---
born: 1913-03-22
category: Organized Crime
died: 2002-06-03
location: Cleveland, Ohio
summary: Wasserman was a major contributor to and sat on the board of the Reagan presidential
  library, along with Edwin Meese and others.
tags:
- Person
- OrganizedCrime
---

[Lew Wasserman](/people/lew-wasserman/) was the Chairman of [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/) Corporation. He was a powerful figure in Hollywood and a long-time political supporter of [Ronald Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/). Wasserman represented Reagan during the actor's early days in Hollywood, and along with [Jules Stein](/people/jules-stein/), [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/)'s founder, negotiated the sale of Reagan's [California](/places/california/) properties at hugely inflated prices, which helped make Reagan a millionaire.[^1]

Wasserman was a major contributor to and sat on the board of the [Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/) presidential library, along with [Edwin Meese](/people/edwin-meese/) and others. He was involved in raising $80 million to build it.[^1]

Wasserman was connected to organized crime. He was on the [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/) Board of Directors during the [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) investigation into alleged mob ties to [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/). [Edward Sciandra](/people/edward-sciandra/) reportedly wanted to go to Wasserman and Sidney Sheinberg (President of [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/)) and tell them who they were up against.[^1]

[Ronald Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/) and Nancy Reagan were known to celebrate New Year's Eve with Wasserman and his wife, Edie. [Howard Baker](/people/howard-baker/) returned to [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/)'s board of directors in March 1989, just in time to help Wasserman celebrate his seventy-sixth birthday.[^1]

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.