quickly realise that this channel is basically all pirated content and would be in even worse trouble.

[@treyH239]

You probably are

[@picnic66]

It's irrelevant. YT are children, and its they who ultimately have the last say in whether we see this video or not.

[@rodneyricketts177]

Much Love

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Back then, people called you Bugsy because you had bugs in your head. Simply put, you are crazy.

[@johnsradios484]

Well he stayed out of jail or avoided get shot he’s whole life. That’s a really good thing for a mobster.

[@patmcstuff671]

They always glamorize these crims, they end up in jail, dead, or broke or hanging on

[@josephkennedy8281]

Newsflash….everyone ends up dead

[@countbooga6997]

Meyer ended up rich living to old age, what are you on about?

[@dannywoody5497]

What a great documentary

[@Andy-ty6gv]

He the accounting of the New York 5 crime family

[@willberb1106]

I really like this series but I think the music could be like half the volume like really cut down in volume.

[@James-n2t4w]

Lansky had probably one of the five most valuable collections of Hummel figurines in North America.

[@jerlewis4291]

My dad grew up with Meyer Lansky, he dated his sister for a few years. She wanted to marry him but he was going in the Navy and didn't think it would work. My dad became friends with all the guys who wound up as Murder Incorporated, which Ben Siegel also a member. Times came and went my dad stayed in touch with all those guys. So one day about 6 months before Siegel died my dad was sent out with a warning to pay attention and stop trying to be a star. The construction costs of the Flamingo were going up, lots of stuff was stolen. He said that some people think you are stealing from them too. Plus he was in the papers too much. He said, yeah that's what Meyer was hinting at last month. He said he had to get on the ball, but he didn't. They went out to dinner that night. My dad stayed a week for free and that was that.

[@jerlewis4291]

My grandparents lived right next to Lanky family My dad and Meyer grew up together. They were friends for life. Meyer's sister began to date my dad. Meyer offered to pay, but my dad thought we were going to be in a war, he was in the Navy reserve. After the war Meyer and him stayed in touch and would go out for lunch. My dad went to his funeral and said Kaddish for him.

[@samuelmaina3805]

Crazy amount of censorship

[@grantmitchell3817]

Why are you blurring out RECREATIONS.

[@Knight_of_NI]

REALLY?!? Blurring out movie clips? KZbin rules are getting ridiculous 🤦🏻‍♂️🤯🤦🏻‍♂️

[@HilaryMutongwizo]

He was "pulling strings from the shadows " in a Billion dollar underworld empire and died without leaving a dime for his family and crippled son ?. What a sad end.

[@brianpress1392]

​@@frankmilitary4121 No Shtt, it's Always Best To Keep Your Mouth Shut about Any Money you have, Letting Anybody know You Have Money Isn't Smart, 👍🏻

[@blackdogfive]

thank you

[@drobson8004]

Whst exactly was being censored during Marenzanno's hit? Is this suggesting there's actual footage?

[@stallion66]

This is the business we have chosen! I DIDN’t ASK who gave the order….because it had nothing to do with business!

[@757millionaire]

📌 Meyer Lansky Bugsy Siegel Lucky Luciano

[@Redmenace96]

Why is there no footage of his testimony at Kefauver hearings? Does it exist?

[@richardstirling5799]

I've always liked Meyer - my favorite mobster

[@southie3177]

These are so dramatic 😂. Love it

[@leslievega8035]

I looove Lansky' character in Boardwalk Empire

[@OriginalRocketJock]

Oh my God! They're shooting all those blurred images!

[@marvelmthembuvee2593]

Why blurring some parts

[@fedup745]

Because he was a bloody mess?

[@sheilamacdougal4874]

Last chance: check if he knew Jack Ruby.

[@mnoliberal7335]

Bet Lansky didn't know Ruby well, with one from Chicago and the other New York. Ruby (Jacob Rubinstein) was a small time associate of organized crime figures and no mobster or murder-for-hire killer.

[@sheilamacdougal4874]

@@mnoliberal7335 Well the one thing we do know for certain is that he *was* a killer.

[@planetclay]

@@sheilamacdougal4874 and very Jewish.

[@That90sShow]

Jack Rubenstein

[@TinaJesse859]

Good documentary but completely ruined by all the over production of music and cheesy editing.

[@Redmenace96]

Read a biography on ML. Written by that British dude, I think. His finances were very murky. His whole life was cash money, no records. In my judgement he was a man who could GET money, but he didn't HAVE a lot of money. And of course he sunk every dollar into the Riviera in Havana- and lost it. FRom 1960 to 1983 his every movement and every communication was monitored by the FBI. What could he do? I think this doc is meant to dispel some of the myths surrounding all of organized crime. They don't have power because they are rich. They have power because people fear them. Who wants to get killed over a 10 thousand dollar building contract?

[@LarryDaiell66]

*judgment*

[@dogpaw775]

what's been presented here; M. Lansky was a decent man v'good doco', well presented. .

