Description
Charles “Lucky” Luciano (born Salvatore Luciana – November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was a Sicilian mobster in the United States. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for the establishment of the first Commission. He was the first official boss of the modern Genovese crime family. He was, along with his associate Meyer Lansky, instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.
Luciano was tried and successfully convicted for compulsory prostitution in 1936 after years of investigation by District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. Luciano was given a thirty-year prison sentence, but was allowed to live his life freely outside the United Sates when he struck a deal with the government during World War II while still imprisoned. After his deportation to Italy, with major assistance from mob underling and eventual rival Vito Genovese, he started the most lucrative (at the time) heroin racket in the world.
On January 26, 1962, Luciano died of a heart attack at Naples International Airport. Luciano had one to the airport to meet with American producer Martin Gosch about a film based on his life.
