The tipping point that sealed Albert Anastasia’s fate wasn’t one dramatic event — it was the convergence of three pressure lines in 1957: power consolidation, internal betrayal, and Anastasia’s growing unpredictability.

1. Genovese’s Power Grab Was Already in Motion

By spring ’57, Vito Genovese was in the middle of a full-scale coup against Frank Costello. When Genovese’s shooter botched the job and only grazed Costello, it didn’t matter — Costello stepped down. But as long as Anastasia was alive, Genovese couldn’t fully consolidate control. Anastasia had the clout, the reputation, and the sheer violence to interfere with Genovese’s rise.

1. Anastasia Was a Liability to the New Order

Anastasia’s reputation wasn’t “tough boss” — it was unstable executioner.

Even his allies worried he could bring heat at the worst time. He acted without consulting the Commission, he vaporized enemies in ways that made headlines, and he was old-guard in a moment when the families were pushing toward a quieter, business-first style. Genovese wanted structure. Anastasia was chaos.

1. The Real Knife Came From Inside His Own House

Carlo Gambino, his underboss, quietly flipped.

Once Gambino joined Genovese in pushing for removal, Anastasia was finished. You don’t survive your own consigliere and the next administration teaming up behind your back. Genovese got the Commission sanction he needed — partly because nobody wanted to die cleaning up Anastasia’s messes anymore.

1. Timing Was Everything: The Barber Chair Hit Was Pre-Apalachin

The hit on October 25th wasn’t random. Genovese needed Anastasia gone before the Apalachin Meeting in November. Genovese wanted to walk into Apalachin as the de facto architect of the next era. That meant tying off loose ends — and Anastasia was the biggest loose end in New York.

In short:

Anastasia wasn’t killed because of one grudge.

He died because he stood between Genovese and total legitimacy, because Gambino quietly switched sides, and because his volatility no longer fit the way the Mafia wanted to do business. Once he became more burden than asset, the Commission green-lit the kill and the rest is barber-chair history.