How Did The Mafia Impact The Outcome Of World War 2? | Secret War | Timeline

Charles Lucky Luciano was the father of modern organized crime, a pimp, gangster and murderer in 1936, he was sentenced to serve 50 years in prison, that was where he was supposed to die, but instead he spent only 10 years there and died a free man in Italy. This remarkable and skillful turnaround by Fortune is one of the most unlikely World War II collaborations between the U.S. military and the convicted mobster. For years, the Mafia's role in World War II has been hushed up and dismissed as folklore, but this film reveals surprising new evidence that proves beyond a doubt that the United States government and the Mafia are working together to help to win the war.

I have found records of archived documents that show that it is a fact that Luchiano did reach a

secret

agreement with the United States government, this

secret

relationship between the United States government and the

mafia

ran from the Battle of the Atlantic to the invasion Italy's ally, in the end they would both get what they wanted, the United States would be victorious and Luciano and the

mafia

would gain power in 1907, one of America's most unlikely wars. The heroes arrived in New York City Charles Luciano was an Italian immigrant destined to become a mafia boss. The boss of bosses at the offset Luciano was different from the other children.

Biographer Tim Newar has spent seven years studying Luciano's life. He never settled for that normal life and since he was a teenager he was involved in all kinds of scams, robberies, and robberies in the slums of the Lower East Side of New York. Luciano quickly gained a reputation as a street fighter and thief and began to make some useful contacts with Luana. he was making some money by beating up kids going to school and he saw a particularly small guy and he approached him and asked for some money but he had picked the wrong guy it was a young girl Maya Lansky a polish jew milanski was as tough as Luciana herself, my Lansky was not going to be intimidated by the fighter and told him to go and beat her basically and uh Luana was quite surprised by how brave this little man was.

Luciano himself later recalled the encounter he had with a head. taller than this, but he looked at me without blinking and nothing but guts showed on his face. Well, I started laughing, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, you've got your protection for free," and he just walked away and yelled, push your protection up. I don't need your ass, believe me, I discovered that he did need it. It was the beginning of one of the most lucrative associations of organized crime in New York. In 1920, the United States Congress prohibited the consumption of alcohol and set out to get rid of it.

The union began and then failed. Driven underground. The black market in alcohol fueled an entire under

world

of illegal bars, nightclubs and strip clubs. It was just the thing for an ambitious young man looking to make a name for himself. Luciano began to succeed despite arrests for robbery and drug trafficking. He ended up controlling 5,000 prostitutes by 1929. He was suspected of several murders. Luciano was so successful that he caught the attention of one particular organization that was flourishing in the under

world

, the Luciano mafia. He was the type of man who did well in that organization, like all good gangsters, he was not without his charms, since Moses Polov, his former lawyer, remembers that Lucky was a good guy, the veterans were well behaved, they were not like the current Bob if Lucky walked down the street and bothered you.

He thought he would apologize to you for all of Luciano's good manners. He quickly rose through the ranks of the mafia, even eliminating his own boss to get ahead. He waited in a restaurant bathroom while Joe Masera was executed, then came out and calmly called the police. In 1932, the Italian immigrant had become boss of mafia bosses, completely dominating drugs, prostitution, gambling and protection businesses in New York City. against his life in 1934, the mayor of New York was Flores leg. Guardia I just took office as Mayor of New York City named Luciano Public Enemy Number One as a real mafia boss Luciano had the lifestyle to go with the role he wore pinstriped suits handmade in London, shirts from silk imported from Italy and for his own protection he lived under an assumed name in a luxury suite at the Waldor Historia hotel.

Then, in 1936, Luciano's luck was lost despite a warning from his friend and now mafia colleague, Milanski Luano, he could not resist the temptation of fame. Luchano was starting to hang out. With important and powerful people from New York's high society, he dated movie stars, so he was becoming a very high-profile figure, just the figure that Lansky had told him not to become. That was Luciano's mistake. It drew attention. from a dangerous opponent a man with an ambition to match his own we have made a real start in cleaning up the gangsters of New York in 2 years we have shown that our people can be protected and that they can be freed from the clutches of the Mafias Special Prosecutor of New York Thomas Dewey was determined to rid the city of the mafia and crush its criminals.

