Lucky Luciano - Death, Life & Crimes (2024)

(1897-1962)

Who Was Lucky Luciano?

Charles "Lucky" Luciano is an American mobster who split New York City into five crime families, heading the Genovese crime family himself. He also initiated The Commission, which served as a governing body for organized crime nationwide. Luciano moved to Havana and was later deported to Italy, living out his final years in Naples.

Early Life

Born Salvatore Lucania in Sicily in 1897, Luciano became one of the most notorious criminal figures of the 20th century. He came to the United States with his family in 1906. Not able to speak English, Luciano struggled in school. He preferred to learn how to make it on the streets of New York's Lower East Side.

One of Luciano's first rackets was getting his schoolmates to pay him for protection. If they didn't cough up the money, he was liable to give them a beating himself. Luciano dropped out of school in 1914 and graduated from other offenses. While he worked as a clerk for a hat company for some time, he managed a budding criminal career as well. The teenaged Luciano befriended Jewish gang members Meyer Lansky and his associate Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who would become two of his most important allies. He also became affiliated with Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria's criminal operation. Luciano got involved in dealing drugs, which led to his first major run-in with the law in 1916. He was caught selling heroin and served six months at a reformatory for the crime.

The 'Big Six' of Bootlegging

During the 1920s, the prohibition of alcohol created opportunities for criminals to make a lot of money. Luciano became one of the "Big Six" of bootlegging along with childhood friend Lansky, Siegel, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro and Abner "Longy" Zwillman. These unscrupulous characters dominated the illegal liquor trade on the East Coast. Luciano was also an associate of Arnold Rothstein, also known as the Big Bankroll, who had gambling and bootlegging operations.

Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria

In 1929, Luciano lived up his nickname "Lucky" by surviving a savage attack. He was abducted by a group of men, who beat and stabbed him. Left for dead on a beach in Staten Island, Luciano was discovered by a police officer and taken to the hospital. It was unclear who had ordered the attack, but some speculated that it was the police or top crime boss Masseria. Masseria was in a turf war with rival boss Salvatore Maranzano around this time. Luciano had worked for Masseria for years, but he later supported Marazano. He helped arrange for Masseria to meet a grisly end in April 1931.

Ring of Crime

Rising to power, Luciano took over Masseria's position as the top boss, with Marazano's approval. He became a leader of one of the city's five families, taking his place alongside such infamous figures as Joseph Bonanno, Joseph Profaci, Tommy Gagliano and Vincent Mangano. Unfortunately for Luciano, Marazano soon viewed him as a threat and ordered a hit on him. But Luciano was able to strike him first, having some of his men take out Marazano in his office in September 1931.

Luciano and Al Capone

With his rival vanquished, Luciano focused on improving how criminal gangs did business. He sought to create a national organized-crime network to quell any conflicts, manage disputes and establish guidelines between the different operations. In addition to the heads of the five families, he brought in other crime figures from across the country, including Chicago's Al Capone. This new entity, sometimes known as the Commission, took organized crime to a new level.

In the early 1930s, Luciano was enjoying the high life. He lived at New York's luxurious Waldorf Towers, part of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, under the name Charles Ross. Flush with cash, Luciano looked the part of a wealthy businessman, wearing custom-made suits and riding around in chauffeur-driven cars. But the good times were about to come to end, as Thomas E. Dewey was appointed to serve as a special prosecutor to look into organized crime in 1935.

Personal Life

Luciano met Italian ballerina Igea Lissoni in 1948. Despite their 20-year age difference, the couple fell in love, and it was reported the following year that they had married, although others claim that wasn't the case. Regardless, the couple's life in Naples was tumultuous, as Luciano continued his womanizing and at times turned abusive. Lissoni later developed breast cancer and died in 1959.

Final Years and Death

Luciano's luck ran out in 1936. He and eight members of his vice racket were brought to trial that May. Convicted on extortion and prostitution charges in June, he was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in jail. Luciano was sent to the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. Nicknamed "Siberia" by some, the remote prison was near the Canadian border. Luciano tried to appeal his case, but the court upheld his conviction.

While in prison, Luciano offered to help in the war effort during World War II by using his criminal connections in Italy to advance the Allies' cause. After the war, Luciano received parole and a deportation order. He went back to Italy briefly and then traveled to Cuba. There he met up with some of his old cohorts in crime, including Lansky and Siegel.

