--- title: "This famous son of a mobster was also a West Point grad" description: "Meyer Lansky was active in the criminal underworld since the days before Prohibition. Becoming the highest-ranking non-Italian in the Mafia." date: "2020-04-29" modified: "2022-12-06" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/mobsters-son-attended-west-point/" categories: - "History" --- # This famous son of a mobster was also a West Point grad ![]() Meyer Lansky was the mind behind the mob. Active in the criminal underworld since the days before Prohibition, Lansky – the "Mob's Accountant" – was able to figure out how to make mafia earnings and turn them into legitimate businesses. It was because of his acumen that the mob was able to form a kind of national crime syndicate with the likes of Lucky Luciano and [Bugsy Siegel](). He would become the highest-ranking non-Italian in the Mafia. His kids were going to do something very different. To the Sicilians, being in the mafia was an honorable occupation. According to the onetime head of the Bonnano crime family, Joe Bonnano, one of the terms that designated a mafioso was loosely translated as "Man of Honor." For Jewish men like Meyer Lanksy, however, it wasn't so honorable. In fact, Lanksy found the business shameful, despite spending his life building it. Still, he wanted a different life for his children. One of his children, Paul, would actually attend the U.S. Military Academy at [West Point]() – on his own merit. ![meyer lansky son and family]() *Meyer Lansky with his family: Sons (from left) Paul and Buddy, who had cerebral palsy, daughter Sandra, and first wife Ana.* "The Lansky boy has justified the confidence which was placed in him," wrote Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver upon appointing Paul Lanksy to West Point. It was a far cry from the life his father lived, having created Las Vegas with his friends, other legendary members of America's most notorious organized crime families. The younger Lansky would graduate from the Academy in 1954 and join the Air Force. Lansky was in the Air Force until 1963, ultimately resigning his commission while at the rank of Captain so he could take a civilian engineering job in Tacoma, Wash. He stayed far from his famous father's profession, going so far as to pretend that he and the elder Lansky had some sort of falling out and didn't speak. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()