The gangster is not and has never been above the law. The real problem is eliminating the gangster's influence from politics. Dwey had Luciano in his sights. Thomas Dwey thought here was a person who really needed to be defeated, so Luchiano was actually a victim of his own success at the time JY was waiting for Luciano to slip up and in 1936 he did. JY had heard that Luchana was involved in the sex business, basically running. prostitution rings in New York some of Lano's girls were persuaded to testify against him finally Dewey had what he needed luano was arrested on May 11, 1936 the man they called lucky was led in handcuffs to the state supreme court in Manhattan in a trial that lasted 4 weeks he was found guilty of racketeering and extortion he was sentenced to 50 years in a New York state prison known to gang members as Little Siberia because of its harsh conditions people think the mafia can live well in prison because they have a lot of power and a lot of money, but in reality Luchana led a very humble life there, she said it stank, it was cold and she was a very, very miserable figure, her parole appeals were denied.

Luano seemed to be done, locked up and isolated, no amount of bribery or threats could save him so that he was completely Frank, he thought he was going to be there for the rest of his life, then came an unlikely chance at salvation. He uncovers the past with exclusive historical documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians, all historical hits, watch them. on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device, download the app now to explore everything from the wonders of ancient Pompeii and the mystery of the princes in the tower to the life of Anna Berin and D-Day, sign up via from the link in the description World War II in December 1941 Japan carried out its surprise attack on the US Navy at Pearl Harbor the US was plunged into the war the country's enormous industrial power mobilized millions of soldiers They were recruited and trained to take the fight to the Japanese on one side and the Nazis on the other, closer to home.

The United States joined the battle of the Atlantic. This was the longest campaign of the war. It was the fight to keep Britain supplied. It needed to import more than a million tons of goods every week. Crucial to all of this was the New York docks, 80 square miles of warehouses and warehouses. The docks were the gateway to the Atlantic and Europe, but from the moment the United States entered, the warships left and entered New York. The United States had faced a formidable enemy. The German OTS sank about 80 ships per month 2 and 2 million tons of shipping were lost in half a year. the full force of their weapons, planes, ships and men, the task before us is tremendous and has barely begun, unable to stop the destruction.

Naval intelligence officers were convinced of one thing: German spies had infiltrated the docks and were signaling to the OTS offshore that they needed to be tracked. The problem was that the docks were off-limits, mafia territory, and controlled by men who worked for the boss of bosses. Lucky Luciano, even from prison, Luciano retained complete control. The docks were a closed community and almost impossible for us agents. Penetrating from the outside The attempts of the Navy agents to obtain information did not impress the M, as Maya Lansi called it in her Memoirs, everyone in New York laughed at the way those naive Navy agents toured the docks to the who came up to work in the area. and they spoke out of the corner of their mouths as you see them in the movies asking about spies the naval intelligence agents were blocked no one among the dogs would say anything without Luciano's approval Alano did not approve from prison he had seen an opportunity to reach a agreement knew that the US government needed it they would simply have to be convinced to what extent then, on February 9, 1942, something happened that would do exactly that, more at Pier 88 of the New York docks was The Normandy, a French luxury ship.

The liner had been a favorite of movie stars and celebrities. The Normandy was fast and powerful and when the French capitulated, she was quickly commandeered by the American Army who were converting her into a troop transport. Then one afternoon disaster struck. The Normandy sank in Burning emergency vehicles rushed to the scene; It was the largest gathering of emergency services on American soil since the war began. For 6 hours, Normandy burned and then, in the early hours of the morning, it collapsed under the weight of the water that had been pumped to its decks the death of a queen now the 60 million luxury liner lies mortally at its side wounded after the disaster investigations began whether this was the work of German sabots whether some of the Italian-American dockers had been fascist sympathizers the The fear at the time, rightly, was that this was foreign sabotage.

Somehow, Nazi or fascist agents had boarded the ship and burned it. The FBI had been pursuing spies operating in the United States since the 1930s. Their battle against German and fascist agents was well publicized. The United States was increasingly obsessed with this internal enemy, so it was no surprise that these were the prime suspects in the Normandy fire case. However, the event remained shrouded in mystery until Lucky Luciano made a sensational claim: he declared that his men were responsible for burning down the Normy which was the work of his henchmen Albert Anastasia in a book that was supposedly based on his direct confessions.

Luciano explained that Albert thinks that if something could happen to Normandy that would make everyone shit their pants, it was a great idea, so he sent White back. to Albert to handle it a couple of days later I heard on the radio that the Normandy was on fire and it didn't look like they could save her that damn Albert really did a job Lucians was not the same as the official version of events In his investigation of the incident, the U.S. government had come to a different conclusion: Normandy was an unfortunate accident caused by civilian incompetence.

