
Salvatore Lucania (
Lucky Luciano) is considered the father of modern mafia and the mastermind of the massive
postwar expansion of the international heroin trade. He was the first official boss of the modern Genovese crime family. He was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States. Assassinations became big business thanks to Lucky Luciano. With the help of Bugsy Siegel and Albert Anastasia, Luciano formed
Murder Inc., a professional grade killing company staffed mostly with Jewish hitmen. Mobsters in need of a hit simply called Murder Inc and bought themselves some prescreened contract killers. Lucky Luciano wasn't just a mobster and serial killer, he was also an American
war hero. But he couldn't achieve all this without help from the U.S. government...
During World War II he helped U.S. naval intelligence "end" waterfront sabotage in New York. The suspicious destruction of the Normandie, a luxury cruise ship being renovated as a troop carrier in New York City, and sabotage on the New York docks prompted Navy intelligence to request assistance from Luciano. Keeping the waterfront free of sabotage was necessary to the war effort since supplies needed by the Allied forces flowed through New York. In fact "Lucky" ordered the sabotage of the docks from his prison cell. U.S. government struck a secret deal with the imprisoned Luciano. U.S. Army Military Intelligence knew that Luciano maintained good connections in the Sicilian and Italian Mafia, which had been severely persecuted by Benito Mussolini. His help was essential in providing Mafia assistance during Operation Avalanche (allied invasion of Italy), and his connections in Italy and Sicily were tapped to ensure an easy passage for U.S. forces involved in the Italian Campaign. Assistant District Attorney from the State of New York, Murray Gurfein, also with the Office of Naval Intelligence, negotiated a deal with Luciano. In exchange for his release, Luciano would convince the Sicilian Mafia to join with the Allied forces during the invasion of Sicily. Luciano dropped a yellow flag from a plane flying over Sicily with his crest and letter "L" to signal friendly faces were approaching. This allowed for the Sicilian Mafia to arise from underground and participate in the liberation of Sicily. Both during and after the war, the U.S. military and intelligence agencies also used Luciano's Mafia connections to root out communist influence in resistance groups and local governments. In return for his cooperation, Luciano was permitted to run his crime empire from his jail cell.
In 1946, as a reward for his wartime cooperation, Luciano was paroled on the condition that he depart the United States and return to Sicily. During his exile, Luciano used to meet US military men during train trips throughout Italy, and he enjoyed being recognized by his countrymen, several times taking photos and even signing autographs for them. Luciano's confederates saw him off at the docks with envelopes stuffed with cash, reportedly as much as $100,000 or $150,000. Although Luciano was paroled from prison on the condition that he permanently return to Sicily, he secretly moved to Cuba, where he worked to resume control over American mafia operations. Luciano also ran a number of casinos in Cuba with the sanction of Cuban president General Batista. Batista naturally received a percentage of the profits...
Time magazine has named
Lucky Luciano amongst the top 20 most influential builders and titans of the 20th century.