Posted on Feb 10, 2019
February 23, 1947: Luciano’s Havana sojourn was cut short
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On February 10, 1946, Charles "Lucky" Luciano was deported to Italy, and never returned to the United States, alive.
"February 23, 1947: Luciano’s Havana sojourn was cut short
His 1947 arrest came after U.S. threatened to cut off medical aid to Cuba
Last Updated On: February 26th, 2018 - By Scott M. Deitche
Written February 2017
In 1946, Charles “Lucky” Luciano was persona non grata in America. Though he was granted a pardon for his help with the U.S. war effort, the legendary kingpin of organized crime in New York was deported to Italy on February 10, 1946. American authorities thought they had seen the last of Luciano in the Western Hemisphere. But a few months later, on October 29, Luciano hopped on a plane to Havana, Cuba.
At that time, the American Mob was moving into the Havana casino and hotel industry. It was an ideal place for Luciano to hang out and hold one of the biggest Mob meetings in history, known as the Havana Conference, the week of December 22 at the Hotel Nacional. Luciano met with Mob bigwigs such as Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello and is alleged to have given his blessing to putting out a contract on Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel for cost overruns and mismanagement of the Mob-financed Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
While the conference ended on a high note and Luciano must have felt like things were going right for him again, the tide turned. Harry Anslinger, head of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics, had Luciano in his sights from the moment Luciano arrived in Havana. The mobster was tailed constantly. Anslinger believed Luciano was back so close to U.S. soil to start up a sizable drug operation and re-establish his dominance over the American underworld. When the news broke stateside of the Havana Conference and the appearance of pop singer Frank Sinatra, who was there to entertain the twenty crime figures visiting from America, Anslinger must have felt pressure to address the Luciano situation.
Anslinger first went to the State Department to force Cuba into deporting Luciano. When the Cuban government rebuffed that request, Anslinger went to President Harry Truman. The U.S. government applied pressure to the Cuban government by cutting off a shipment of much-needed medicinal drugs to the island, with the intent to hold them indefinitely until the crime boss was arrested and sent back to Italy. Cuba had no choice.
On the afternoon of February 23, 1947 — seventy years ago — Luciano was arrested at a restaurant in the Vedado section of Havana, the same neighborhood where the Hotel Nacional and Riviera were located. The head of Cuban’s secret police, Benito Herrera, told the press that Luciano was arrested on grounds that he might cause public disorder. Luciano told a UPI wire service reporter that if the Cuban government did not want him there, he would leave. “If I’m going to have trouble on this side, I’ll go back to Italy. I just want to be nice and quiet. I don’t want to be kicked around like this for no reason.”
The Cuban president, Grau San Martin, signed the order to deport Luciano at the end of February, and on March 20 Luciano boarded a Turkish freighter, headed back to Europe. Luciano would return to the United States one time, in 1962. That was when, after suffering a fatal heart attack in Italy, his body was flown to his final resting place in Queens, New York.
"February 23, 1947: Luciano’s Havana sojourn was cut short
His 1947 arrest came after U.S. threatened to cut off medical aid to Cuba
Last Updated On: February 26th, 2018 - By Scott M. Deitche
Written February 2017
In 1946, Charles “Lucky” Luciano was persona non grata in America. Though he was granted a pardon for his help with the U.S. war effort, the legendary kingpin of organized crime in New York was deported to Italy on February 10, 1946. American authorities thought they had seen the last of Luciano in the Western Hemisphere. But a few months later, on October 29, Luciano hopped on a plane to Havana, Cuba.
At that time, the American Mob was moving into the Havana casino and hotel industry. It was an ideal place for Luciano to hang out and hold one of the biggest Mob meetings in history, known as the Havana Conference, the week of December 22 at the Hotel Nacional. Luciano met with Mob bigwigs such as Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello and is alleged to have given his blessing to putting out a contract on Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel for cost overruns and mismanagement of the Mob-financed Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
While the conference ended on a high note and Luciano must have felt like things were going right for him again, the tide turned. Harry Anslinger, head of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics, had Luciano in his sights from the moment Luciano arrived in Havana. The mobster was tailed constantly. Anslinger believed Luciano was back so close to U.S. soil to start up a sizable drug operation and re-establish his dominance over the American underworld. When the news broke stateside of the Havana Conference and the appearance of pop singer Frank Sinatra, who was there to entertain the twenty crime figures visiting from America, Anslinger must have felt pressure to address the Luciano situation.
Anslinger first went to the State Department to force Cuba into deporting Luciano. When the Cuban government rebuffed that request, Anslinger went to President Harry Truman. The U.S. government applied pressure to the Cuban government by cutting off a shipment of much-needed medicinal drugs to the island, with the intent to hold them indefinitely until the crime boss was arrested and sent back to Italy. Cuba had no choice.