The fire was decided to have been started by Rogue Sparks with a workman's blowtorch and was supposedly shut down whatever the truth was behind the In case the Normandy disaster turned out to be the beginning of one of the most peculiar relationships of the Second War World, whoever had done it, the burning of Normandy certainly scared the Navy and fueled fears that their ships were targets of sabotage. Lieutenant Commander Charles Hendon was head of naval intelligence in New York. The main task of his unit was to ensure that there were no more incidents like the Normandy, so Hendon knew he had to gain access to the docks and there was only one way to do it: burn the Normandy.

It was really a catalyst for US naval intelligence to get serious about dealing with gangsters and Commander Hon in particular said he would be happy to talk to the devil if that's what it takes to take care of the gangsters' dogs. NY. Hendon threw one. of the most secret missions of the war, an operation called underworld in which the elite of the United States would turn to the mafia for help. Hendon's first port of call was Thomas Dewey. Dwey had spent his career fighting mobsters and knew how to find them first. He contacted Joseph Sock Lanza, he was Luciano's man at the docks.

Mafia boss of the Fulton Fish Market, where he ran alucrative business. Moses Poov remembers the influence Socks Lza had. Suck was a tough guy who controlled the fish markets at the bottom. On the other hand, he was a power, no one could sell fish without his approval, he probably blackmailed him or got paid for protection or whatever, that's the kind of person that sucks, all the fishing boats in the port had to pay him dues a Throws normally in the form. of a $100 bill, American officials met with Lanza secretly and broke up the deal. Lanzer agreed that his fishermen would keep their eyes open at the docks, but he had some unwanted news.

Lanza said I can really do the best I can, but at the end of the day the person who commands the most respect on the docks is not me but Charles Luchana there was no way around it to get what they needed we intelligence we would have to deal with the public enemy number one who was serving his sixth year in prison Luciano was reeling they in he would later claim, as far as affection was concerned, that he knew nothing of what was going on, except that he was sitting there with his mouth open like a prisoner and I would say yes and it would help your entire department.

Tim nck has found clear evidence of Hendon's need for collaboration in a statement made by Maya Lansky Lansky was interviewed for the official Hurin report a post-war investigation into the relationship between the US military and the mafia. We have here another statement from Maya Lansky saying that the government was afraid. of sabotage, that's their phrase, it says that they were more concerned about shipping and the Italians who worked on the docks and that it felt very desirable to get some prominent Italians involved and that's why the name Charlie Lano came up the question was who could gain Luciano's trust, there was a contact that could be useful.

Luciano's old friend Malansky was proudly Jewish and openly hated the Nazis. He opposed the Bund, a pro-Nazi anti-Semitic organization whose rallies imitated those held in Hitler's Germany. Lansky recalled how, at the secret request of her rabbi, he and his henchmen had raided the Bund rallies, the stage decorated with a Swas sticker and a picture of Hitler. the speaker started ranting the only 15 of us but we sprung into action we threw some of them out the windows most of the nazis panicked and ran away we chased them and beat them we wanted to show them that jews don't always they stayed seated. and I accept insults maya lansi was a gangster that a nation at war with the nazis could do business with lansky agreed to see what she could do to help in may 1942 a strange group of gangsters lawyers and intelligence officers headed to damura prison the little Siberia Moisés Poov was there as Luciano's lawyer, we were lucky and he said: what the hell are you doing here?

He was really surprised. Poov has never fully revealed the details of that meeting, but Luciano made a decision, we explained to him about the purpose of our meeting. mission and he said yes, I will help with Luciano's blessing. Word spread that the mob wanted the Dockers to join up to help the war effort. The mafia's message was clear: no more ships would be burned. The order was completely obeyed at that time. Luy Luciano. They had been transferred from Little Siberia to Great Meadow Prison, one of the easiest institutions in the US penal system. From the moment the mafia promised their help to the US government, there were no further incidents in the port or worker strikes, the docks operated smoothly during the war, US Navy intelligence was now committed to working with public enemy number one, one of its top officers, Anthony Marlo, recalled that anyone who could make a contribution to help us was used, whether it was Luciano, whether it was Bugsy Seagull, whether it was Costello whether it was Maya Lansky yes AB Wilman yes Mike Las terrifying yes all of them but the relationship between the mafia and the government did not end in New York the war was intensifying the allied forces were winning in North Africa German Field Marshal Roml was caught in a trap British General Montgomery was pushing from the east an army commanded by American General Eisenhower was attacking from the west after From heavy fighting the Axis armies of Germany and Italy were driven from North Africa British Prime Minister Churchill and the US Generals Marshall and Eisenhower decided that an invasion of Europe was now possible the first stage of this plan would be to attack the island of Sicily an opportunity was yet to come Luciana's path Luil Luano had been born in Sicily it was also the birthplace of the mafia known as Tradition, the mafia's code of conduct had emerged as a means for the Sicilians were protected against foreign exploitation.

