Charles Luciano (Lucky Luciano, Charles Lucky Luciano), Italian gangster: biography

Despite the fact that he was once called one of the 20 most influential people, the titans of the 20th century, Charles Lucky Luciano (1897-1962) was a gangster. His advice was listened to by world leaders, but this does not negate the fact that he was a major authority of the underworld. In the end, he died in Italy as a deported criminal.

Charles Luciano: Biography

"Lucky" was born in Sicily on November 24, 1897. Parents Salvatore Lucania (real name Charlie Luciano), Antonio and Rosalia, moved their four children from Lercar-Frieddi to New York in 1906. His father, who worked in Italy on sulfur pits, hoped to find a better life for his family here. The boy attended secondary school № 19 and graduated from 6 classes. At the age of ten, he was arrested for stealing in a store and released on bail of embarrassed parents. The arrest did not frighten him, nor did he teach him a lesson. He was arrested several times for petty theft. By 1915, Luciano became an inveterate hooligan on the Lower East Side of New York.

The natural leader

Soon, Luciano made a gang of tough Italian guys. He trained the guys for the racket, and they spent time collecting pennies from local Jewish boys who paid for not being beaten. One boy, Meyer Lansky, did not succumb to intimidation and instead mocked the Italians. This bold challenge impressed Luciano. Lansky became his best friend, and subsequently friends were able to unite the Italian and Jewish gangs of the Lower East Side. Their friendship led to a successful criminal partnership that lasted until their death. Lanski eventually became the "architect" of the criminal empire of Luciano in New York and around the world.

Charlie got a job as a courier delivering hats to Jewish master Max Goodman. Relatively successful Goodman showed Luciano an example of a middle-class lifestyle. But Luciano did not plan to work as hard as Goodman. Soon he realized that if he hid drugs in ribbons on hats, then with one shot he could kill two birds with one stone. He also received one of the most valuable lessons in his life: how to make money behind the legal front. Soon, selling drugs, Salvatore earned more money than ever before. For this he even served time. After his release from the state correctional institution for juvenile offenders, he changed his name. It seemed to him that his name Salvatore, or Sal, was female, so he became known as Charlie.

Initially, Luciano and Lansky, along with friends Frank Costello and Benny "Bugsy" Siegel, were robbed to make ends meet. In the end, the ruthless innate leadership style of each of them allowed them to rise to the top of their chosen "profession."

The era of the dry law

The actions of the United States government gave Luciano an idea that elevated him to the top of the underworld. In 1919, the sale of alcoholic beverages was outlawed. It became clear that the demand for alcohol remained great, and the one who can deliver it will become a very rich man. By 1920, he and Lansky had already delivered alcoholic beverages to all the bars in Manhattan.

While the glory of Charlie was growing, large local gangs of New York fought an irreconcilable war. Charles Luciano, nicknamed Lucky at his age of 23, was already on an equal footing with the largest mafia family, led by Giuseppe Masseria, nicknamed Joe Boss. He continued to build his bootlegging empire and controlled factories, distilleries, trucks and warehouses used to sell illegal alcohol. His partners included Giuseppe Doto (Joe Adonis), Vexi Gordon and Arnold Rothstein, who dealt with the fraudulent results of the 1918 World Series.

The struggle for power

Charles "Lucky" Luciano began to reconsider his alliance with Giuseppe Masseria, who, he realized, was not the head of the strongest family (of the two main families). There are many different stories about the attempt on Luciano, which became a problem for both bosses. Some of them tell us that the Irish gangsters beat him almost to death. According to other sources, they were police officers or feds who caught him with illegal alcohol, or the father of a girl who became pregnant with Luciano. Whoever it was, Charlie was brutally beaten, his face was cut with a knife, and he was thrown out like a dead man into the river on the island of Staten Island. After Charlie survived, he received the nickname Lucky, or Lucky.

The Italian criminal realized that the war should end and that he should lead all the gangs of New York. Luciano had to find a way for the two main bosses to kill each other, as the "mafia" soldiers on both sides of the barricade perished in the course of the war every day. In addition, the continuing bloodshed between the gangs attracted more and more attention of the authorities and harmed its profitable business. Luciano contacted another boss - Salvatore Maranzano, and an agreement was reached to kill Masseria. Luciano met with him at a restaurant on Coney Island to discuss plans to eliminate Maranzano. Masseria was delighted that his chief lieutenant came up with such a plan against his longtime enemy. Charlie, having apologized, took advantage of the rest room, and four men entered the restaurant: Bugsy Sigel, Al Anastasia, Vito Genovese and Joe Adonis. They shot and killed Masseria. When Luciano left the rest room, the four men disappeared, and the police could not show him anything.