[@whizkid954]

Once everything crashed in Havana. The government was upset and the elites wanted the money they lost! Lansky was unfortunately used by the Government until he had nothing left to give. He did good if you ask me. Lived like a king for some time, avoided doing any hard time in prison and was able to keep his mouth shut 🤫. As a mobster Lansky was a solid representation of that.

[@tronmartin1]

Agreed. Castro seized Meyer's fortune and he never recovered from that.. He was very wise and very disciplined too. He never did hard time, like you mentioned, and he was never whacked. Usually, those are the only 2 options for a mobster. According to certain sources, he only had $35,000 dollars to his name when he died. I guess he also owned a small percentage of some casinos in Las Vegas but who knows.

[@melodymakermark]

Was Bugsy shot with an M1 carbine? I thought that’s what it looked like in the images here. Don’t know if anyone knows for sure.

[@phann860]

Certainly looked like an M1 carbine, at a range of a few yards the .30 would do the job. Probably not a detail that would be noted.

[@melodymakermark]

@phann860, gotcha. I just picked up a WW2 surplus M1, a Winchester no less, in fantastic condition for a military surplus. I think it’s been sitting in an armory in Africa for decades. Anyway, stoked to own it.

[@johndesalvo7738]

From what I have read, yes, it was a 30 caliber carbine.

[@virgil_kane]

" Our losses in Cuba were enormous . " Meyer Lansky quote

[@dewayne-b4p]

thank God they got Meyer Lansky out of Israel

[@marlenedonner4]

This was hard for me to listen to. My grandpa was killed by Meyer Lansky because he would not pay protection medicine. They knocked out my grandpa and drove a truck over his head. My dad was jewish.

[@marcgabriel5096]

Wait, for real??

[@andrewthomas3463]

Wow. I wouldn’t have listened to it if I were in your shoes, he was a nobody at the end of the day

[@victorblock3421]

An acquaintenance of mine, "J", her grandfather was involved with lansky's crew running whisky. They killed him.

[@marcofacen9564]

"The oldest of whom, Buddy, suffered from cerebral palsy, otherwhise life was good"... Honestly??? The same applies to me, so thank you for nothing... I bet the guy had all the funds necessary to provide good care for Buddy in all forms needed.

[@Damiansweldingshortz]

The untouchable

[@lisica8458]

Wasn't the Hyman Roth character (The Godfather Part II) based on Meyer Lansky?

[@Lemma01]

I always thought that. But comment below says Moe Green. Does anyone know?

[@lisica8458]

@@Lemma01 I've always heard that Moe Green was based on Bugsy Siegel.

[@tony-pv1ub]

Roth was based on Lansky and Moe Green on Siegel.

[@theballq]

I take it you never watched the whole video? It's mentioned

[@GrannyHatesEdithe]

These people are finally bold enough to speak on Meyer

[@asullivan4047]

Bold about what-???🤔

[@curlybill3966]

@@asullivan4047Being a criminal Jew.

[@Billsalmon95]

They missed out the part where Anthony cigars and him did bits of work

[@pauldmckee]

STOP BLURRING IMAGES. MAKES YOUR PRESENTATION WORTHLESS.

[@pauldmckee]

@@NeilAnderson-nr7zc no excuse

[@WhitestRob]

Chill, KZbin is the one blurring it, not the doc maker.

[@pauldmckee]

@@WhitestRob mind yours

[@ddbrotherscontractors]

I'm not suggesting Meyer to be the Devil. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist.

[@mattsweeny3957]

"Michael...would you like a tuna sandwich??"

[@williamneumyer7147]

interesting documentary, but I have to point out, against what's said at 6:00, that the Eighteenth Amendment bans "the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation from the United States" of alcoholic beverages, NOT the consumption of alcohol.

[@brianpress1392]

Meyer Lansky, Was Very Smart for That Time, These 2 Guy's Know Nothing about Meyer Lansky 👍🏻

[@clivecartey]

"...as American troops poured ashore..." - anybody else !!??

[@annikkianttila]

Why all the censorship , even onstuff that are just movies?

[@doloresbyrne5847]

Here here

[@Moorsho]

This country used to be a great country until they arrived from the East absolutely destroyed it.

[@Joe-ym6bw]

They should've left him alone

[@AustrianPainter14]

Somehow Hollywood won’t touch this one. I wonder why?

[@planetclay]

too fascinated with the possibility of remaking Fiddler On The Roof.

[@richardloostburg2637]

They made movie about him. Do some research idiot

[@Juggmoneyjones]

They couldn’t catch him so they try to be little his legacy … his wife does not look like she is hurting for money

[@s.s.6916]

Either show the scene or don’t

[@karenwallace7865]

ALEXANDERDORE, I BELIEVE YOU. YOU'RE NOT LYING. 😎

[@Caffo26]

4.50 the guy looks like RFK junior

[@DominieRobinson]

It appears Lansky was a fantastic Strategist !

[@karika4633]

Voilà la raison de l’embargo de cuba🤷‍♀️

[@Dakota-d4n]

My dad uncle was in mob in 30s and 40s into 70s

[@alexpocovnicu1843]

Nice intro, anyone knows what it's called?

[@cappy2282]

Meyer was good dude 😎