Sicilians seek in themselves not only security but also justice. If a crime was committed against you, then it was up to you and your family. In organizing retaliation, Luciano had always retained a great love for his home country and had many contacts with the mafia there, but by the 1920s the Sicilian mafia had acquired a formidable enemy. The fascist dictator Benito Musolini. Musolini made a name for himself defending Law and Order and decided to put it down. Strikers, communists and criminals Musolini went to um cesy in the 1920s and was shocked by the fact that a prominent mafia figure told him: "I will take care of you, I will take care of you, my men will watch you." Musine felt embarrassed by this. and he said that basically no Italian can have two teachers.

Musolini wanted to be the only teacher, not the mafia, is that you? So Musolini sent his blackshirts and waged war against the Sicilian mafia purging cities and towns from 1927 to 1929. 16 major trials were held. arrested and hundreds of mafia members were imprisoned by the mid-1930s the mafia had been driven underground in Sicily. Luciano sitting in the Great Meadow prison did not like that situation, he was determined that the mafia would flourish again in the homeland, perhaps this would be his opportunity. The planned Allied invasion of Sicily was fraught with danger thanks to a successful strategy of deception.

The Allies had convinced Hitler that the invasion would take place in Greece or Sardinia, not Sicily, but Axis troops stationed in those countries would be quickly redeployed once the true plan was known. The only way to get Allied troops quickly to Sicily was through amphibious landings, this would leave them vulnerable while they moved from sea to land to make the invasion work. The Allies needed vital intelligence and agents on the ground. Once again, there was only one place for them. To change, what happened was that United States naval intelligence, having had this success with Luchano guarding the docks for them, thought that maybe we could take this package further and thought that maybe Luchano and the mafia could help with the invasion.

Commander Hendon went once more. To his underworld contacts he wanted information about Sicily from Italian Americans and recruited Maya Lansky to help. Lansky called his Sicilian contacts who would be asked to comment on a large map of the island that Hendon placed in front of them. Some resisted, but not for long. It seems the boss of bosses was once again involved. Luciano had enlisted the help of Hardman Joe Adonis, whose role was to encourage people to share information, as Mangi explains in his Memoirs. Sometimes some of the Sicilians were very nervous. Joe just mentioned the name Lucky Luchano. and said that he had given them orders to speak if the Sicilians remained reluctant.

Joe stopped smiling and said: "the lucky ones will not be pleased to know that they have not been of help." In July 1943, Hendon's map was covered with detailed information about Sicily and its waters. surrounding the island while final preparations were made for Operation Husky. Luciano made an extraordinary attempt to become even more involved in the United States war effort. He asked Malansky to present him with an idea. Lucky came up with a plan that seemed pretty crazy to me. He wanted to join the invading army. He thought his presence would ensure Cilian's cooperation. He said he was prepared to parachute to the island.

It is a testament to the power Luciano wielded that his request reached the highest levels of the U.S. military before being rejected. Why the mobster was being so sympathetic would only become clear after the war, armed with intelligence obtained from the mafia, the United States was ready for invasion on July 9, 1943. Operation Husky began as the British and Canadians advanced as they advance along the east coast. met with stiff resistance, every city had to be taken by storm, it seemed like it would be a long and hard campaign, in contrast, the American Seventh Army under General Patton seemed to have it easy.

American Lieutenant Paul Alfieri was on one of the first intelligence teams in Arriving at the port of Lataa on the island, he was immediately greeted by an extremely helpful Sicilian. The young man showed Alfieri the secret hideout of the Italian naval command in a beachside holiday villa and then provided him with a gunman to help him attack him inside the Villa were documents that provided invaluable information, plans of the German and Italian defenses, plus their radio code books. The most important thing was that there was information about the axis. Naval forces throughout the island. The map overlaid detailed marine minefields and revealed safe routes through them.

