Atlantic City Conference
He and his closest underworld friends concluded that the resort town of Atlantic City, New Jersey, would be an ideal place to have both a honeymoon and also a conference, allowing Lansky and the rest of the bosses to mix pleasure and business.
The date and place was set for the weekend of May 13–16, making the conference the first known underworld summit of its kind, which could be considered the first concrete move towards establishing the National Crime Syndicate that eventually controlled all major criminal activities across the United States.
The Atlantic City Conference was said to be hosted by Meyer Lansky, Italian-American mobster Johnny Torrio, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and Frank Costello.
The organizing host of the conference was Atlantic City and South Jersey crime boss, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, who provided the hotel accommodations, food and entertainment for all, while making a guarantee of no police interference.
The largest delegation in the conference came from the New York/New Jersey area and included mobsters Johnny "The Fox" Torrio, formerly of Chicago, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, Giuseppe "Joe Adonis" Doto and Vito Genovese, all top members of Manhattan's powerful Masseria Family, Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia, Frank "Cheech" Scalise and Vincent Mangano, from the D'Aquila/Mineo Family of Manhattan, Gaetano "Tommy Brown" Lucchese, represented the Reina Family out of the Bronx, Guarino "Willie Moore" Moretti, represented the Masseria Family's Newark, New Jersey, interests, Meyer "The Brain" Lansky and Benny "Bugsy" Siegel, bosses of the Bugs and Meyer Mob, who protected liquor shipments in the New York/New Jersey areas, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro, considered the underworld's "Rockefellers" and also known as the "Gorilla Boys", Abner "Longy" Zwillman, also representing Newark, New Jersey, Dutch Schultz, Bronx beer baron and Harlem numbers king, Owen "Owney the Killer" Madden, boss of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen and the Irish Combine, Frank Erickson, former Rothstein Lt., Costello associate and future bookmaking kingpin.
Boston's most prominent bootlegger, Charles "King" Solomon was present, while Kansas City's "Balestrere Gang" and the "Pendergast Machine" were represented by boss John Lazia.
Delegations from Florida and Louisiana were also present at the time, which would most likely be, Luciano and Costello allies, Santo Trafficante, Sr. of Tampa and Sylvestro "Silver Dollar Sam" Carolla of New Orleans.
At the time of the conference, future underworld power, Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno was Maranzano's top lieutenant and aide and was not invited to Atlantic City, though he would soon become one of the architects of the "National Crime Syndicate" and the La Cosa Nostra Commission.
Al Capone being himself screamed at Nucky Johnson for not making the proper arrangements and a loud argument ensued between the two gangsters while the others watched and hoped they would not come to blows.
Meyer Lansky, who was the new bridegroom and guest of honor, received the Presidential suite at the Ritz Hotel, with a constant supply of champagne for him and his wife Anna.
This made the Conference no great secret, with local newspapers carrying photos of Al Capone and some of the other prominent delegates as they cruised down the Jersey shore boardwalk and beaches, dipping their feet into the water.
[4] Important decisions were made to stop competing with each other during the remainder of Prohibition and cooperate in pooling their resources to maximize profits and develop a national monopoly in the illegal liquor business.
Al Capone was convinced after much debate to allow himself to be arrested on a minor charge and sent to prison for a short period of time, deflecting the media and law enforcement pressure for the good of the whole underworld.
After the conference was concluded, Chicago underworld boss Al Capone and his bodyguard Frank Rio went to Philadelphia where two friendly cops arrested and charged them with carrying a gun.
Before the end of the conference, emphasis was laid on the fact that all of the future plans and operations had to be appropriated and administered peacefully among the country's bosses and criminal organizations, avoiding the sort of violent conflicts that had plagued the underworld in the past.
The two major underworld powers were ready to square off in a war, which was seen as running counter to the organizational plans for the future the Atlantic City delegates had agreed upon.
This led Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Lansky to disband the Bugs & Meyer Mob group and found their Murder, Inc. organisation several years later, where they worked for Luciano as hitmen.
It was clear to the delegates at the Atlantic City Conference that Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was a leader who commanded great respect and would eventually become first among equals in the Syndicate.
The Irish still possessed an influential presence in America's criminal and political worlds and had a number of dominant crime leaders in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
The most prominent and well-known Irish bosses of the time included Frank Wallace of Boston, Daniel "Danny" Walsh of Providence, George "Bugs" Moran, the South Side O'Donnells (brothers Edward (Spike), Steven, Tommy and Walter), the West Side O'Donnells (Klondike and Myles), William "Big Bill" Dwyer, Charles "Vannie" Higgins, Jack "Legs" Diamond and Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll of New York.
