Lucky Luciano: The Father Of The Mafia

Salvatore Lucania was born on November 24, 1897 in Sicily, Italy; almost ten years later, he began a new life of crime and prosperity in New York City’s lower east side. Upon arrival, he could not speak english; he bullied the other kids into paying him for protection and participated in drug dealing. One day, Lucania was abducted, beaten, stabbed, and left for dead; miraculously, he survived. This rather fortunate recovery led him to become known as Lucky Luciano (“Lucky Luciano Biography.com.” Edited by Biography.com, The Biography.Com website, A&E Television Networks, 17 June 2015, www.biography.com/people/lucky-luciano -9388350). In 1916, he became the leader of the Five Points Gang and continued to make a name for himself. During these early years, Luciano was in and out of jail-- mostly for getting caught dealing drugs.

The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American

After nearly being killed, Torrio retired to Italy as Capone took over his throne as Chicago’s crime leader. Under Capone’s reign, his bootlegging business thrived. In order to take out the competition, Capone even ordered men to assassinate them. Feud between his gang and rivaling gangs sparked many conflicts and murders. One of these mass murders was the infamous Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Al Capone, who was born in New York in 1899, was one of the most prominent gangsters in America in the 1920s. He was the son of Italian immigrants, and after leaving school at a young age, became a small-time criminal. Known as ‘Scarface,’ he had links to the leader of the Five Points Gang, Johnny Torrio, and moved to Chicago in 1920, where he gradually rose through the ranks as a partner in saloons, gambling and brothels. They moved their operations to Illinois after an offer to work with Jim Colosimo, a central figure in Chicago’s brothel business. Gang rivalry heated up after a dispute between Torrio and Colosimo over whether to begin in the bootlegging business, and in 1920, Colosimo was murdered allegedly by Al Capone. After this, Torrio’s criminal empire expanded massively throughout Chicago, before leaving in 1925 and handing over operations to Capone. After taking over, Capone expanded operations even further, and was able to control Chicago’s Mayor, ‘Big Bill’ Thompson and fix his elections. A local newspaper from the time reported

Alphonse was destined to a life of lawlessness from a young age. In his adolescence, he lived the life of an Italian Immigrant. Sequestered to predominantly Italian boroughs, education was lackluster and the influence of the Italian mob was ever present. However, Capone's education played a key role in his development. As Kobel states in his novel, it was here at school where Capone met another future mob boss. Another Italian delinquent youth at the time, Salvatore Lucania, also known as Lucky Luciano. (Kobler 23) Capone continued to live a moderately normal life until his expulsion from school at age fourteen. He worked side jobs around Brooklyn

Al Capone was a highly known gangster in the 1920s Alphonse Capone born in Brooklyn, New York to a poor US immigrant couple, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, seeking a better opportunity for their then big family of eight children. He was known for running many lucrative illegal businesses that included alcohol bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and protection. Al Capone was so notorious that he would murder those who got in his way. With little prosecution of his actions, Al Capone believed his self to being unstoppable. Al Capone, being raised as a kid in poverty learned hands on how to organize crime and became the biggest force in organized crime.

The 1920s was a very eventful time period for the US crime scene. With the emergences of major crime bosses like Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, Charles Luciano, and others there was much to be done in the crime world. Charles “Lucky” Luciano (born as Salvatore Lucania) would become a key player in the reshaping and modernization of the mafia and the crime world. Young Luciano would show signs of pursuing a criminal career. His parents and family however disapproved of their son’s action and career path and essentially exiled him, respecting his family’s wishes he would later change his name from Salvatore Lucania to Charles Luciano. He also by the age of 10 he involved extortion, and thievery. Upon his arrest for the distribution of drugs in 1915, the police would offered to release him if he would tell them what he knew about the mob, Luciano however refused to talk due to the Sicilian code of silence, this action would vastly considered pivotal in fast tracking his career in

If ever there was an incubator for crime it was the Italian Harlem tenements of the South Bronx. In one of those crowded dirty apartments, a young John Gotti seeked an impoverished existence with his parents and eleven sisters and brothers. His father rarely worked and then, only at menial jobs, risking the money that the family did have on gambling.