Intelligence saved many Allied lives. Lieutenant Alfieri received a Legion of Merit for his actions. It was later revealed that the Sicilian who had helped Alfieri was a mafia man who owed his life to Lucky Luciano. He murdered a New York police officer. Luciano had saved him from the electric chair by organizing his escape to Sicily. Within two weeks, the US military had completely secured the western side of the island. Official reports attribute this to the efficiency of American troops, as does war photographer Herbert the White Boy. Our American warships were Cracker Jacks. They knocked down all the pillboxes and say it was a nice display. of efficiency seeing loads of artillery vehicles and supplies moving from sea to land like an assembly line in a Detroit factory, but in his Memoirs my Elansky suggested there was something else at work.

I was told that Mafia and Lucky Luchano were passwords, maybe that sounds crazy, right? in the middle of the war, but one of the agents told me later that those words were magic, people smiled and everything was easy afterwards. Luciano himself claimed with his characteristic modesty that he had won the war, perhaps we will never know how influential the mafia was in it. the Allied liberation of Sicily, but Tim New has found evidence even within official documentation confirming that the mafia was part of the American strategy. What I found was that the United States military had prepared a report intended for the chief of staff and that included General Eisenhower, who would have reviewed this and basically what they say in this document is that they should establish contact with leaders of separatist groups and also with radical groups and they mention the mafia, in fact, what Tim Nuk has discovered could suggest a level of collaboration that not even Luciano himself admitted even more sensational than that is that they are saying that they should give them weapons, give them weapons and then let the mafia blow up their bridges and destroy roads, there is nothing to confirm whether this plan of action was carried out, but we know that cooperation with the mafia would not have come at a price: the war had left Sicily in a state of chaos that was now the responsibility of the US military.

AMG entered every captured city in Italy with the first occupation troops. The job was to transform battlefields step by step into normal communities. The cities and countryside were filled with destitute refugees to bring the country under control. American officials had no choice but to replace the fascist Mayes with mob bosses when the fascists were expelled from cesy. There was a power. Basically there was a vacuum and the figures who seemed best to take over were those who had been anti-fascists and of course many of them were local mafia figures who would take over as mayor of the city, a new mayor was sworn in, this man was now not only responsible to us but to his own people under the pretext of being victims of fascism the members of the mafia imprisoned under musolini were released from it Ian prisons outside the crisis the mafia would regain control this was the beginning of their return to dominance in Sicily American intelligence officer Joseph Russo witnessed the mafia's rapid return to power.

The first thing I did, I started looking for the Malavita, the Malavita criminals, and it turned out that they were mostlygangsters and they were big, they became very big and it didn't take them long. There are some who doubt Lucian's claim that he won the war and that they would be right. After all, Luciano was a man who had been convicted of perjury, but the story of how the US government struck a deal with Lucky Luciano and his criminal associates and was deemed worthy of investigation in 1954. It was This is what the official Hurin report produced.

The report clearly states that the burning of the standard was a pivotal point in US domestic naval strategy, even though it was stopped short. to establish a direct link with the mafia, it also clearly states that US naval intelligence had no doubts about the morality of dealing with known criminals. After all, America was fighting for his life. The exploitation of informants, regardless of their background, is not only desirable but necessary. when the nation fights for its existence, intelligence as such must prevent and must encompass any and all means, by any and all means, I include the so-called underworld and, in relation to the invasion of Sicily, the report He states that numerous Italians of Sicilian origin enlisted. to provide information on terrain collectors, etc. of Sicily in anticipation of the Allied invasion through these informants the names of native Sicilian friends and even mafia personalities were obtained and used in the official documentation of the Sicilian campaign barely alludes to any agreement that had been closed with Luciano. but the events that followed the war speak for themselves in 1946 the mafia pimp and convicted murderer Lucky Luciano was released from prison he had served only 10 of his 50 year sentence the only condition for his freedom was that he leave the United States for El February 9, 1946, Luciano boarded a ship in New York Milanski and Frank Castello was there to see him off.

Luciano quickly reestablished himself operating first from Cuba and then from Italy. Soon Lucky Luciano was back in business with Sicily, now again under mafia control. He greatly strengthened his criminal ties across the Atlantic and expanded the influence of the New York mafia in 1962, aged 64 Luciano died a free man and a criminal Legend this remarkable change of fortune seems proof enough Luciano had indeed contributed to the war effort of United States I think that a lot of people I think that the story of the mafia and the Lacki Luchiano involved in the Second World War and helping the United States government win part of it is a myth, it is not a myth, it is a fact that Luchiano He did make a secret deal with them and was in fact very useful in helping the US government.

Luciano had revived the fortunes of the Mafia, paving his way to dominating organized crime around the world.