Charles “Lucky” Luciano

Quote: “There’s no such thing as good money or bad money. There’s just money”

Background

• Born in Lercara Friddi, Sicily on November 24, 1897• Had four siblings• Moved to the United States in Manhattan when he

was 10 years old • Struggled in school, not able to speak English well • When he was 14 he dropped out of school and

started gambling • As a teenager he started his own gang and offered

protection to young Jewish kids for money

Rise to power • Got his nickname “Lucky” from surviving a severe beating by three

men and escaping near-death experiences, and he was great at gambling

• As a teenager he befriended Jewish gang members: Meyer Lansky and Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel (become his two most important allies)

• 1920’s during prohibition he became one of the “big six” of bootlegging

• 1929- he survived a brutal attack where he was stabbed and left for dead and was discovered by a police officer and taken to a hospital

• He arranged for his boss, Masseria, to be killed April 1931 and then took over his position

Life of crime

• He was the leader of one of New York’s five families alongside infamous gangsters such as Joseph Bonanno, Vincent Mangano, and Tom Gagilano

• His rival Salvatore Maranzano viewed him as a threat and planned to kill him

• He ordered for Maranzon to be killed first in his office September 1931

• He created and engineered a national organized crime network to manage disputes andsolve conflicts

• Luciano took organized crime to the next level known as a comission and did business with gang leaders across the country such as Chicago’s Al Capone

Later Life • Thomas Dewey, a special prosecutor for organized crime, brought

Luciano to court in 1936• While he was in prison he helped during WWII by using his criminal

connections in Italy to advance the Allies’ cause• After the war he received parol • In 1947 he met up with “Bugsy” Siegel and Meyer Lansky in Cuba

and was sent back to Italy• He was not allowed to leave Naples, Italy and he spent the rest of

his life there and died from a hear attack 1962• He was burried in St. John’s Cemetery in New York City• His national crime syndicate still continues on today

Crimes Accused of Committing Crime Date Punishment

Caught dealing heroin 1916 Served six months at a reformatory

Charges with 62 counts of prostitution

June 1936 Sentenced to prison 30-50 years

Most recent crime

• Charged in 1936 for prostitution and was sentenced to 30-50 years in prison, but he only ended up serving about eleven years

• He maintained his life of organized crime and leading his gang after being released from jail, but was never convicted of anything else in his life

• There was close watch on him while he was in Cuba because he planned to carry out being a world wide heroin dealer and then he was sent to Italy

• He was going to be arrested for his heroin exploits, but he died in 1962

Evidence brought against criminal

• Witness testimony of 62 counts of prostitution• Thomas E. Dewey looked into Luciano’s

organised crime and brought • Reported to police for selling heroin

Sentence

• Brought to court by prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey

• Sentenced to 30-50 years in prison for 62 counts of prostitution – He got off with parol in 1947

Cultural References

• Movie: Lucky Luciano (1973)– Charles Lucky Luciano Coming out in 2016– Hoodlem (1997)

• Documentaries: – Lucky Luciano, Mobsters, Bugsy, American

Ganster • Tv mini series- The Mob: New York

Differential Association Theory

This theory states that criminal behaviors are learned through interactions with others, mostly in intiamte groups. Charles Luciano learned his criminal behaviors growing up in gangs. As soon as he moved to America as a child he started a gang so that he could make money off of the protection of jewish kids who were beat up. He provided them with security and a sense of family. This is how he met his childhood friend’s Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky.

Differntial Association Theory

• They later started their own gangs as well and all were allies. Through growing up with gangs Luciano learned violence and crime. He sold drugs as a teenager and throughout his entire life. The differential association theory states that individuals are likely to become criminals if the greatest influence to him/her strongly support criminal activity. All of Luciano’s friends were strongly involved in crime and gangs. The frequency of Luciano’s crime from an early age and so on was quite often. He had been heavily involved with organized crime his whole life. I think the differential association theory describes Luciano perfectly.