Meyer Lansky was an enigma. Few knew him. Many feared him. He was passionately loyal to his friends and ruthless towards his enemies. He was calm and calculating. He seemed above reproach. Lansky is based on the true story of a young Jewish immigrant from Poland, who grew up on the impoverished streets of the Lower East Side of New York at the turn of the 20th Century. Turning his back on poverty, Lansky (Richard Dreyfuss) embarked on a life of crime. He monopolised racketeering, bootlegging, gambling and organised crime with a keeness of mind and shrewdness never before seen.

Partnered with his childhood friend Ben "Bugsy" Siegel (Eric Roberts) and young Italian street thug Charlie "Lucky" Luciano (Anthony LaPaglia), Lansky earned notoriety that eventually made him the object of several FBI investigations and congressional hearings. Directed by John McNaughton, this HBO production is a fascinating tale of loyalty and deception, innocence and guilt, crime and murder.