On the afternoon of February 23, 1947 — seventy years ago — Luciano was arrested at a restaurant in the Vedado section of Havana, the same neighborhood where the Hotel Nacional and Riviera were located. The head of Cuban’s secret police, Benito Herrera, told the press that Luciano was arrested on grounds that he might cause public disorder. Luciano told a UPI wire service reporter that if the Cuban government did not want him there, he would leave. “If I’m going to have trouble on this side, I’ll go back to Italy. I just want to be nice and quiet. I don’t want to be kicked around like this for no reason.”
The Cuban president, Grau San Martin, signed the order to deport Luciano at the end of February, and on March 20 Luciano boarded a Turkish freighter, headed back to Europe. Luciano would return to the United States one time, in 1962. That was when, after suffering a fatal heart attack in Italy, his body was flown to his final resting place in Queens, New York.
February 23, 1947: Luciano’s Havana sojourn was cut short
Posted from themobmuseum.org
World History
American History
Military History
Crime
WWII World War Two
Posted 6 y ago
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SGT (Join to see) I am so mesmerized by these organized crime legends. But, I am careful not to romantizise them as they were dangerous, murderous fiends.
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Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that on February 10, 1946, Charles "Lucky" Luciano was deported to Italy.
As many of us are our familiar with that Charles "Lucky" Luciano supported naval intelligence in WWII protect the New York docks from Nazi saboteurs in exchange for a move to a better prison and possible early parole.
Background from thoughtco.com/charles-lucky-luciano-971950
Charles Montaldo
Updated February 02, 2019
Gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano, a man instrumental in creating the American Mafia, was born Salvatore Lucania in 1897 in Sicily, Italy. Luciano moved to the United States in 1906. His career in crime began early when at the age of 10, he was charged with his first crime, shoplifting.
His Early Years
1907, Luciano began his first racket. He charged Jewish kids a penny or two for his protection to and from school. If they refused to pay, he would beat them up. One of the kids, Meyer Lansky, refused to pay. After Lucky had failed to beat him up, they became friends and joined forces in his protection scheme. They remained friends throughout their lives. In 1916, Luciano became a leader of the Five Points Gang, after getting out of reform school for peddling narcotics. The police named him as a suspect in several local murders although he was never indicted.
The 1920s
By 1920, Luciano's criminal endeavors strengthened, and he got involved in bootlegging. His circle of friends included such crime figures as Bugsy Siegel, Joe Adonis, Vito Genovese, and Frank Costello. By the late 1920s, he had become a chief aide in the largest crime family in the country, led by Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. As time went on, Luciano became to despise the old Mafia traditions and thinking of Giuseppe, who believed non-Sicilians could not be trusted.
After being kidnapped and mugged, Luciano discovered Giuseppe was behind the attack. A few months later, he decided to betray Masseria by joining forces with the second largest Family, led by Salvatore Maranzano. In 1928, the Castellammarese War began and over the next two years, several gangsters connected to Masseria and Maranzana were killed. Luciano, who was still working with both camps, led four men including Bugsy Siegel, to a meeting he had arranged with his boss, Masseria. The four men sprayed Masseria with bullets, killing him.
After the death of Masseria, Maranzano became the "Boss of Bosses" in New York and appointed Lucky Luciano as his number two man. His ultimate goal was to become the leading boss in the United States. After learning of a plan by Maranzano to kill both he and Al Capone, Luciano struck first by organizing a meeting where Maranzano was killed. Lucky Luciano became "The Boss" of New York and immediately began moving into more rackets and expanding their power.
The 1930s
The 1930s were prosperous times for Luciano, now able to break ethnic barriers laid out by the old Mafia and strengthening their reach in areas of bootlegging, prostitution, gambling, loan-sharking, narcotics and labor rackets. In 1936, Luciano was charged with prostitution and received 30 to 50 years. He maintained control of the syndicate during his incarceration.
The 1940s
In the early 1940s, as the second world war broke out, Luciano agreed to help the military Naval Intelligence by offering information that could help protect the New York docks from Nazi saboteurs in exchange for a move to a better prison and possible early parole.
In 1946, Governor Dewey, who was the prosecutor who originally got Luciano incarcerated, granted a commutation of sentence and had Luciano deported to Italy where he resumed his controls over the American syndicate. Luciano snuck into Cuba and remained there, where couriers were set up to bring him money, one being Virginia Hill. His courier arrangements continued even after he was discovered in Cuba and sent back to Italy by government agents.
After Frank Costello had stepped down as Boss, Luciano's power weakened. When he found out Genovese had a plan to assassinate, Luciano, Costello and Carlo Gambino set up a narcotics with Genovese and then tipped off the authorities resulting in Genovese's arrest and incarceration.
The End of Luciano
As Luciano began to age his relationship with Lansky began to falter because Luciano did not feel he was getting his fair share from the mob. In 1962, he suffered a fatal heart attack in Naples airport. His body was then shipped back to the United States and buried in St. John's Cemetery in New York City.
It is believed that Luciano was one of the most powerful men in organized crime and to this day, his influence over the gangster activity in the USA still exists. He was the first person to challenge the "old Mafia" by breaking through ethnic barriers and creating a network of gangs, which, made up the national crime syndicate controlled organized crime long past his death."
