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Charles “Lucky” Luciano is one of the most famous
mobsters in history.  He was a childhood criminal from
the lower east side of New York and quickly grew in  
stature to become one of the most influential figures in 
the history of the Mafia.

Luciano is actually considered to be the father of

Categories
modern organised crime in the U.S.A.  His model for
operating the mafia in America is still predominant
today.  Whilst there is no doubt that Luciano was a Customer
ruthless criminal, he was a very effective and powerful Service

leader.  Luciano transformed the business of crime and (4)

made it one of the most influential and powerful Entrepreneurial
businesses in the U.S for many decades. (14)
 
So….what did Lucky Luciano do that made him so Marketing
wildly successful as a business leader? and Sales

  (19)
People and
He was a very effective collaborator – Traditional mob
Culture
bosses were typically only willing to work with other
(12)
Sicilians. Luciano, in contrast, was willing to work with
Italian, Jewish, and Irish gangsters.  Luciano’s vision was Personal (4)
to form a national crime syndicate in which the Italian, Strategy (16)
Jewish, and Irish gangs could pool their resources and
turn organized crime into a lucrative business for all.

He was decisive – Luciano saw a very clear path to

being in a position of power.  He eliminated the boss of
the lower Manhattan crime family, Joe Masseria,
because his family was performing poorly.  In doing so
he won control of Masseria’s rackets and became the
lieutenant to Salvatore Maranzano – the “boss of all
bosses”.  When Luciano heard that Maranzano was
orchestrating to kill him, he pre-empted this and
organised his path to absolute power by killing
Maranzano.

He was a great organiser – With the death of

Maranzano, Luciano became the dominant organized
crime boss in the United States. He had reached the
pinnacle of America’s underworld, directing criminal
rules, policies, and activities along with the other family
bosses. Luciano, on the urging of former Chicago boss
Johnny Torrio, set up “The Commission” to serve as the
governing body for all organized crime. Designed to
settle all disputes and decide which families controlled
which territories, the Commission has been called
Luciano’s greatest innovation.  Luciano’s goals with the
Commission were to quietly maintain his own power
over all the families, and to prevent future gang wars.

He was humble – Luciano abolished the title of Capo

Di Tutti Capi or Boss of All Bosses, insisting that the
position created trouble between the families.  Rather
than declare himself the most powerful and make
himself a target for other families. Luciano preferred to
quietly maintain control through unofficial alliances
with other family bosses.
He was loyal – Luciano’s childhood friends Meyer
Lansky and Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegal although not
Italian earned Luciano’s respect and therefore his
absolute loyalty. Siegal was discharged with the
responsibility of running the Mafia’s interest in the Las
Vegas casino business.  Even though Siegal ran the
casinos at a considerable loss, Luciano ensured he
was given numerous chances to rectify the situation
before he was eventually “dealt with”. Lansky and
Luciano remained very close friends and business
partners throughout their life.  They were the
foundation stone of the Mafia throughout Luciano’s
time.

Charles “Lucky” Luciano is history’s most successful

Mafia leader and he transformed modern organised
crime.  Organised crime in any country is a ruthless
and vicious business with your control over power really
only determined by your intellect or willingness to
wage war.  Luciano’s leadership provided stability and
relative calm matched with unheralded prosperity for
the entire Mafia organisation for at least 4 decades.

In 1998, Time magazine characterized Luciano the

“criminal mastermind” among the top 20 most
influential builders and titans of the 20th century.

 
* “Lucky” Luciano Image: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
2151027/Black-white-pictures-mob-leader-Charles-Lucky-Luciano-high-class-
prostitutes-led-1936-arrest.html

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