The barber shop where Albert Anastasia was shot dead

This is the location where mafia crime boss Albert Anastasia was shot dead.

It is situated on 7th Avenue in Manhattan, just south of Central Park.

At the time of the shooting, it was the barber shop of the Park Sheraton Hotel. However, these days, it is a Starbucks outlet.

Anastasia's rise to the top

Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia was one of the most fearsome figures in mob history.

At one point, he was the boss of an organized criminal gang called Murder, Inc., which is believed to have orchestrated as many as 1,000 contract killings between 1921 and 1941.

Following the demise of Murder, Inc., he became the underboss of the Mangano crime family, serving under Vincent Mangano.

However, on April 19th, 1951, Vincent Mangano suddenly disappeared.

On the same day, his brother, Philip, was found dead in a marshland area in Jamaica Bay. He had been shot twice in the face and once in the neck.

It is believed that Anastasia had the two brothers killed so that he could take control of the family.

This plan worked, as shortly after Mangano's disappearance, the Commission appointed him as the new boss. At that point, it became known as the "Anastasia family."

Frank Costello aided Anastasia's ascension

Anastasia's promotion to the top spot was backed by the boss of the Luciano family, Frank Costello, who viewed him as a much-needed ally.

At the time, Costello had concerns that an influential mobster named Vito Genovese was planning a coup against him.

Aware that a potential threat was looming, he reasoned that having an ally such as Albert Anastasia on the Commission might help to strengthen his position.

Costello was worried about Vito Genovese

Vito Genovese was the former acting boss of the Luciano family. However, he had vacated the role in 1937 after he fled to Italy to avoid a murder charge.

In 1946, the case against Genovese was dropped after two vital witnesses in the case were murdered.

After being released from custody, he immediately returned to the mob world.

Although the ambitious gangster attempted to regain his position as the acting boss of the family, Costello refused to move aside and relinquish his title.

Sensing that he needed to bide his time, Genovese reluctantly agreed to return to his original role as the capo of the Greenwich Village Crew in Manhattan.

By the mid-1950s, it seems as though he finally felt confident enough to make a move against Costello.

However, from his perspective, there was just one problem. For the coup to be successful, he would need to neutralize his boss's powerful ally, Albert Anastasia.

Vito starts conspiring with one of Anastasia's capos

Consequently, he started conspiring with Anastasia's capo, Carlo Gambino. In exchange for turning against his own boss, Gambino would be allowed to step up and replace him.

Essentially, the two men conspired to take over their respective crime families. Genovese would replace Frank Costello as the boss of the Luciano family, and Carlo Gambino would become the new leader of the Anastasia family.

Costello steps down

On May 2nd, 1957, Frank Costello narrowly survived an attempt on his life. Spooked by his close call with death, he finally agreed to retire and hand the reins over to Genovese.

However, a few months after Genovese took charge, he heard reports that Costello had been secretly making plans with Anastasia to regain power.

At that point, he realized that he needed to get rid of Anastasia.

The murder of Albert Anastasia

On the morning of October 25th, 1957, Anastasia entered the barber shop of the Park Sheraton Hotel and sat down in a chair. Shortly afterwards, gunmen with scarves wrapped around their faces entered the premises and opened fire on him, hitting him multiple times until he slumped to the floor.

Although no one was charged for the murder, it is believed that an up-and-coming mobster called Joe Gallo was one of the shooters, and that he was aided by members of the Gambino crew.

From that point on, the Luciano family became known as the Genovese family, and the Anastasia family was renamed as the Gambino family.

Vito Genovese's reign as the new boss did not last long, however, as he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for narcotics trafficking in 1959.

Carlo Gambino, on the other hand, had a long spell at the top, remaining in charge until he died from a heart attack in 1976. Shortly before his death, he appointed Paul Castellano as his successor.

Further information is available in the "Photos" section below.

Photos

Photos of the shop and other related images.

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