Albert Anastasia was a prominent Cosa Nostra figure and a member of Murder Inc., the first nationwide murder for hire organization in the United States. During his imprisonment at Sing Sing in 1920-1921 Anastasia befriended Joseph Florino who became his chief lieutenant, as an enforcer on the Brooklyn docks. Both Florino and Anastasia remained fugitives during an extended New York City probe of organized crime. The two associates were wanted for at least five murders in the New York metropolitan area.