Charles “Lucky” Luciano
During the Prohibition era of the 1920s, an organized crime network took shape under the name of “Cosa Nostra”(roughly translated to “Our Thing”). It remained one of the biggest mob networks in America, dealing at the time with bootleg liquor traffic, prostitution and organized crime.
In 1930, Charles “Lucky” Luciano became the prime figure of this mob organization, being in charge of establishing proper relations for the racketeering business and keeping the peace among the mob families.
He gained his nickname of “Lucky” after barely surviving an assassination attempt. He was the founder of the American mafia and the National Crime Syndicate, soon to be known as ‘The Commission’, an organization that gathered all the crime establishments in America into a single and terrible entity.
Their meetings were mostly focused on maximizing the profits and avoiding as much as possible unnecessary bloodshed. In 1936 a special prosecutor who was also a presidential candidate laid eyes on Luciano and proceeded with an investigation on his prostitution racket.
Thomas E. Dewey led an evening raid on 80 New York City brothels and brought to the Police station about 125 prostitutes to testify against the mob’s nefarious activities. They succeeded in gathering enough evidence and testimonies.
Charles “Lucky” Luciano was convicted with 62 charges of compulsory prostitution and sentenced to 50 years of prison. Unfortunately, he continued to keep his influential status in “Cosa Nostra” while behind bars and after being deported to Italy as well.