The Mob and WWII
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwSKB4hWAGQ
FYI LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip RoncariCWO3 Dennis M.SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCordSGT Jim Arnold PO3 Phyllis Maynard Maj Robert Thornton SPC Douglas Bolton Cynthia Croft PO1 H Gene Lawrence PVT Karl Goode PO2 Kevin Parker SGT James Murphy SFC Michael Young SGT Rick Colburn SSgt Boyd Herrst
As many of us are our familiar with that Charles "Lucky" Luciano supported naval intelligence in WWII protect the New York docks from Nazi saboteurs in exchange for a move to a better prison and possible early parole.
Background from thoughtco.com/charles-lucky-luciano-971950
Charles Montaldo
Updated February 02, 2019
Gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano, a man instrumental in creating the American Mafia, was born Salvatore Lucania in 1897 in Sicily, Italy. Luciano moved to the United States in 1906. His career in crime began early when at the age of 10, he was charged with his first crime, shoplifting.
His Early Years
1907, Luciano began his first racket. He charged Jewish kids a penny or two for his protection to and from school. If they refused to pay, he would beat them up. One of the kids, Meyer Lansky, refused to pay. After Lucky had failed to beat him up, they became friends and joined forces in his protection scheme. They remained friends throughout their lives. In 1916, Luciano became a leader of the Five Points Gang, after getting out of reform school for peddling narcotics. The police named him as a suspect in several local murders although he was never indicted.
The 1920s
By 1920, Luciano's criminal endeavors strengthened, and he got involved in bootlegging. His circle of friends included such crime figures as Bugsy Siegel, Joe Adonis, Vito Genovese, and Frank Costello. By the late 1920s, he had become a chief aide in the largest crime family in the country, led by Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. As time went on, Luciano became to despise the old Mafia traditions and thinking of Giuseppe, who believed non-Sicilians could not be trusted.
After being kidnapped and mugged, Luciano discovered Giuseppe was behind the attack. A few months later, he decided to betray Masseria by joining forces with the second largest Family, led by Salvatore Maranzano. In 1928, the Castellammarese War began and over the next two years, several gangsters connected to Masseria and Maranzana were killed. Luciano, who was still working with both camps, led four men including Bugsy Siegel, to a meeting he had arranged with his boss, Masseria. The four men sprayed Masseria with bullets, killing him.
After the death of Masseria, Maranzano became the "Boss of Bosses" in New York and appointed Lucky Luciano as his number two man. His ultimate goal was to become the leading boss in the United States. After learning of a plan by Maranzano to kill both he and Al Capone, Luciano struck first by organizing a meeting where Maranzano was killed. Lucky Luciano became "The Boss" of New York and immediately began moving into more rackets and expanding their power.
The 1930s
The 1930s were prosperous times for Luciano, now able to break ethnic barriers laid out by the old Mafia and strengthening their reach in areas of bootlegging, prostitution, gambling, loan-sharking, narcotics and labor rackets. In 1936, Luciano was charged with prostitution and received 30 to 50 years. He maintained control of the syndicate during his incarceration.
The 1940s
In the early 1940s, as the second world war broke out, Luciano agreed to help the military Naval Intelligence by offering information that could help protect the New York docks from Nazi saboteurs in exchange for a move to a better prison and possible early parole.
In 1946, Governor Dewey, who was the prosecutor who originally got Luciano incarcerated, granted a commutation of sentence and had Luciano deported to Italy where he resumed his controls over the American syndicate. Luciano snuck into Cuba and remained there, where couriers were set up to bring him money, one being Virginia Hill. His courier arrangements continued even after he was discovered in Cuba and sent back to Italy by government agents.
After Frank Costello had stepped down as Boss, Luciano's power weakened. When he found out Genovese had a plan to assassinate, Luciano, Costello and Carlo Gambino set up a narcotics with Genovese and then tipped off the authorities resulting in Genovese's arrest and incarceration.
The End of Luciano
As Luciano began to age his relationship with Lansky began to falter because Luciano did not feel he was getting his fair share from the mob. In 1962, he suffered a fatal heart attack in Naples airport. His body was then shipped back to the United States and buried in St. John's Cemetery in New York City.
It is believed that Luciano was one of the most powerful men in organized crime and to this day, his influence over the gangster activity in the USA still exists. He was the first person to challenge the "old Mafia" by breaking through ethnic barriers and creating a network of gangs, which, made up the national crime syndicate controlled organized crime long past his death."
The Mob and WWII
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwSKB4hWAGQ
FYI LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip RoncariCWO3 Dennis M.SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCordSGT Jim Arnold PO3 Phyllis Maynard Maj Robert Thornton SPC Douglas Bolton Cynthia Croft PO1 H Gene Lawrence PVT Karl Goode PO2 Kevin Parker SGT James Murphy SFC Michael Young SGT Rick Colburn SSgt Boyd Herrst
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