Editing Charles “Lucky” Luciano (section)

==Criminal Empire:==
===Operations:===
Luciano controlled rackets including bootlegging, prostitution, narcotics trafficking, loan-sharking, and extortion. His partnership with Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello modernized the Mafia, emphasizing diversified revenue streams and political influence.
===Nickname “Lucky”:===The origin of Luciano’s nickname is debated. It may stem from surviving a brutal 1929 kidnapping and beating by rival gangsters (or possibly police), where he was left for dead but survived with facial scars. Another theory attributes it to his success in gambling or evading legal consequences early in his career.
===Leadership Style:===
Unlike traditional bosses, Luciano was pragmatic, fostering alliances with non-Italians like Lansky and Siegel, and focusing on profit over ethnic loyalty. He maintained a polished public image, living in luxury at the Waldorf-Astoria and cultivating relationships with politicians and law enforcement.
Legal Troubles and Imprisonment:
===Prosecution by Thomas Dewey:===
In 1936, New York Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey targeted Luciano, charging him with running a prostitution ring. Despite questionable evidence and reliance on coerced testimony from prostitutes, Luciano was convicted on 62 counts of compulsory prostitution and sentenced to 30–50 years in prison. He began serving his sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.
===World War II and “Operation Underworld”:===
During World War II, Luciano allegedly aided the U.S. government through “Operation Underworld,” a collaboration between the Mafia and the U.S. Navy to secure New York’s waterfront against sabotage and support intelligence efforts in Italy. Luciano’s influence over dockworkers and Italian contacts, facilitated through Meyer Lansky, reportedly helped protect ports and gather intelligence for the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. In return, his sentence was commuted in 1946, conditional on his deportation to Italy.