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| Birth Name(s) : Lucky Luciano |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Full Lucky Luciano Biography
Charles "Lucky" Luciano (born Salvatore Lucania) (November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was a Sicilian-American mobster. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime and the mastermind of the massive postwar expansion of the international heroin trade.
In 1915, Salvatore and his gang were evicted from a theater in East Harlem for rowdy behavior. It was that same night that Salvatore Lucania met Francesco Castiglia, better known as Frank Costello. Salvatore and Frank became close friends. During this period Lucania was hired as a local hat seller earning seven dollars a week.
After his release, Salvatore legally changed his name to Charles Luciano, his longtime alias, for two reasons: first, if he was to be convicted again, he would not shame his parents; second, because while at the reformatory he was called "Sally," and Luciana translated into English means "goodness." Sally Goodness: A rather unimpressive name for an aspiring gangster.
By 1920, Luciano had met many of the mafia heavyweights including Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, his longtime friend, business partner, and eventually Sottocapo through his involvement in the Five Points Gang. Together, backed by Arnold Rothstein, they began a bootlegging venture using a trucking firm as a front.
By 1925, Luciano was grossing over a hundred thousand dollars a year; however, he was netting much less each year due to the high costs of bribing politicians and cops. Luciano and his partners ran the a large bootlegging operation in New York, one that also extended into Philadelphia. He imported scotch directly from Scotland, rum from the Caribbean, and whiskey from Canada. He was also involved in gambling. By this time Luciano was already becoming a big player in the New York mob.
Luciano could tolerate being lied to and cheated out of a few dollars, but when Meyer Lansky told him that Maranzano had plans to kill him, Luciano could no longer stand still. Lansky assembled a hit squad to pose as government agents. On the day Maranzano was to hire Luciano's assassin they stormed Maranzano's office. He thought he was being arrested. The squad cut Maranzano to ribbons with a volley of gunfire and repeated stabbings. On the way down the stairs they met up with "Mad Dog" Coll, Luciano's would-be assassin.
Luciano organized the Commission with the Mafia's top men, and was its undisputed leader. The Commission was the gangster equivalent of the Supreme Court, and settled all gangland disputes. They decided who received what rackets and which territories. If an individual was to be a "made man," their Don had to go before The Commission and clear their sponsorship into the honored society. The Commission was made up of the Five New York Families, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, California, and Kansas City. All bosses who sat in the Commission were supposed to detain the same power but in reality Luciano was the first among equals.
In 1946, as a reward for his wartime cooperation, Luciano was paroled on the condition that he depart the United States of America and return to Sicily. He accepted the deal, although he had maintained during his trial that he was a native of New York City and was therefore not subject to deportation; he was deeply hurt about having to leave the USA, a country he had considered his own ever since his arrival at age ten.
Lansky called together the heads of all the major Families, claiming that they were going to see Frank Sinatra perform. Lucky had three topics to discuss: the heroin trade, Cuban gambling, and what was to be done about Bugsy Siegel.
One of the main topics for discussion at the Havana Conference was ordering a hit on Siegel, who was unaware of this meeting. Meyer Lansky, who several times owed his life to Siegel when they were young, took a stand against the hit. He begged the attendees to give Siegel a chance by waiting until after the casino opening. Luciano, who believed Siegel could still turn a profit in Las Vegas and pay back what he owed the mafia investors, agreed to postpone the hit.
The deposed Lucky, hungry for fame once again, asked that he be declared Capo Di Tutti i Capi. His old friends and business associates agreed that he deserved the title — all except Vito Genovese, who wanted the title for himself and is rumored to have leaked Lucky's whereabouts to the government. It is said that Lucky took him into a room and beat him severely for his betrayal.
When the US government learned of Luciano's presence in the Caribbean he was forced to fly back to Italy.
Living in Naples, Luciano immersed himself in the high life of Italian culture, dining in the finest restaurants and living in luxurious apartments with the love of his life. In old age, Lucky also became a charitable man, financially helping many poor Italians before he set up a medical supply store as a front for his illegal businesses. But no matter how much success he achieved, Lucky was homesick. He would often talk with G.I.s and tourists in the California restaurant for the sole purpose of speaking to people in English.
Even today Luciano is recognized as the biggest gangster ever and one of the most influential criminals in world history due to his direct participation in major criminal conspiracies like the establishment of Cosa Nostra in the United States and the importation of heroin during his exile in Italy. |
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