Lucky Luciano
Lucky Luciano, born Salvatore Lucania, was a Sicilian-American mobster who modernized organized crime by patterning its structure on that of corporations.
Fast Facts
- Born: November 24, 1897
- Hometown: Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy
- Family emigrated to U.S. in 1906
- Family settled in New York City
- Brought corporate structure and approach to organized crime
- During World War II he helped U.S. naval intelligence end waterfront sabotage in New York
Rise to Power
Born in Sicily, Luciano built his criminal organization with Meyer Lansky during Prohibition by smuggling alcohol to "speak-easies" in New York City. Luciano eventually became the most powerful Mafia boss in New York, and organized his crime syndicate as a corporation, with different leaders in charge of separate areas of the organization, such as bootlegging, prostitution, and narcotics.1
Arrest and Deportation
In 1936, Luciano was convicted of "compulsory prostitution" and sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison. However, during World War II, through his connections on the New York docks, he helped the United States root out saboteurs. In return for his help, the U.S. government deported Luciano to Italy in 1946. Luciano soon made his way to Cuba, but U.S. authorities, fearful that he was about to commandeer a major drug smuggling operation, sent him back to Italy. 1
Categories
Note: These links are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.
