orig. Salvatore Lucania later Charles Luciano
born Nov. 11, 1896, Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy
died Jan. 26, 1962, Capodicino Airport, Naples
Italian-born U.S. gangster.
He immigrated with his family to New York in 1906 and soon was involved in crime. In 1916 he conspired with Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky , and other young gangsters, earning the nickname "Lucky" by evading arrest and winning at craps. He joined the crime gang of Joe Masseria in 1920 and was soon directing Masseria's bootlegging, narcotics, and prostitution rackets. In 1931 he had both Masseria and rival boss Salvatore Maranzano murdered; by 1934 he was "boss of all bosses" in a national crime syndicate. Jailed for extortion in 1936, he continued to direct criminal operations from his prison cell. In 1946 his sentence was commuted, and he was deported to Italy, where he directed drug traffic and the smuggling of aliens into the U.S.