Coming to America
Meyer Lansky was born Maier Suchowljansky in Grodno, Poland in 1902. His parents, Max and Yetta, named him after an historic rabbi. To embark on a better life Max traveled to New York in 1909 and took the name Lansky on Ellis Island.
Brooklyn and the Lower East Side
In 1911 Yetta boarded the U.S.S. Kursk for America with Meyer and his younger brother Jack. Upon arrival Max settled his family in Brownsville, Brooklyn, where Meyer and Jack enrolled in elementary school and quickly learned English. Max and Yetta had Rose, Lena, and Esther in America, but Rose died at 15, and Lena, as an infant.
To make ends meet Max moved his family to the Lower East Side where he worked in the garment industry. Meyer joined the Seward Park Library where he read about history, philosophy, and popular mechanics.
Meyer Lansky’s Family
Meyer married Anna Citron in 1929. They had three children, Bernard “Buddy”, born in 1930, a second son, Paul, born in 1932, and a daughter, Sandra, born in 1937. Meyer and Anna divorced in 1947.
Paul Lansky graduated from West Point in 1954, became a USAF Captain, and would serve his country as a pilot in Vietnam.
Meyer married Thelma Schwartz in 1948. They had no children, and hence, no grandchildren, despite published claims to the contrary. They were married until Meyer passed in 1983.
In 1970 Meyer found true love with his mistress, Zali de Toledo. The relationship would last 12 years.
