Publicly, Lansky ridiculed such notions. He was a small, thin, bowlegged, mild-mannered, grandfatherly man who looked like anyone else his age, playing out life’s closing years in Miami Beach.

Of, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Of that John Williams score. Of swimmin’ with bowlegged women. Of the Kintner boy’s yellow lilo. Of the mayor’s anchor-patterned suit.