Latin Times Magazine Vol 15 #1 | Page 20

Exclusive Interview with Sandra Lansky By: Victor A. Padilla I had the pleasure of meeting Sandra Lansky last year through a couple of mutual friends over a year ago. We have become friends and what I have learned about Sandra is that she is a very sweet and wonderfully well-spoken lady. In this exclusive interview Sandra Lansky shares her true life experiences about her life and her father Meyer Lansky. Many have portrayed Meyer Lansky as a notorious Mafia Crime syndicate boss but in this exclusive interview we will see him through a different light. - Victor: Tell us about yourself and your family? Sandra: I was born in Boston the youngest of three children spoiled rotten and we moved to New York when I was three years old. My Father Meyer Lansky was born in Grodno, Russia, my mom was born in New York but her father and mother were from Romania, my mom used to say no one would have kidnapped me they would give me right back because I was so spoiled. Victor: What was it like growing up being the only Daughter of Meyer Lansky? Sandra: It was wonderful, being the baby in the house with two older brothers He would spoil me. We went to the theaters and movies a lot, he would take me everywhere with him and I met everybody and everybody was an uncle. Victor- Tell us about your fondest memories with your father? Sandra: Just being with him, we didn’t have to talk, we could be together for hours and not say too many words. It was the looks that he would give, you could tell his frame of mind by the way he looked, his eyes would give him away. It was a true daughter and father love relationship. The only problem he had with me is that I wore my heart on my sleeve and I wasn’t stoic and I spoke my mind, he thought I would outgrow it but I never did. After I got Divorced from my first Marriage, I went through my wild years, through it all we were very close. Victor: Tell us Husband Vince 20 about your Lombardo? Latin Times Magazine Sandra: My father absolutely loved Vinny, we had a love affair. Vinny was with the Carlo Gambino Family, you normally don’t just walk away but, my Father told Vinny to marry my daughter you have to get out. So my father got him out even though Vinny still had family that were still in. I met and knew everyone from the other side not only my dad’s side, I knew the really good fellas, Jimmy Burps, Sony Francoise, Frank Costello who I gave his wife Bobby one of my poodle puppies and we became good friends, we had our ups and downs with jobs because people would tell Vinny, “Your Meyer Lansky’s son-in-law you don’t need a job?” Vinny and I were truly in love. Victor: Your father knew some of the celebrities in show business tell us about those experiences? Sandra: We had a lot of dinners at Dinty Moore’s and all the show people were there, Frank Costello was there, Willie Moretti who was killed the night after I had dinner with him. Frank Sinatra came over to our table to say hi and he tripped on the champagne bucket and spilled the ice all over me, I was freezing and he was so afraid of what my Father would do. I had an affair with Dean M