Alphonse Capone is perhaps one of the most notorious gangsters of all time being remembered in infamy as a very successful businessman and a stone cold killer. Before Capone would become a mob boss he lived in a run down part of New York city. Capone went to a Catholic school, where he showed academic promise, but due to the violent nature of Catholic school Capone was expelled from school at the age of fourteen for assaulting a female teacher (A&E Television Networks). After that incident the young Capone picked up odd jobs until he met the gangster Johnny Torrio. Torrio had a huge impact on Capone 's life, giving him a look at how organized crime were transforming from gangs, into empires. Capone bounced around from different gangs and ended up in a

Lucky Luciano noticed that the Irish kid was the same guy who had killed Luckys' buddy

Born in 1899 to poor immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York, Capone went on to become the most infamous gangster in American history. At the height of Prohibition, in 1920, Capone’s multi-million dollar Chicago operation in bootlegging, prostitution and gambling amassed estimates of 100$ million a year (completely tax free). Capone along with gangster mentor Johnny Torrio, established levers of control throughout the government gaining them a leg up on the competition and anyone who could not be bought off, killed off. They were accredited with bribing officials, rigging elections, and many other nefarious actions they required. Responsible for many brutal acts of violence, Capone, ordered many hits on his opponent’s, and lawmen be damned if they got in his way. The most infamous being the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, in Which he ordered the assassination of gangster rival “Bugs” Moran. Consequently, Capone, never brought to justice for his racketeering, or well-organized murder, until finally being indicted for federal tax evasion in 1931. Capone served six and a half years, and after being released, he died in 1947 in Miami. The gangster’s life captivated the public’s imagination, and his persona has been preserved in many movies and books inspired

I started my project like any other, by picking my topic. I think that picking my topic was the hardest part of it all. I had thought of many different things such as Dalai lama, but I had decide not to get involved with different religions, for it was very controversial. I hadn’t chose my topic until late in the game. I was looking into the Prohibition Era and I hadn’t known who Salvatore Luciano, a.k.a. Charles “Lucky” Luciano, was until I looked into the crime during that Era. It was perfect, it had connected to the theme, it was interesting, and I don’t think that many people had heard about Lucky Luciano.

Paul Castellano, or “Big Paul” was an eight-grade dropout and boss of the richest, most dangerous, and most powerful crime syndicate in the United States. Born June 26, 1915 in Brooklyn, Big Paul began his life in the mob by running numbers. When he was named successor to the great Carlo Gambino, trouble arose. Many members felt that Aniello Dellacroce, although in prison, deserved the role but instead Gambino had promoted Paul. Some saw this as nepotism which was generally frowned upon on by La Cosa Nostra. To settle tensions Castellano gifted Neil Dellacroce some of the family’s most lucrative operations throughout Manhattan and Queens, but this did not completely satisfy the slighted underboss. Paul, like Gambino, was an unusual type of Mafia boss. Unfortunately, while Don Carlo was revolutionary, Big Paul was unsatisfactory. He was embarrassed that he was categorized as a gangster and preferred to be regarded as a diplomat or businessman. Big Paul was said to look more like a businessman or CEO than a mobster. Paul Castellano was flashy too; he liked elegant clothing, fine dining, and being driven around by chauffeur. He even detested violence which is not a good quality for a mob boss to obtain. “The Pope” as he was referred to, was standoffish. His predecessor had gone to the markets in Little Italy, held court in public places, lived in the city, and interacted with his soldiers and capos. Big Paul on the other hand, generally held court at his private estate, did

One of the most successful Mafia bosses involved in bootlegging and prostitution was Charles "Lucky" Luciano. He was born in 1897 in Sicily, Italy. At the age of 9 he moved to the Lower East Side of New York. In 1920 he began his own prostitution

“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family, can never be a real man” - Mario Puzo, The Godfather. As described in the novel Godfather, Don Corleone is a man who is passionate for obtaining respect, as well as repaying the favor. Don, a man of power, and much wisdom is very persuasive in using force to get what he wants. Throughout the Godfather, it will take many twists and turns into the lives of the mafia. It will reveal a world of crime, men on the run. Drugs, what such things