Further on the list was Maranzana, who did not know that most of his assistants were loyal to Lucky. They saw that Charles Luciano was the best businessman who would bring them more profit. Maranzan invited him to a meeting where he planned to kill him. Charlie did not show up, but four "tax collectors" came. Maranzany had problems with taxes, so all four managed to pass into the internal premises. By the time his personal bodyguards realized what was going on, Maranzana was already dead. They fled in fear, and Luciano's path to the position of the most influential figure in the underworld, the New York boss boss, was unveiled.

The leader of the leaders

Lucky Luciano introduced an effective system of "criminal families", appointing them as the leaders of his loyal supporters. He wanted to restore order to the organization. With the help of his longtime friend Meyer Lansky Charlie created a "commission", or Unione Siciliano. The entire Italian-American mafia in the 1930s was subordinated to this body, which consisted of a group of its Sicilian friends.

The highest criminal authorities were also popular public figures. Luciano was often seen in restaurants and theaters with famous public figures, artists and other celebrities. Despite the fact that he was constantly with bodyguards, in fact they did not need him. Charles Luciano led organized crime, and no one dared challenge his authority.

In the early 1930s, the "boss of bosses" enjoyed life. Under the name of Charles Ross, he lived in New York in a luxurious mansion called "Waldorf Towers", which was part of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Losing money, Luciano played the role of a wealthy businessman, wore bespoke suits and drove around in cars with a personal driver. But the good times were drawing to a close, as in 1935 a special prosecutor, Thomas Dewey, was appointed to fight organized crime.

Prosecution

Law enforcement officers knew who was the main figure of the underworld in the United States. Lucky luck ended in 1936. The New York District Attorney Thomas Dewey brought charges against Lucky Luciano and eight other members of the Mafia in organizing a network of brothels. Despite the fact that he had once saved Dewey from a conspiracy to murder, this did not stop the prosecutor from pursuing him. Charles Luciano insisted that he was not involved in prostitution. Nevertheless, many witnesses testified against him, and the district attorney won the case. Luciano received between 30 and 50 years' imprisonment - the longest period that was ever imposed for such an offense. He was imprisoned in Dannemore, the so-called Siberia of organized crime, since she was on the outskirts of the US, at the border with Canada. Luciano tried to appeal, but the court confirmed his sentence.

Deportation to Italy

Attempts to secure the release of the mafia leader remained unsuccessful until, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Japan declared war on the United States. Naval forces feared attacking submarines and needed the assistance of all dockers to prevent them, especially after the explosion of the fashionable Normandie liner at the New York port. Since Charles Luciano, even in prison, retained full control over the port trade unions, he was able to bargain for his freedom. In exchange for the help of dockers, as well as the order of the Italian mafia, they promised to parole against Benito Mussolini Luciano. However, he had to agree to return to Italy and stay there for the rest of his life. When he left prison in 1946, he was taken to Ellis Island and sent back to Italy. Despite the fact that he promised to return to his new homeland, this never happened.

The Havana Conference

After a short stay in Italy, he secretly arrived in Cuba, where he met with his old companions at the Havana conference, including Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel. Luciano tried to restore his influence, using the island state as his base. But soon the government of the United States learned about the presence of the Lucky in Havana and exerted pressure on the Cuban authorities, threatening to block the supply of narcotic drugs to the country while the mafia leader was there.

Under control

On February 24, 1947, the government of Cuba arrested Luciano and at 48 o'clock sent him on a Turkish cargo ship back to Italy, where he remained under close surveillance. According to some reports, he was involved in drug trafficking there. In early July 1949, the police of Rome arrested him on suspicion of participating in the transfer of drugs to New York. After a week in custody, he was released without charge, but was banned from visiting the Italian capital.

In June 1951 the police in Naples questioned Luciano on suspicion of illegally importing into Italy $ 57,000 in cash and a new American car. After a 20-hour interrogation, he was released without charge.

In November 1954, the legal commission of Naples for 2 years imposed severe restrictions on Luciano. Every Sunday he had to visit the police, spend the night at home and without permission not to leave Naples.

Personal life

In 1929, Charles met the Broadway dancer Galina "Guy" Orlov. The pair was inseparable until the moment of his imprisonment. Later, Orlova tried to come to Charlie in Italy, but she was denied the right to enter. In early 1948, Luciano met the Italian dancer Igea Lissoni, who was 20 years younger than he was, about which he later said that she was the love of his entire life. The couple lived together in Naples, but Charlie continued to meet with other women. In 1959, Lissoni died of breast cancer.

Death at the airport

Charles Luciano began to think about sharing his life's details. By strange coincidence, he died of a heart attack at the airport in Naples on January 26, 1962, where he was to meet with the film and television producer.

After hundreds of people gathered at his funeral in Naples, Luciano's body was sent to the United States. Buried Lucky in the family crypt at St. John's Cemetery in New York. Having spent his whole life under the name of Charles Luciano, he rests near his parents under the name of Salvatore Lucania.