In 1947, the Cuban government sent Luciano back to Italy, where he remained under close surveillance. He was not allowed to leave Naples, where he spent the remainder of his days. According to some reports, he still had his hands in narcotics trafficking. Luciano considered sharing the inside details of his life story over the years. In an odd twist of fate, he suffered a fatal heart attack at a Naples Airport in January 1962. Luciano had been there to meet with a film and television producer.

Grave

After hundreds gathered in Naples for the funeral, Luciano's body was returned to the United States. He was buried in the family's vault at St. John's Cemetery in Queens, New York. While he spent much of his life as the notorious Charles "Lucky" Luciano, he was laid to rest by his parents under his birth name, Salvatore Lucania.

The criminal empire that Luciano created continues on to this day. His former underboss, Vito Genovese, eventually took control of Luciano's organization and became the head of what is now referred to as the Genovese crime family. Genovese died in 1969.

  • Birth Year: 1897
  • Birth date: November 24, 1897
  • Birth Country: Italy
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Lucky Luciano was an Italian-born American mobster best known for engineering the structure of modern organized crime in the United States.
  • Industries
    • Crime and Terrorism
  • Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
  • Nacionalities
    • Italian
  • Cultural Associations
    • Italian American
  • Death Year: 1962
  • Death date: January 26, 1962
  • Death City: Naples
  • Death Country: Italy

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us!


  • Article Title: Lucky Luciano Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/crime/lucky-luciano
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: May 4, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
Lucky Luciano - Death, Life & Crimes (2024)

FAQs

Lucky Luciano - Death, Life & Crimes? ›

Lucky Luciano (born November 11, 1896, Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy—died January 26, 1962, Naples) was the most powerful chief of American organized crime in the early 1930s and a major influence even from prison in 1936–45 and after deportation to Italy in 1946.

Did Al Capone and Lucky Luciano ever meet? ›

This was run by Johnny Torrio, who later graduated Capone into the even more notorious Five Points gang. It was here that Capone became friends with Lucky Luciano, another who would become a hallmark in the '30s gangster era.

How rich was Lucky Luciano when he died? ›

Original question: “How rich was Lucky Luciano?” He died of a heart attack, I believe, in 1962. At that time estimates of his net worth vary, depending upon which figure you accept. The figures range from $1.6 million to around $5 million.

What was the cause of death of Lucky Luciano? ›

After the meeting with Gosch, Luciano had a heart attack and died. He was unaware that Italian drug agents had followed him to the airport in anticipation of arresting him on drug smuggling charges. Three days later, 300 people attended a funeral service for Luciano in Naples.

Who is the most feared gangster of all time? ›

In his Chicago heyday from 1925 to 1929, Capone was reputed to be the most notorious mobster in the United States.

Did Lucky Luciano get gonorrhea? ›

At age fourteen, he lost his virginity and caught gonorrhea, the first of seven cases of gonorrhea and two cases of syphilis. Luciano did have common-law relations for six years with a special woman, but they never married because he “couldn't get along with the girl.” “Charles Lucky” saw himself as a gambler.

Who is the most successful gangster of all time? ›

1. Al Capone. Al Capone, also known as Scarface, was one the most famous gangsters who rose to prominence during the Prohibition era in the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1899 to Italian immigrant parents.

Who was the richest criminal of all time? ›

Pablo Escobar (estimated net worth in 1993: $30 billion)

At the time of his death he was worth an estimated $30 billion, according to Bankrate. In today's money that would be as much as $85.2 billion, which would put him firmly in the top 10 of the world's richest people.

Who was the first gangster in America? ›

Maranzano, the first leader of the American Mafia, established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes.

Was Lucky Luciano in The Godfather? ›

Lucky Luciano is only mentioned in The Godfather Returns and its sequel. However, his existence in The Godfather universe would be conflicting with some of the major characters, unless his role would've differed from reality and be less significant.

What bad things did Lucky Luciano do? ›

By 1925, Luciano and his partners ran the largest bootlegging operation in New York. He imported Scotch whiskey from Scotland, rum from the Caribbean, and other alcohol products from Canada. He was also involved in illegal gambling, prostitution, and other illegal enterprises.

Who was the friend of Lucky Luciano? ›

Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.

Were Lucky Luciano and Vito Genovese friends? ›

A childhood friend and criminal associate of the legendary Lucky Luciano, Genovese took part in the Castellammarese War and helped Luciano shape the new American Mafia's rise as a major force in organized crime in the United States.

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